Photographing Bruthen Creek Falls
About Bruthen Falls
Bruthen Falls are a lovely set of falls just off the Grand Ridge Road in Gippsland.
No one could consider Bruthen Creek falls as massive as Niagra Falls, but I like the quite bush setting of these falls. Most of Australia is quite dry, but I was brought up in the country, and in the hilly / temperate rainforest areas of the country. Bruthen Creek Falls are the sort of place I visited as a child. Dense, thick, undergrowth with a three level forest: tall mountain ash trees, with tree-ferns or man-ferns under that canopy, and fallen branches / trees and fish-bone ferns under that canopy.
Viewpoints
The falls are in the bush, and are not easy to photograph due to the amount of bush around.
While not strictly a photograph of the falls themselves, the photo above is a shot of a small stream that enters the Bruthen Creek just below the falls.
Directly at the base of the falls. While being the classic 'front on' shot, the falls had a range of branches washed down from a previous storm. This made the base quite messy and not very photogenic.
Slightly to the right of the base of the falls. This shot was along a small animal path. It let me hide the base of the falls behind some undergrowth, which I felt was a more pleasing composition.
This is one spot that I did not try and shoot with the Linhof. I may very well go back and change that, but these falls are fairly small and typically dont suit the panoramic layout. I took my LowePro Backpack loaded with a Canon 5D MkII body, Canon 24 mm TS, Canon 16-35mm lens, Manfrotto 190 Tripod, and of course a range of lens wipes, spare batteries, sunscreen and bug repellant.
Techniques
I like to use Slow Shutter Speeds to blur the water on a waterfall. I also like to Expose to the Right to ensure that the brightest part of the water is pure white, or nearly purely white (nothing looks so bad as dirty looking water coming over a waterfall). I particularly used the HDR technique to get some light into the deep shadows here. I probably should have expanded the Dynamic Range further as the sky was quite bright (but not blue) and the undergrowth virtually black. I will visit again with a blue sky.
Other things to look out for
Nearby to Bruthen Falls is Tara-Bulga National Park. This is a must see location for photographers. There are some great views of the Power Stations from the hills near the Calignee Plantaion. Yarram is a town to the south east that has some great murals.
Location
JM7C+38 Carrajung, Victoria Fergusons Rd Carrajung Vic (-38.387196, 146.6708379)
Techniques used
Kit used
How to get there
From Melbourne, drive south east along the Monash for about two hours to the city of Taralgon. After entering the city, the road drops down a small hill to a set of traffic lights. Turn right here towards Yarram on the C482. Continue past the Power Station and through Gormondale. About 3km beyond Gormondale is Wilung South. After another kilometer turn right onto C484 the Grand Ridge Road. Continue for about 5km, before turning left onto Ferguson Road. The falls are just on the left of this road about 600m down the road. There is no parking spot here, nor is it signposted. There is also no walking track to the falls, so you just need to keep an eye out. If the water is flowing nicely, you should be able to hear the falls.
Best time to visit
I have been to the Grand Ridge Road / Tarra Valley / Bulga Park several times and at varying times of the year. In the summer months, there is generally less rain in the area and more dust on the foliage. Winter tends to have more rains, which helps clean the foliage and build the streams. The rains are by no means consistent though. The area is better after rains though. The stream has more water, but just as important the foliage and undergrowth has more colour and contrast.
Accessability
The drive to the falls is along a dirt road that can be slippery. Care should be taken, but it is also only 600m. The falls themselves are down a steep bankment about 10M from the road. You need to do a tiny bit of 'bush-bashing' to get to them, but I doubt that this would put off many people.
It is definitely not suitable for wheelchairs.
Where to stay
There are three real options for staying in the area:
Traralgon. Traralgon is a reasonable sized city, and about 30 mins north. It has a range of accomodation, and good shopping, etc.
Tarra Valley. If you continue west along the Grand Ridge road, you will come to the Bulga part of the Tarra - Bulga National park. Just to the west of this is the turning left down the Tarra Valley to that portion of the park. There is a nice Rainforest Retreat here, and two Caravan Parks. Be careful to avoid the 'Best Friend' accomodation though - it is a kennel.
Yarram. If go further down the Tarra Valley Road, or back down the Grand Ridge to the Hyland Highway and then south, you will come to Yarram. Yarram is a reasonably small town, but quite nice. It has several pubs, several hotels, and at least one supermarket. I tend to stay in town here, as it is quick to get from there to anywhere I am shooting in the area.