Erawan Falls Photos - Kanchanaburi, Thailand

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macnmotion
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What an incredible day at Erawan National Park, about 3 hours west of Bangkok, Thailand. My friend and I decided to stay in a cabin right inside the park so that we could get an early start Sunday morning. The falls are one of Thailand's most popular tourist destinations, and I didn't want a bunch of strangers in my photos! The park opened at 8AM, and we planned on starting our hike at 7AM so we figured we would have a good head start. Because we were hiking before security was on duty, we were warned that we would be doing so at our own risk, with some nasty bands of monkeys in the park. We risked it. We didn't see any monkeys.

Erawan Falls is comprised of 7 main levels of falls, with various smaller falls and cascades along the way. Each level has its own charm, and many of the levels have natural pools for swimming. Almost every pool is full of "Doctor Fish" which love to suck the dead skin cells from your feet and legs!

The weather was perfect. A sunny day with some puffy clouds. So I never needed the waterproof sack that I bought this week for the trip. It's the middle of the rainy season here, and I don't think we've seen the sun for a full day in at least a month! As for equipment, I ended up bringing both the 16-35 and 70-200 to use with my Canon 5D2. Most shots were taken with the wide angle. But I'm glad I brought the 70-200 along, there were some portraits that succeeded because of that lens! I used a CPL filter until the very end, when we broke out of the jungle and hit some brighter scenes that allowed for use of the ND 1.8. The jungle cover kept things cool, and kept light for the most part even and controllable.

The very saturated colors you see in these photos are almost true color -- the CPL brought out the clear turquoise color of the water and the green of the jungle. A bit of vibrance helped bring out the browns and earth tones of the limestone. As for my technique, I still need some work. I think that many of the shots have a slightly too long exposure -- I like the effect but I lose some definition in the water. We took a lot of photos with one or both of us in them, holding still usually for 2.5 seconds.

Only a few minutes into our hike we arrived at the first several cascades. Having no idea what to expect ahead, I took my time getting a number of photos of these small but beautiful cascades. Here are the first several cascades we came across:

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We then arrived at the 1st of the 7 main levels and I got a taste of what was to come! We were the fist ones on the trail so it was pure peace and quiet, and I had plenty of time to get set up and take some photos.

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We continued on to the 2nd level. There were some cascades as we approached:

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And when we arrived at level 2 we were treated to a very nice waterfall with a pool full of fish.

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Beyond level 2 there is no food or drink allowed into the park. When we arrived at level 3 we were still all alone, however as we took time for a swim and some photos a group passed us and proceeded to level 4. There was a rock out in front of the falls so I swam through a couple dozen very large fish, climbed on the rock and held still.

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We continued to level 4, but the group was there swimming and climbing on the falls and I didn't want photos of them. So after taking a look we pushed ahead to level 5, hoping to stay ahead of this group. The levels were anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 kilometer apart. The whole hike up the falls was 1.8 kilometers. The round trip, including taking photos, swimming, and a lot of leisurely viewing took 5 hours. Level 5 was spectacular. It had it all -- depth, color, deep blue clear water, and a couple great spots to take a swim!

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We dried off and headed toward level 6, and this is when the unthinkable happened. Because I was taking lots of photos, rather than put my camera back in the waist pack and sling the tripod across my back I kept the camera attached to the tripod and carried it against my shoulder. When I chose my equipment, I made one terrible choice. I used the smaller of my two ball mounts. As we were climbing a steep section, the mount latch opened up, the quick release fell out and the camera went with it. I felt it fall off, but before I could turn around I heard the camera hit solid rock. As I caught sight of it I saw a piece fly off and tumble further down the hill. The camera hit the only sizable rock within a 6 foot radius, and it was a 7 foot drop. I collected my thoughts and picked up the camera. At first glance I didn't see anything missing, but the battery compartment door was slight open. I looked inside and the battery was missing -- that was the piece I saw flying. The lens cap prevented any damage to the glass, and although there were some scrapes on the body and dirt in various places, it looked to be in one piece. So I put in the battery and saw the familiar red flashing light. I took a couple photos to see if it still worked, but the exposure was screwed up and the display seemed screwy. After a minute I realized that the dial had shifted from M to B, so I threw it back to M and took a photo of a tree trunk. Amazingly everything worked, and I didn't have a single issue with the camera all day. I'll take it in this week for a cleaning and to be checked out just to be safe. Wow!!! Here is the test photo I took of the tree trunk to see if the focusing mechanism still worked:

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With my heart now back in my chest where it belonged, we made it to level 6. To me this was the least interesting of the levels.

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Finally after quite a rough final climb, we made it to the top of the falls. What we found I didn't expect -- a truly towering waterfall, with three outlets dropping water more than a hundred meters. Apparently the three falls resembled the three trunks of the elephant-like Hindu god Erawan, giving the falls their name. I had trouble figuring out how to capture this in a photo, and didn't succeed very well. However I took a video of the waterfall and I'll post it as soon as I edit it.

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Wow, what a great adventure. And photos to give me memories for a lifetime.

Andy Chatman
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Kelly
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Hi Andy! Great to see you and your photos here again. Beautiful shots and interesting commentary! Be well.
I am strong, because I've been weak.
I am fearless, because I've been afraid.
I am wise, because I've been foolish.

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Brenda
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Beautiful, Andy! Thanks for sharing.
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Matt
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Amazing shots and story. Sorry about your camera falling, but that's great it survived and you were able to continue shooting. I carry around my camera attached to the tripod when I hake too.
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