Photographing Ladies Bath Falls
About the falls
Ladies Bath Falls is a drop of 6 or 7 metres. It is part of the way up the Mount Buffalo Road towards the summit of Mount Buffalo. The falls is actually on the same path as Eurobin Lower and Eurobin Upper Falls and just near the entrance to the Mount Buffalo National Park. The location is about 320km North of Melbourne and it is on the edge of Victorian Alpine Region - a lovely spot for site seeing and photography.
Viewpoints
I have only really seen one viewpoint here, and that is from the path that crosses the bottom of the falls. It is possible to scramble onto rocks at the bottom, and also at the left (as seen in photo above).
How I photographed the Falls
What I took - what was in my kit
I took a Canon 5D MkII, Canon 24-105 mm 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). Waterfalls normally require High Dynamic Range to get some light into the shadows behind trees etc. but in this case the lighting was perfect and the technique was not needed.
Other things to look out for
These falls are on the path to other falls, beside a nice river, and on the road to Mt Buffalo. They are also close to Bright.
Location
Location: 7RMP+2W Mount Buffalo, Victoria ///lyric.edgily.participate (-36.717422 146.837374)
Techniques used
Kit used
How to get there
From Melbourne, drive north along the Hume Freeway (M31) towards Wangaratta / Sydney. After some 215km on the freeway, and just a few kilometres after Glenrowan take the Snow Rd (C522) exit to Milawa. Follow this road for 44km before turning right onto Great Alpine Road (B500) through Myrtleford towards Bright. The road passes through Porepunkah, and crosses the Ovens river before hitting a roundabout. Take the third exit on the roundabout to C535 to Mount Buffalo. There is a car park some 8.3km up this road. Park there and follow the Eurobin Falls Walking Trail some 250 metres to the falls.
Best time to visit
The Bright region is very popular all year around. In summer, it is a fairly cool location. In winter, it has the snow, and of course in Spring and Autumn it has foliage changes. The falls obviously get more water over them after rains, but this is pretty unpredictable in this region. I have found visitors to these sites at any time of year, but I have also been by myself early in the morning and late at night. I recommend anytime of the year, and just choosing different times of the day.
Accessability
The path in from the road is reasonable level, and while not paved, it is a nice open dirt track.
Where to stay
Mount Buffalo is just near the towns of Bright and Porepunkah. Porepunkah is a relatively small town, while Bright is a well known accomodation spot for people staying to visit the locale area. I normally stay at Bright, and have found several good quality hotels. There is a range of accomodation here from hotels to caravan parks to free camping. There are three caravan parks at the foot of Mount Buffalo, just besides Porepunkah. 'Free camping' is available on Mount Buffalo at Catani camping site -- but this is only during the November to April period and it should be booked well in advance at the website.