Connor Herdt (pictured here) and the rest of the crew that descended the manky 50ft Hard Creek Falls avoided bushwhacking as much as they could to get in and out of Hard Creek canyon.
There is no trail around this waterfall, just bush and fallen trees. The solution to a quicker route back above the waterfall was to walk on logs – logs that were high above the waterfall. If Connor were to have fallen off this log in particular, he would have slid down a steep incline, eventually falling off a cliff, and landed in shallow water. The mission to simply run the waterfall was an eight mile round trip hike.
This shot was a last minute decision. It was only after I saw Connor approach the log that I knew this was going to make a good image. I was on the other side of the river, shooting on a plateau by the waterfall and I quickly changed over to my 50 prime. I only took a couple frames of him.
After he was safely over to the other side, I looked back at the images and knew that it was definitely a unique frame and a one-of-a-kind moment. This spot in general really doesn't see many people throughout the seasons, so it is definitely special in that regard as well.