Photo Of The Day By Erick Castellon

Today’s Photo Of The Day is “The Encounter” by Erick Castellon. Location: Oneonta Gorge, Oregon.

“A few years back, a friend invited me for a fourth of July trip to Oregon,” says Castellon. “It was last-minute invite, as his other friend canceled due to his parents being in town for a surprise visit. I had never been to Oregon before, but after seeing photos he sent me of the places we’d see, I gladly accepted. He suggested that I should rent a wetsuit for the trip (I thought he was joking) but after doing some research I understood why and got one. After a 10-hour drive, taking turns along the way and only stopping for fuel and bathroom breaks, we arrived at 7 a.m. to Oneonta Gorge. The morning was a chilly one, and we each slipped into our wetsuits, put our camera equipment in dry bags and began the walk up the river. When we started, the water was up to our ankles, and we continued walking up the river until we came to a log jam. The pile of trees was about 15 feet high and appeared to have been collected from a previous rainstorm. We climbed over the logs and continued the trek, with the water getting up higher in some areas. The view was amazing, the colors and textures of the green moss made it as if any minute you’d see a fairy zip by. I now understood the importance of the wetsuit because even though it was summer, the water was ice cold. We could hear the waterfall as we continued the walk up. The last 12 feet, the water was up to our chins, then it was back to ankle deep again. After this, we arrived at the waterfall. It was breathtaking, so we set up and took some shots. I wanted to get a sense of scale, so I asked my friend to stand in front of the waterfall. I like the contrast of the wetsuit he was wearing with the lush green of the surrounding area.”

Photo of the Day is chosen from various OP galleries, including Assignments, Galleries and the OP Contests. Assignments have weekly winners that are featured on the OP website homepage, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. To get your photos in the running, all you have to do is submit them.