Lower South Falls, Oregon
This is the greatest photograph I have ever taken. I took this hiking with my aunt JoAnna and cousins last weekend. It's a good shot, decent lighting, although a bit bright for a waterfall shot, but it's worth it to get the "spray effect" with lowered shutter speed. In total, I took twenty shots from this same angle, using green emphasis filter as well as black and white, and experimenting with different shutter speeds, and considering how few shots I took, this is a lucky shot. Really when you take 50 shots, if you get one that's jaw dropping, that's fantastic. In this one I got this shot, and I got five. When my cousin Kurt and I looked at the pix after the hike, his reaction to this one said it all, a soft simple "whoa."
I feel photography is an extremely fun and meaningful activity in my life, but I feel like I have a lot to learn and a lot of great shots yet to be taken. So why is this blog called "Less Than Aaron?"
Because of a man named Aaron Nuffer.
I am a Google Earth freak, and I love posting my pics on Panoramio and then getting them up on what I will say is easily the greatest and most encyclopedic atlas in the history of humankind. Google Earth is one of the marvels of our modern age that we don't realize: only ten years ago finding a remote waterfall was an epic. Finding the right USGS map, hiking in, and viewing the waterfall which may or may not be worth the effort. Now it's as simple as finding it on the map and clicking on the photo, and deciding whether or not to go. I used Google Earth and the Panoramio photos to scout out my entire trip from Oregon to Alaska last summer and with the notable of exception of Miles Canyon (shout out to Adam!) it was pretty damn good. When I need to burn off stress or I'm just plain bored, I go on Google Earth and look for adventures. In all seriousness, if a software program can ever win the Nobel Peace Prize, it should go to Google Earth because it has truly brought the world together. I've gotten comments on my photos from people as far away as Iran and Spain.....people I will never meet in my life, but looking at their photos, it brings their world alive to me in some small way.
Anyway, back to Aaron Nuffer. Aaron has two photos of Lower South Falls on Google Earth. (I'm not going to link to them, but go on Google Earth and find them yourselves) My above photo pales in comparison to a virtually identical shot he took at the same point sometime earlier. For starters, he has better lighting, it's darker with more contrast. It also gives a better sense of sharpness and focus, the bright sun creates a kind of fuzziness in my picture. His is also taken at a slightly lower, better angle. I will say I probably had the better subject: the waterfall is wider and fuller the day I took my photo, but you really can't fault him for not having more water flow. All in all I would give my photo about a 6 on a scale of 10, and his about a 9 out of 10.
Aaron is a better photographer than me that's for sure....but one thing is certain: he and I have virtually identical tastes in subjects, because everywhere I want to take a picture and post it on Google Earth, he's already been there. It is truly spooky. Salt Creek Falls: he's been there. Tumalo Falls: he's been there. Arches National Park: he's been there. Heceta Head Lighthouse: he's been there. Waterfall Canyon in Ogden: he's been there. Exit Glacier in Alaska: he's been there.
Now obviously I am going to go where I want to go and take the pictures I want to take, but I want him to know (in the unlikely event he comes across and reads this blog) that I greatly admire his pictures and think there amazing, and it is my hope that at some point in my life I will be "Equal With Aaron" rather than "Less Than Aaron." I also hope that he doesn't think I'm trying to steal ideas or angles from him, I'm just trying to take photos organically.
Peace.....
I feel photography is an extremely fun and meaningful activity in my life, but I feel like I have a lot to learn and a lot of great shots yet to be taken. So why is this blog called "Less Than Aaron?"
Because of a man named Aaron Nuffer.
I am a Google Earth freak, and I love posting my pics on Panoramio and then getting them up on what I will say is easily the greatest and most encyclopedic atlas in the history of humankind. Google Earth is one of the marvels of our modern age that we don't realize: only ten years ago finding a remote waterfall was an epic. Finding the right USGS map, hiking in, and viewing the waterfall which may or may not be worth the effort. Now it's as simple as finding it on the map and clicking on the photo, and deciding whether or not to go. I used Google Earth and the Panoramio photos to scout out my entire trip from Oregon to Alaska last summer and with the notable of exception of Miles Canyon (shout out to Adam!) it was pretty damn good. When I need to burn off stress or I'm just plain bored, I go on Google Earth and look for adventures. In all seriousness, if a software program can ever win the Nobel Peace Prize, it should go to Google Earth because it has truly brought the world together. I've gotten comments on my photos from people as far away as Iran and Spain.....people I will never meet in my life, but looking at their photos, it brings their world alive to me in some small way.
Anyway, back to Aaron Nuffer. Aaron has two photos of Lower South Falls on Google Earth. (I'm not going to link to them, but go on Google Earth and find them yourselves) My above photo pales in comparison to a virtually identical shot he took at the same point sometime earlier. For starters, he has better lighting, it's darker with more contrast. It also gives a better sense of sharpness and focus, the bright sun creates a kind of fuzziness in my picture. His is also taken at a slightly lower, better angle. I will say I probably had the better subject: the waterfall is wider and fuller the day I took my photo, but you really can't fault him for not having more water flow. All in all I would give my photo about a 6 on a scale of 10, and his about a 9 out of 10.
Aaron is a better photographer than me that's for sure....but one thing is certain: he and I have virtually identical tastes in subjects, because everywhere I want to take a picture and post it on Google Earth, he's already been there. It is truly spooky. Salt Creek Falls: he's been there. Tumalo Falls: he's been there. Arches National Park: he's been there. Heceta Head Lighthouse: he's been there. Waterfall Canyon in Ogden: he's been there. Exit Glacier in Alaska: he's been there.
Now obviously I am going to go where I want to go and take the pictures I want to take, but I want him to know (in the unlikely event he comes across and reads this blog) that I greatly admire his pictures and think there amazing, and it is my hope that at some point in my life I will be "Equal With Aaron" rather than "Less Than Aaron." I also hope that he doesn't think I'm trying to steal ideas or angles from him, I'm just trying to take photos organically.
Peace.....
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