Henderson Falls #2, Victoria, Australia

(Click image to enlarge)

Henderson Falls is a roughly 10 meter high waterfall situated in a dense wet forest shadowed by towering eucalypt trees. The deep shade of this lush fern gully offers a cool respite on hot days.

The density of vegetation in this gully meant that I had to be close to the face of the waterfall to capture this photograph. That could not be accomplished with a much higher water flow than is seen here. Further, there are very few places to stand, none of which are convenient or comfortable. The water was flowing more than ankle deep. I could only stand in a bent over and contorted position to keep my face and head out of dripping wet vegetation and avoid being poked in the ribs by branches. After some experimentation I used a focal length of 20mm.

The sun had set just before I captured this photograph, so it became increasingly dark as I made my way back to my vehicle. I was having no trouble until I had to make my way over the crown of a tree that had fallen onto the extremely muddy trail. My feet became entangled in the smaller branches and I fell forward into rougly 10 to 15 cm (4-6 inch) deep mud. Since the landing was soft only my pride was injured. My explatives are probably still floating through the forest.