California Photo Scout

McArthur Burney Falls

The famous McArthur Burney Falls are easily California’s most beautiful waterfall. The fall is fed by underground springs with much of the water flowing right out of the rock face of the falls. As the water filters through the volcanic stone it is as pure as water can get. This unique feature gives the waterfall an incredibly silky and dreamy look. The streams are rich with trout and the hiking trails of the park are very pleasant.

How to get there

The park entrance is clearly marked on Highway 89, north of Lassen Volcanic National Park. Driving north, the Entrance is almost 6 miles north of the Highway 299 and Highway 89 intersection.

GPS position

Park:

• N41 01.125 W121 39.081

How to photograph McArthur Burney Falls State Park

Fisherman at the Burney Falls

Try slowing your exposure as much as possible. A waterfall like this, with so many thin streams washing over the rock, looks best when slowed down. Put your camera on a tripod, use a polarizing filter, use your lowest ISO setting and use a very small aperture (f/16 or f/22) to slow your exposure down as much as possible. On bright sunny days you may not be able to it slow down enough. The exposure of my pictures was in the order of 1/10s. If you have a neutral density filter, stack it with the polarizing filter. Your goal should be to reach 1/4s or slower to get the silky look.

Use a tripod and cable release to take the photographs. Enable your camera’s mirror lockup feature if it has one and wait a few seconds between setting up (when the mirror flips) and taking the shot for your camera to stabilize.

A polarizing filter will reduce your brightness by up to 2 stops. Use it to eliminate glare from the wet rocks and to enhance the colors in the foliage. Polarizing filters are amongst the most versatile filters. The mist of the falls will constantly spray your equipment. Use a lens cleaning cloth to wipe it dry and to wipe water drops off the front of your lens.

Cascades at Burney Falls

The compositional options are limited. Walk around the trail and crawl over the rocks as much as you like, looking for different points of view. Use foreground elements (trees, rocks, water) and any other combination you can think of to make your pictures unique. Use a zoom lens and crop closer to the little streams or use a horizontal format when you normally would not. Get into the water with your tripod not fully extended and blur the flow of the water. Try speeding things up as well by using an exposure time of 1/250s or less.

Since people have a knack of getting into your compositions, you may as well use them to your advantage. Including a person gives a sense of scale of the falls. Personally, I think the falls look good without a human yardstick, but since individual tastes vary, it is always good being able to offer everything.

There are many hikes and photo opportunities, besides the main attraction. Follow the trail downstream to Lake Britton. The Lake Britton Bridge was featured in the Steven King Movie “Stand By Me” where the boys run from the train.

Best Time of the Day and Best Season

A natural underground spring feeds the falls which therefore always have water flowing. The flow and the temperature of the water are constant year round which means you can shoot the falls any time of the year. Depending on the time of the year, the light in the morning and in the late afternoon is best. The morning light is probably better most time of the year.

Time required

Depending on your time you can spend one hour or an entire day in the park. If you just want to shoot the fall from as many angles as possible you should plan about 90 minutes.

Equipment

• Wide-Angle to Normal Lens
• Tripod and Cable Release
• Polarizing Filter
• ND Filter
• Lens cleaning cloth (Lenscrafters and other Optometrist stores)
• Plastic Ziplog bag to protect your gear.

Fees

At the time of this writing (May 2009) the entrance fee to the park was $6. State park fees are rapidly increasing in California and your visit may be more expensive. However, any donation is worth seeing these falls.

Difficulty Photographing

The park is very popular especially during the holidays. Setting up a tripod along the different viewpoints is not a big deal if you are patient, but getting shots without people can be challenging.

Close Locations

• McCloud Falls
• Lassen Volcanic National Park
• Lake Shasta
• Shasta Dam
• Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity Lake
• Whiskeytown Falls
• Brandy Creek Falls
• Redding
• Lava Beds National Monument
• Trinity Alps

Useful Resources

• Official Park Website

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