Friday's Sunset ~|~ 8:40 PM PDT

The thin cirrus clouds last evening added a really nice impressionistic feel to the post-sunset twilight. While the rich reds and deep oranges make for some dramatic views there was something almost feminine about yesterday's sunset. Soft and delicate with just the right blush of pink

It was also a great day for a trip to Cypress Falls Park in West Vancouver. This is one of my favorite photo locations that's in close range to my apartment and includes numerous water falls sprinkled along Cypress Creek as it slices down the mountain. The park is a thick second growth stand of 100 year old fir trees that includes numerous trails and bridges that snake back and forth around the creek. The smells of the trees in spring and the sound of the rushing water is quite inspirational.

It's not a venue to rush through however. Yesterday, as I hurried through my mental itinerary that included each one of my five favorite water falls I wound up 110 digital shots richer but in a way poorer for the lack of compositional artistry. Start to finish it was a 2 hour hike with half that ascending the 200 meters to the highest falls and the other half rushing through the process of snapping pictures.

Next time (which will be soon) I'll target just one of the falls and spend the entire trip finding the perfect angle and the perfect shot. I'll also hit the park at high noon rather than 2:30 in the afternoon. The light was either too bright or too dark and, as testament to how hurried I felt, I completely forgot that I'd brought along several neutral density Corkin glass filters that would have helped with the demands of such challenging lighting.