Moving Water Assignment Winner Phil Hawkins

“In September of 2009 I had just finished several custom workshops and was taking advantage of the opportunity to get off by myself and shoot in Yosemite.  I hiked up to the Vernal Fall area knowing this time of year the fall is at it’s lowest flow. I thought I might try to see some different opportunities for shooting it.  When I got there, I decided to hop along the boulders that litter the river bed to see a different angle on the fall that few people see much less photograph. September is the only time of year this kind of boulder-hopping is possible, as the flow is much higher most other times of the year.  It took me about a half an hour to get to my final position and just let the conditions evolve.  I immediately noticed a rainbow in the mist of the waterfall, and shot quite a few.  Then, as is common this time of year, someone was swimming in the pool of water at the base of the waterfall.  He climbed up on the rock and looked up at the waterfall and yes, I was at the right place, right time for the shot!  The setup was perfect, and I got only about 3 or 4 images before he turned and dived back in the water.”