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Palouse Falls State Park

We do not see nature with our eyes, but with our understandings and our hearts...
Palouse Falls Sideview
by Sandeep Thomas
  • William Hazlitt

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When I first saw a picture of Palouse falls, I was sure that it’s located somewhere in Iceland or South America until I read the description and figured where it was located. So when we planned our trip along the Pacific North West I went to great pains to make sure that Palouse was included in the list. In fact I not only included it in the list but managed to convince my unsuspecting wife to camp in the park just to take my time here.

The area surrounding Palouse falls is mostly flat with very little population around, even when you enter the park all you can hear is the sound of the falls but no hills or mountains or a river is visible to justify the roar of the falls. That is until you park you’re and get a first glimpse into the deep canyon which is merely some meters away. The fall itself and curving of the river makes it a majestic sight and will easily lives up to anyone’s mental model.

I am glad I got a chance to visit this beautiful location and take photographs, if you ever get a chance make the trip and enjoy the beautiful location. As for me I can’t wait to go back again.

One must maintain a little bit of summer, even in the middle of winter…
Palouse Falls
by Sandeep Thomas
  • Henry David Thoreau.

| insta | blog |

I first visited the gorgeous Palouse Falls State Park in the summer of 2014 on what became some sort of a tradition in our family since then, our annual summer road trip. We were young and ambitious, so we planned a trip that traveled north on the pacific coast highway until Portland, Oregon, cut across at the Columbia River Gorge and drove north to Palouse the drove south home via the towns of Bend, Klamath Falls, Reno, and Bishop. It took us ten days to complete the loop and was a bit hurried, but we fell in love with the landscape of the American West.

We were about halfway through our journey when we reached the beautiful Palouse State Park. The landscape of these areas, at least during summer, resembles the deserts of eastern Oregon and California. It had me wonder about the possible size of the falls, and I questioned my decision to drive this far to see a waterfall when there were plenty at the Columbia River Gorge and the Cascade Mountains. When I laid eyes upon the falls, even in the middle of summer when the water level is at its lowest, I was a believer. Palouse Falls is massive, and I later learned that it’s the state waterfall of the state of Washington. I can see why.

I was a relative newbie at photography then, and Palouse was the first place where I struggled with white balance. The place was so yellow that it messed with the camera’s auto white balance. Thankfully I had already started the habit of taking my images in raw, so I could adjust the white balance later on. I recently learned a new way to get a correct WB setting, and this image resulted from implementing the process. I think this was the closest I have gotten to recreating what I saw that day at Palouse Falls.

Rainbow Surprise [Re-edit]
Palouse Falls Sideview

Rainbow at sunset over Palouse Falls, Washington.

A re-edit of an older image using a completely different workflow. I decided the old image was too...

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The Palouse Swirlpool
Palouse Falls Sideview

This uber-cool view is commonly seen and an obvious choice for this location. A little too wide for my wide angle lens; an extra mm or two would...

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Palouse Falls
Palouse Falls Sideview

This is the first place i ever got scared of losing my camera. This is the place i used the live view feature more than the view finder. Also this is...

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I know the lands are lit, with all the autumn blaze of Goldenrod...
Palouse Falls Sideview
by Sandeep Thomas
  • Helen Hunt Jackson.

| facebook | 500px | ferpectshotz |

I found this shot while browsing through my older albums looking to see if missed some good photographs. This shot was made in last summer when went to visit Palouse falls in Washington. We were camping at this location, so I woke up about 4 am to watch the sunrise which was happening to the left of this image.

After taking the customary sunrise shot I walked over to the waterfall and waited for the light to finally hit the canyon walls. The problem here is the canyon walls to my left are much taller than the canyon walls to the right and I had to wait for the sun to rise quite a bit to get the kind of light I was looking for. This shot is a three shot pano stitch at 24mm, just to give you an idea about how massive the falls actually are. That’s all about today's shot, thanks for visiting..

Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been…
Palouse Falls
by Sandeep Thomas
  • Mark Twain.

| facebook | 500px | ferpectshotz |

Here is another shot of Palouse a sunset. I am in love with the way golden our light colors these dusty hills and canyons. They are different from the red s of the southwest and the yellowish tint of the Californian deserts. This golden tinge is unique to Palouse and it’s amazing to watch at both sunset and sunrise. I hope to return to Washington again soon and truly see the evergreen state.

It was truly amazing to camp at this beautiful location and to have the entire state park to ourselves. I wish we could do that every location we visit. Hope everyone enjoys this shot.

Rainbow Desert
Palouse Falls Sideview

Palouse Falls - Eastern Washington

I was digging through the archives a little bit a couple of nights ago, and I found this one. It's from my...

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Evening Glow at Palouse Falls
Palouse Falls Sideview

It's a long drive out to Palouse Falls State Park in eastern Washington, especially if you do the entire round-trip in one day from Portland. The...

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Around the Chasm
Palouse Falls Sideview

Palouse Falls Washington

These falls have always been high on the hitlist for visiting after seeing amazing shot after another. However, nearly all...

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Palouse in Purple
Palouse Falls Sideview

Palouse Falls State Park, Washington.

**This is a copyrighted image with all rights reserved. Please don't use this image on websites, blogs,...

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Bedtime Story
Palouse Falls from Fryxel Overlook

Palouse Falls in eastern Washington near Walla-Walla (yes, that is the name of a city). Taken after sunset under windy conditions, and admittedly, I...

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May what I do flow from me like a river, no forcing and no holding back, the way it is with children...
Palouse Falls
by Sandeep Thomas
  • Rainer Maria Rilke.

| facebook | 500px | ferpectshotz |

Next day after shooting at Lost Lake we left for Palouse Falls State Park which was located in the state of Washington. This location has been on my mind for a long time and my wife didn’t have any idea where we were going, all I told her was that we were going to camp at the location. I was a little worried that we might be late to get a camp location but we were the only people at the park so I pretty much had the park all to myself. We left early and reached the location by noon and set up camp and the basically explored the nearby short hikes.

This a classic vista point of the falls and I took this shot during sunset with the golden light lighting up the massive cliffs of the canyon. This is one massive fall and just the sound it makes is amazing. If you have a chance, make time to visit this awesome waterfall and state park.

Have a nice day..

Escape
Palouse Falls Sideview

*Run away little girl Nothing here for you today Blue skies on the horizon Leading you ever on and on Seductive winds blowing A solemn silence in the...

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Palouse Falls
Palouse Falls Sideview

Sunset at Palouse Falls State Park, Washington, USA

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Palouse Falls
Palouse Falls from Fryxel Overlook

Palouse Falls by day, wide angle, polarized sky.

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Thanks to all Phoide contributors to Palouse Falls State Park!
Most notably Sandeep Thomas, Maurizio Fontana and Yi Jiang.