Waterfalls...

[ladybugamanda]

Okay - one of my new obsessions is waterfalls. So, off on a trek through Mt. Rainier park I went. First lesson learned - mid day isn't a good time. Second lesson learned - the longer your shutter is open the more light that comes in - DUH! I was proud of myself for getting out of 'auto mode' and learning some stuff. I was even able to articulate to a young man how to shoot the falls when he stopped me on the trail and asked. Here are two waterfalls that I shot. What should I remember when I go back to shoot them on a cloudy day - or at the end of a sunny day? What is a good rule of thumb for length of exposure? The first shot was 2.5 seconds and the second was .5 seconds. Thanks for looking and for your advice.

[Greg McCary]

Those are nice LBA. They do seem a little bright. Do you use filters at all? You can use them to lower your shutter speed...

[Dylan8i]

as far as shutter speed goes, i have found it depends on the waterfall itself. how much water, how much of the river below (or above) you want blurred, etc. i basically start where the camera would normally take and bracket a few until i can fine tune how much blurr i want.



these look good however i like the secondone better than the first, because the first one about half way down hits that rock and it jsut becomes a white mess, no pretty lines.

[ladybugamanda]

Thanks Dylan and Gary. I don't have any filters - yet. I don't know a lot about them either but I'm ready to learn! Where would be a good starting place and what would the cost involved be? I used a Canon Rebel XT. Thanks! And I'll go see if I have another shot of the first waterfall with out the "white mess"!

[Dylan8i]

The bottom getting white is more due to the waterfall itself not how you shot it. the top half looks like a good shutter speed, so if you speed the shutter speed up then the bottom won't blurr as much but the top wouldn't look as good.

its just the subject not how you shot it. and its not bad, but for a better pic that is what i look for.

[ladybugamanda]

Thanks for the clarification. I am pleased at how they turned out considering it was my first attempt! My husband is sure a patient guy to wait around, pack my stuff and hike up and down trials to get to where I want/need to be! There will be more to come - just as soon and our schedule allows us to get back out there.

[racingpinarello]

Hi..
For starting off these look very good. It's very easy to have the exposure wrong with so much white water so it's important to understand how to meter around the water by finding a neutral tone. You can use your spot meter mode in the camera to find the proper exposure.

Also, I also use a polarizer sine it will take the reflection off the water and prevent bright spots. It will also enhance the color since the water reflection off the rocks will be eliminated.

Loren

[Paul.S.]

I like the first of the two and agree that the nature of the subject is what over exposed the water further down. IMHO the exposure could have shorter. Also there appear to be two artifacts at the top of the waterfall which would lead me to believe your CCD/CMOS might have dust on it, but that is something easily corrected with the clone tool in Photoshop.

When shooting waterfalls I try to pick days with either hazy/overcast skies for diffused lighting or if I need the blue sky in the shot then when the sun is illuminating the waterfall directly. And as mentioned I use a polarizing filter to kill glare and I will bracket the shot +/- 1f after metering.

cheers,

[Greg McCary]

Everyone needs a polarizer. Mine stays on my camera more than off. Try B&H photovideo. You can pay as much as you like for one but I just got a mid-range priced one. Make sure you get one the same mm as your camera lens. My Canon takes a 52mm. But it's a film camera. I have seen some pros use a blue filter for waterfalls with amazing results. You did real good on these. I'm impressed....

[racingpinarello]

Using filters does bring up another point...

If you are shooting Velvia (like I do) I will use a warming filter and a polarizer. The light tends to be very cool (blue) so you want to adjust for it since most film is set for daylight.

With digital, I would use the polarizer, and use the shady WB setting. If you want to really blur the water, use the slowest ISO you have and use a tripod.

Loren

[ladybugamanda]

Greg and Loren - you are hurting my brain with all this techie talk that exceeds my knowledge. I did use a tripod on these. Need to figure out how to adjust the WB (and what it is). I will proudly share that each one of you was with me at those waterfalls yesterday. My first several shots were just blown to hell and I was stymied. I stood there and thought about it and figured out the error of my exposure and went on. Had it not been for these forums I wouldn't have been able to do it!

[WsW-WYATT-EARP]

I really like the 2nd one ... to me the first one was just too long of an exposure and the bottom half just looks like a white blur ...

but I also think that when it comes to waterfalls everyone has their own likes and dislikes on what the water should look like ...

both are great photos .. but I am more partial to the 2nd one ... I really like the way the water looks in that one .... excellent on them both .. wish I had some waterfalls near by to hike to ....

[Greg McCary]

LBA, You might try a book titled Teach Yourself Photography. It explains in easy to understand language all about filters, flashes, lenses, film speeds and all. It can easily be read in an afternoon. It covers waterfalls, sunsets, nightshots, backlit subjects, ect..ect..ect. It's cheap too at Amazon.com. It was written before digital became so popular but the basics are the same.
I am glad to hear you are out of auto mode too. You will take much better pictures in manual.

[WsW-WYATT-EARP]

LBA, You might try a book titled Teach Yourself Photography. It explains in easy to understand language all about filters, flashes, lenses, film speeds and all. It can easily be read in an afternoon. It covers waterfalls, sunsets, nightshots, backlit subjects, ect..ect..ect. It's cheap too at Amazon.com. It was written before digital became so popular but the basics are the same.
I am glad to hear you are out of auto mode too. You will take much better pictures in manual.

I bought this book on Gregs advice he gave to another person trying to learn... Best 9.50 i ever spent ... i bought a used book from amazon ... author is lee frost .. as greg stated .. it touches on about everything , portraits , nightshots , waterfalls , sports , and it goes on and on in very easy to understand descriptions. the book is a bit dated and in the choosing a camera section it is mainly film cameras but the rest is all pretty universal ... great book, i made sure to thank greg for the advice he gave to someone else that i followed!! :thumbsup:

[ladybugamanda]

Thanks Greg. Or maybe I'll call you GMC! LOL You are a great help and I appreciate the time you take to comment.

[LeeIs]

This is a great discussion. I don't have much experience shooting falls, but the above advice makes sense to me .

WB is White Balance. This could be ultered in most cams.

I like the 1st one myself even with the over exposed bottom. I think the composition there is stronger than the 2nd.

Having said that, you're on the right track ladybugamanda. It's all about experimenting and figuring things out and you're on the fast track to do just that.

[ladybugamanda]

I'll certainly hunt the book down! Is it worth owning or is checking it out from the library enough?

[WsW-WYATT-EARP]

well worth owning ... i carry it right next to my manual ...

[efeaker]

I love water photos... I think these are wonderful, very nice pics. My favorite is the second one.