I got a chance to hike to Abiqua Falls a few weeks ago, when there was a break in the weather long enough not to get rained on.  The falls are part of the same geological formation that makes up Silver Falls State Park, but Abiqua is lesser known and lesser visited since it's much more challenging to get to.  Having never been there before, I wasn't sure exactly where it was on the unmarked logging road.  I parked at the top of a steeper section of the road, where it looked like it had been a creek bed during a heavier downpour.  I wasn't sure how much further down the road the falls were, but I figured I would figure it out on the way.  There were other hikers coming and going from the falls, so I just kept asking them as we passed if they could help with directions.  

I could hear the falls before I could see them, so I figured I was getting closer.  I came across a trail marked by red spray paint on a tree, and headed down into the forest.  As it turns out, this wasn't the main trail below the falls, but a lesser used trail that ends right above the falls.  There was a small section of "trail" that dropped me over a small rock ledge with a small knotted rope to assist in rappelling down to the creek right above the falls.  Nobody else was on this trail, so I had plenty of time to set up some shots without feeling rushed.

There was a smaller waterfall right above the main one, and I spent some time trying to get some nicer images of it.  The water was moving quickly, but I decided to still use my extremely dark filter to help wash out all motion from the waterfall.

This little waterfall was dwarfed by the much larger waterfall, but was still very pretty.  I also liked how the main creek came out of the narrow gap in the rock, and gave the photo another aspect that added to the overall image.  I tried a couple different angles and couldn't figure out which one I liked more, so I went with both of them.  I was very cautious walking next to the creek; the rocks were moss covered and slippery, and I wasn't so sure that if I fell into the creek that I would be able to drag myself out before going over the main waterfall.

After spending 40 minutes or so carefully wandering around above the falls, I decided I had pushed my luck and my shoes' grip far enough, and scrabbled back up over the rock ledge and back onto the logging road, and continued down another half a mile or so before coming across the next trail.  This one was a little more well marked than the last trail, with a larger white sign posted on a larger maple tree.  It was still pretty steep at times, with more ropes to balance and support yourself as you slid down along the creek.  It wasn't far from there before I rounded the final corner.

​​Shutter speed (exposure time) is how long your shutter remains open, allowing more light to enter through the lens and onto the film/sensor.  It also allows you to freeze or blur motion.  If it is dark outside, like at night, your camera will need more time to gather up all that dim light and turn it into a picture that we can see any detail in, helping blur motion as well.  In the middle of the day, though, it can be challenging to keep the shutter open for a long time (think longer than a second) without basically blinding the sensor/film with too much light and overexposing your image.

​​ISO Setting describes how sensitive the film/sensor is to light: ISO 100 takes much more time to gather light than ISO 1,000 film or sensor settings.  By choosing the lowest ISO setting my camera allows (ISO 100), I'm forced to slow down the shutter speed to gather more light.  It also has the added bonus that lower ISO settings usually give more detail in the final result, since higher ISO's tend to get grainy/hazy. 

Aperture settings change how much light can go through the lens at once, and are described in terms of f-stops.  The aperture is a group of overlapping  plates/petals inside the camera lens, which can open up or close down to change the flow of light through the lens.  f1.4 would allow a large amount of light through, whereas f26 would be a little pinhole of light.  Not only does this control how much light enters through the lens at once, but it also affects how much depth of the image is in focus.