A World Less Seen

       Fine Art International Photography By Thomas Upton       

Waterfalls & Rivers: Cascades & Rapids

Moving water takes many forms, from the concentrated force of a waterfall to a river spreading through rocks or a small stream winding beneath trees. Surrounding terrain, seasonal flow, vegetation and light give each watercourse a different character. Some photographs emphasize motion and scale, while others focus on the patterns created around stones, pools and banks. The gallery follows the variety of freshwater landscapes rather than a single type of waterfall or river scene. Moving water creates a remarkable range of forms. The gallery samples include high drops such as Takakkaw Falls, the broad curtain of Wapta Falls, narrow cascades in wooded gorges and churning rapids on the Spokane and Yellowstone Rivers. Tropical waterfalls in Hawaii and Tahiti bring different vegetation, rock and light to the scene.

White cascades spreading over several dark shelves with mountains in the far background.
Yellowstone Lower Falls plunges into the canyon below, framed by steep rock walls, pines, and a shadowed river.
Yellowstone Upper Falls plunges between pale canyon walls, with green conifers and a distant overlook above the river.
Foaming water crashes over the lip of a broad Icelandic waterfall, with textured spray filling the foreground.
A vertical cascade falls between textured gorge walls into a bright pool below.
Water moves through narrow, deeply layered rock walls in Watkins Glen State Park, New York.
A Vermont river rushes through sharply folded stone ledges at Warren Falls, surrounded by autumn forest.
Dense curtain of white falling water seen through shadowed tree branches.
Several white stream cascades down an inclined brown ledge surrounded by thick woods.
Thick white waterfall falling over a gray ledge to a shaded woodland pool.
A white waterfall falls beside black volcanic rock into a quiet pool surrounded by ferns and damp forest.
Silky white water spills over several dark horizontal rock ledges in a close view of Triple Falls.
Thin tall waterfall on dark mossy cliff beyond a rocky streambed.
A long white ribbon of water falls from a high cliff into a shaded forested gorge.
Very tall white waterfall dropping down dark gray vertical mountain cliffs.
Stirling Falls plunges from a sheer, mossy cliff with white spray billowing across the dark foreground.
Winter whitewater rushes through downtown Spokane, with snow-covered banks and dark river rocks.
Low view of green rapids coursing between large boulders and forest along the Spokane River.
A narrow forest waterfall dropping over smooth stone into clear green circular pools.
Water spilling over low straight weir in a leafy shadowed river channel.
Bright cyan plunge pool beneath a stepped waterfall with evergreen trees nearby.
White water dropping from a rock overhang beneath wooded mountain cliffs.
Water spills over layered pale rock into a green pool, with reeds standing in the foreground.
Clear vivid aqua creek rushing past red and ocher stones beneath a forest.
A narrow waterfall descends through red volcanic soil in Waimea Canyon, with sparse greenery and exposed clay walls surrounding the stream.
View looking up through a sandstone slot or arch opening toward blue sky and warm rock walls.
Foaming turquoise river cutting sharply between gray rock ledges and forest trees.
A vertical waterfall pours down layered rock in a narrow forest ravine framed by dark green foliage and wet stone.
A tall narrow waterfall pours down a wooded rock face into a foaming pool below.
Foamy white stream in front of green glen and rocky Scottish mountains.
Foaming waterfall spilling down a staircase of dark rocks into a turbulent pool.
Quiet green river pool enclosed by rocks and trees with small falls upstream.
Whitewater crossing dark smooth stone ledges under a dense wooded bank.
Single thick white cascade falling past rough layered rock with spray rising below.
Foamy river water flowing between tall dark rock walls beneath the main falls.
Bright orange trees beside a huge waterfall dropping down a sheer gray cliff.
Clear aqua pool between smooth high limestone shelves beneath dark green forest.
A small cascade spreads over layered stone ledges, framed by trees and warm brown creek banks.
White water drops through dense green vegetation into a shaded pool, including lower falls.
White waterfall tumbling down a rocky slope under dark evergreen trees.
A broad series of small waterfalls spreads over moss-covered rock ledges into a clear pool in a shaded Jura forest.
Narrow white cascade emptying into a blue-green basin between layered rock walls.
Low white falls stretching across a river among dark limestone shelves and evergreen forest.
A powerful waterfall falls beside a cliff, sending mist across a grassy plain where a rainbow arcs through the spray.
A waterfall pours through polished rock walls into a shadowed channel at Huntington Gorge in Vermont.
Green-white water surges through a narrow rocky channel bordered by gray stone and autumn foliage.
Black-and-white waterfall spreads across a low rock ledge, with blurred water surrounding rounded boulders.
Wide white waterfall descending dark stone steps within dense North Carolina woodland.
Multiple narrow waterfalls run down a lush green hillside, converging among rocks and wet grass.
A smooth green pool sits below layered rock walls with white current entering from the forested gorge.
Water falls between smooth granite walls into a quiet pool shaded by canyon rock.
Water plunges over a forest ledge into mist, with mossy rocks and trees around the pool.
A swift whitewater river runs through pine forest with sunlit banks and distant ridges.
A small cascade spreads into silky white ribbons across dark rocks surrounded by green forest.
Akaka Falls drops in a thick white column through dense tropical vegetation after heavy rain.
The Donne River rushes over large boulders between dense forest and misty mountain ridges.
Devil's Punchbowl waterfall falls beside steep gray rock walls, with broken boulders and brush below.
Broad white waterfall covering a wide stepped rock lip with gray water below.
Amid lush forest, the white water of the huge cascade in the background flows downstream to smaller falls.
Beautiful but unusual two-tiered waterfall.
Smooth white sheets of river water flowing over broad flat gray stone.
The largest waterfall on Milford Sound, very close to the tourist boat harbor.
Easily the most powerful and dramatic waterfall I've seen anywhere in Europe, this one features intense flow, wide falls, and a long mist-filled.
A black-and-white image of a pristine cascade runs through a rocky forested gorge on the firehole river.
A black-and-white torrent churns through a steep rocky channel, with foaming water filling the center of the frame.
White water spills over a rock ledge into a forest stream surrounded by green foliage.
One of my favorite shots from the park: Baring Falls, near the edge of McDonald Lake stands out against the subtlely colored canyon walls and.
The beautiful cascade on Baring Creek just before it flows into Saint Mary's Lake in Glacier National Park.
A close view captures turbulent whitewater rushing through a dark rocky channel below Yellowstone's canyon waterfalls.
Fast whitewater twisting around rough gray boulders inside a wooded stone gorge.