A benefit of being early on the trail, you can setup your tripod anywhere you want without having to worry about blocking anyone. I set off up into Ricketts Glen as the sun was still rising, and had reached this point just as the light was starting to fall into the gorge, having seen only two other people on the trail.
The instinct is usually to rush forward and set up at the water’s edge, with the waterfall as the focal point of the image. But over the years I’ve learned to slow down, to take a moment and study the scene to see what other opportunities may exist. In this case, setting up mid-trail to capture that leading line and placing the falls between the strong verticals of the tree trunks give the image extra depth.
And then, with this one in the bag, I did indeed rush to set up at the water’s edge!