Cascade Before Dark, Victoria, Australia

(Click image to enlarge)

I took a hike along a lovely river one evening and came upon this cascade a little after the sun had set. The atmosphere was peaceful and silent except for the sound of rushing water. The muted light was gorgeous but it was fading very quickly. I got the tripod and camera set up precariously among boulders and captured a 30 second exposure at ISO 100 before realizing the composition could be much better. After a little time to change the setup and re-level the camera I captured another 30 second exposure, but by then ISO 200 was required. It was literally getting dark so fast that the correct settings at the beginning of the exposure were wrong by the time it ended. That last attempt was my only chance but it worked because the air was calm and luckily produced no movement in the vegetation.

Hiking back to my vehicle was interesting and a bit slow. Fortunately people can see in extremely dim light, like that from the stars with no moonlight, if they are not exposed to any bright light sources. A flashlight or headlamp will ruin night vision for up to a full hour. Once exposed to these you need to continue using them and can then see only within the area covered by the light beam.