This man died at a waterfall for what was likely a crap photo – sometimes it’s safer and better to compose landscapes from afar

On August 10, the main headline in Oregon was the sad story of a 20-year-old man who fell to his death while taking a picture at a 177-foot-tall waterfall.

Zachary Nicholas Mertens, of Burlington, Kentucky, climbed over a barrier at the top of South Falls’ upper viewpoint at Silver Falls State Park. He then, according to state police, crossed the creek directly above the falls to pose for a photo before tragedy struck.

Now, I must say that the authorities assume that Mertens took the risk for photos, as the Oregon Police bulletins and local news coverage mention nothing about any images being recovered, nor a smartphone or camera.

However, the upsetting report comes amid concerns of Gen Z outdoor explorers getting into increasing trouble while trying to capture Instagrammable content.

And if this was the case with Mertens, then I imagine he was after some gnarly selfies looking down into the torrenting falls, for which he paid the ultimate price.

But even if the assumptions are correct, and even if Mertens had come away with the snaps successfully, I don’t think they would’ve been anything special at all.

I haven’t been to South Falls, but I’ve now looked at enough photos, and also taken enough photos of waterfalls, to know that from atop, the perspective just doesn’t do these landmarks justice.

Maybe Mertens’ pictures would’ve been good. Perhaps they would’ve given us a tight, uneasy feeling in our stomachs.

And after all, renowned photo historian and photographer in his own right, Peter Adams, famously said: “Great photography is about depth of feeling, not depth of field.” Although so many things would’ve had to have gone right for Mertens.

From ensuring he didn’t fill the background with the falling water and not the pool at the base, to getting enough of himself in the frame, the images would’ve been tricky at best.

If only Mertens had looked at pictures of South Falls beforehand, or perhaps taken a second to appreciate how fantastic the falls look amid the surrounding nature, he might’ve realized that the better, and non-life-risking, option would’ve been to shoot it from afar.

I don’t get the impression that Mertens was a photographer by any stretch. There’s no way he would’ve decided to capture the falls from atop if he was.

But even with only a smartphone at his disposal, judging by some of the pictures I’ve included in this article, there’s no doubt he would’ve come away with some great snaps of South Falls if taken from afar.

Now, not all landscape shots are better composed from distance. As someone who does a lot of outdoor photography, some of my favorite images are close-ups of hikers on trails or of the finer details, like leaves juxtaposed against tall trees in the background.

But when getting close is extremely risky, like it was for Mertens, it’s time to reassess your idea for the composition by looking at the scene from a few steps farther back. The likelihood is you’ll find a decent, if not better, frame to take.