Forest Passage
Russell Falls is one of Tasmania's most photographed waterfalls, and for good reason. But when you've visited somewhere often enough, it becomes easy to see it the same way every time. Most visitors arrive at the falls from one direction, admire the view, perhaps take a few photographs, then continue up the staircase with the waterfall behind them.
On this visit, I decided to try something different. I call it the Salmon strategy.
Rather than following the usual flow, I started looking back against it. Swimming upstream, photographically speaking.
And suddenly, the scene began to change. Instead of seeing the waterfall as the destination, I started imagining what it might feel like to discover it for the first time. The path winding through the forest. The railings disappearing around the bend. The enormous tree ferns leaning into the scene, revealing little glimpses of white water beyond.
There was a photograph in that journey.
Normally, when photographing a natural landscape, I'd be looking for ways to exclude anything man-made. Paths, railings and viewing platforms can easily become distractions. This time, I wanted them there. The walkway became a leading line, drawing the eye into the forest and towards the waterfall. The ferns created layers of depth, while the darker vegetation helped contain the composition and give the brighter water somewhere to sit.
Rather than showing Russell Falls in all its glory, I wanted to suggest its presence.
To make the viewer feel as though they were following the path, wondering what might be waiting around the corner.
There's a tendency in landscape photography to concentrate so much on the destination that we forget about the experience of getting there.
But sometimes the path is every bit as important as what lies at the end of it. And occasionally, all it takes to find a different photograph is to turn around and swim against the current.
馃摲 Photography Notes
Photography Approach
This photograph is less about a particular camera setting and more about how the scene was composed.
- Location: Russell Falls, Mount Field National Park, Tasmania
- Composition: Natural framing and leading lines
- Foreground: Walking track and railings
- Midground: Layered tree ferns and forest vegetation
- Background: Russell Falls
- Creative approach: Using the journey towards the subject as part of the story
Tips & Techniques
Turn around
When you reach a familiar viewpoint, don't just photograph what's directly in front of you. Look behind, beside and above you. Sometimes the strongest composition is in the opposite direction.
Use leading lines to tell a story
Paths, fences, streams and other linear elements can do more than direct the viewer's eye. They can create a sense of movement and invite someone to imagine travelling through the scene.
Don't automatically exclude human elements
A railing or walking track isn't always a distraction. When used deliberately, these features can provide context, scale and a sense of connection to the landscape.
Reveal rather than explain
You don't always need to show the entire subject. Partially concealing a waterfall behind vegetation can create curiosity and encourage the viewer to spend more time exploring the image.
Think in layers
Foreground, midground and background elements can help create depth, particularly in dense forest environments where compositions can easily become cluttered.
What You Can Learn
It's easy to fall into familiar patterns when photographing well-known locations.
We arrive, find the recognised viewpoint, make the photograph and move on. But what happens when we deliberately challenge that routine? Changing direction can change the story entirely.
In this photograph, Russell Falls is still the destination, but it isn't the only subject. The forest, the path and the experience of approaching the waterfall all become part of the composition.
It's a reminder that photography isn't always about showing someone what a place looks like. Sometimes it's about helping them imagine what it feels like to be there.
And that's a very different photograph.
Workshops & Photography Lessons
If you'd like to learn how to find more creative compositions, even at locations you've photographed many times, I offer small-group photography workshops and personalised one-on-one photography lessons.
You'll explore techniques such as leading lines, natural framing, visual storytelling and working with the complex light and textures of Tasmania's forests.
Whether you're learning the fundamentals or looking to develop a more individual photographic style, lessons are tailored to help you see beyond the obvious and create photographs that reflect your own interpretation of the landscape.
Explore photography workshops and one-on-one lessons at Wild Artistic Photography.
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