Bash Bish Falls
Tuesday, August 7th, 2007
Each July, we head off to the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. Just down the street from the campground at which we stay, just over the
NY-Mass border, is the highest waterfall in Massachusetts, Bash Bish Falls. I’d attended the festival for several years without even realizing it was there, but in 2004, I saw the falls for the first time, and shot my very first spherical QTVR. My digital SLR arrived the day after we got home from that trip, so the panorama was shot on film. I’ve wanted to return and reshoot, since I’ve learned a bit since that first panorama, but each time I went, the place was crawling with swimmers, despite signs every few feet saying that swimming is prohibited. We hiked to the falls on Thursday, hoping that it would be calm enough for me to re-shoot, only to find it over-run with swimmers, not to mention rock jumpers. I guess the many deaths over the years don’t phase people. I didn’t even bother with the panorama. I did, however, capture one particularly reckless guy leaping the 80-some feet from the pinnacle of the falls. I love the image, but certainly don’t condone the behavior. (He hit the water hard, and didn’t look so great afterwards.)
On Monday morning, after the festival, I got up early and after packing up the tent, headed back to the falls. I loaded up my backpack, and headed off down the trail. The sound of the water was my company, and the quiet of the morning was exquisite. At the end of the trail, I came out into the clearing and looked down the stairs to see that I had the falls entirely to myself. All of the people crowding
the scene on Thursday vanished from the picture, leaving just me and the rushing water. I simply stood and stared for a moment before setting up my panorama. I re-shot the scene from the same rock I’d shot it three years ago, this time using all of the knowledge and skills I’d gained in those years, not to mention a digital camera. When the panorama was complete, I took some other photos, and then I simply sat and watched for a while, basking in the splendor of the sight before me. After having spent just over an hour there, I finally decided to leave and head home. As I was leaving, others began to arrive. My timing was perfect.
The panorama came out pretty nicely, too. This one has sound, so turn on your speakers to hear it.
