3 Multnomah Falls at 70mm

AlanL · May 24, 2023

I got a cloudy day last Monday and decided to see what I could do with the new 70mm lens up near the waterfall area of the Columbia River Gorge. My usual experience with my Mavic 3 was that 24mm was way too wide and the 162mm lens was far too close and 70mm turned out to be almost exactly the solution. This is a 2 frame vertical panorama using 5 shots bursts for each frame median blended in Photoshop. Shot from just out over the Columbia River.

Comments and critiques always welcome.

akdrone · May 24, 2023

Nicely done and agreed that often the 70 is the perfect solution.

Deleted member 77603 · May 24, 2023

Great shot!

DaveS · May 25, 2023

Super!!!

SethB · May 25, 2023

So cool to see an aerial of the falls that is both a great image and flown legally!

For those unfamiliar with the airspace at this location, it’s quite an accomplishment to get this shot. Well done!

AlanL · May 25, 2023

SethB said:
So cool to see an aerial of the falls that is both a great image and flown legally!

For those unfamiliar with the airspace at this location, it’s quite an accomplishment to get this shot. Well done!

Thanks Seth - finding the right launch point took me a while but staring at maps helps. I probably shouldn't post this but the favored launch point right now for me is the Benson Recreation Area. It's just outside of the no-fly zones for both Wahkeena Falls as well as Multnomah and a few weeks ago several intermittent falls were active and easily visible for a drone. The given is that you must stay on the Columbia River side of the railroad tracks which is the no-fly boundary for both Wahkeena as well as Multnomah. Technically you could launch from the I-84 Multnomah parking lot but I am not comfortable with that given the number of people around.

It does help to live in the area since weather conditions are fickle for these falls. You need a cloudy day with low winds. Clear days are not your friend since you will always be shooting into the sun which doesn't work well with these falls almost always in the shade of the Gorge cliffs. When the wind does blow in this area it can be a show stopper for drone flights.