Photographing Buderim Falls and Buderim Falls Walk

Location:  26°40'40.81" S 153°2'51.829" E

About Buderim Falls

Buderim Falls are a nice 5M odd drop into a pool within a rainforest gully. They are also above a series of smaller, but quite nice falls that continues down the river / gully to the Buderim Forest park at Harry's Lane car park. The key issue with these falls is not their beauty or size though, but rather their location. They are right in the middle of the Sunshine Coast and about 10-15 mins from Maroochydore. While the falls and surrounding rainforest look like they are a million miles from anywhere - they are actually surrounded by houses. That series of smaller waterfalls is on a creek with a nice walking path, and plenty of wooden bridges criss crossing the stream.  This is a nice walk and has plenty of small, but nice photo opportunities along the creek.  Coming up the river from Harry's lane, the path is a board walk with lots of bridges and a nice open park at the bottom. 

54 Quorn Close, Buderim QLD 45567; -26.678949° 153.048416°,  ///colder/locker/hidden

How I photographed the Buderim Falls

My favourite photo of the falls was from just behind the falls, and slightly to the side.  This view allowed me to capture the bulk of the bridge, a good amount of the rainforest, and of course the waterfall and lower pool.  For once, i did not have to worry too much about the location of the sun.  Being in a steep valley, under lots of trees, the lighting was going to be indirect at any time of the day.  Having composed my shot, I simply metered for 3 areas: the long distance sky / trees, the middle distance waterfall and pool, and the rocks in the foreground. There was not a lot of water flowing when I was there, so I used a long exposure to blur the water and give it more volume than it really had.  In post, I combined the middle and distance pictures, and then added some texture to the rocks while still keeping them quite dark.

Viewpoints

The falls really consist of three falls: the upper (small) cascade, the main falls, and the then the various cascades and creek views as you head down the river.

1. Upper falls.  From the upper path, there is a bridge that crosses above Buderim falls proper.  This gives you access to the small falls above the main falls.
2. Main Buderim Falls
3. From the bridge.  This 'front on' view of the falls is easy, and the view that most tourists take.  The height is sufficient to show what is above the falls, as well as to show the drop and lower pool.
4. From below the falls, on the rocks.  There are several variations on this view as you walk across the rocks, move back down stream, or closer to the pool.
   
5. From under the falls.  Buderim is one of those falls where there is an overhang, and it is possible to walk behind the waterfall.
6. Smaller cascades and river crossings. The walk itself gives plenty of opportunities for photos.
   

I took my LowePro Backpack loaded with Canon 5DMkII body, Canon 24-105mm zoom, Manfrotto 190 Tripod, and of course a range of lens wipes, spare batteries, sunscreen and bug repellent. I tended to shoot 28-55mm. These falls, or the river itself, is quite close up, and there is a deal of foliage that will get in the road if you move back too far. Therefore this is wide angle lens territory, but to avoid distorting the image, you want to be over say 20mm. That means 20mm - 50mm lens will be best. This is also in a rainforest, in a gully or valley - so exposures are long. I prefer to use a tripod rather than going with high iso's to control movement. That means most of my photos were on a tripod.

Techniques

This shoot really only required the use of a tripod to reduce shake, long exposure for the water, f10 for sharpness, and then multiple exposures to balance the highlights. The bulk of the photos I took at the falls did not require anything more than "F11 and be there".

Other things to look out for

Buderim Falls is right in the middle of the Sunshine Coast metro region. Within a short distance (5km), there are plenty of beaches, rivers, coastal rocks and boat harbors to photograph - but not much in the way of rainforests or waterfalls. Heading west for an hour or so takes you takes you up into the hills, state forests, and National Park. It is easy to spend a week photographing this area. As a holiday area, there are also fun parks, wildlife parks, shopping, etc.

Location

Quorn Cl, Buderim QLD 4556, 82CX+C6 Buderim, Queensland (-26.678948, 153.048365)