waterfalls

[Rita]

In my venture to practice shots with water I went to a waterfall this morning and here are my results. Any feedback is most welcomed. My thoughts on these are:
1. Shows how big this fall is compared to the 2 young men standing at the bottom of the pic. I didn't realize till I saw this on my computer but about half way up the tree on the right hand side there is something black & tan, looks like some kind of animal but not sure what it is.

2. I liked this scene when I saw it but I am not sure about the outcome in the pic.

3. This one is my favourite of the set but I am uncertain wether the composition is any good or not. Can I improve it somehow?

1.


2.


3.

[Mike Buckley]

Photo 1: A creative concept with lots of scale to give the impression that the viewer is looking through the trees. Despite the creativity, the composition doesnn't quite work for me because the image is mostly the trees; I feel as if the waterfall is hidden from me.

Photo 2: Excellent composition

Photo 3: Try a square crop to eliminate the stuff on the right side that doesn't provide helpful information.

Two issues that apply to all three images:

If you use a polarizer, you can reduce or eliminate the glare on the leaves, wood and rocks. Doing so will give the impression of increased saturation though in a very natural way. Notice that few of the leaves have glare in the third image, which makes them appear much richer.

Notice that you have blown the highlights a little (not a lot) in all three images. To retain detail in water, which is really important, you don't want any blown highlights. Don't be concerned if you lose shadow detail, as much or all of it can be retrieved during post-processing. To expose properly in the future, check your histogram after each capture and/or check for blinkies. If the data extends past the right side as in the case of all three of these images or if blinkies are displayed, reduce your exposure until all of the data on the right side is recorded in the histogram and there are no or at least darned few blinkies. If there are a few blinkies, make sure they are in completely unimportant areas.

[IzzieK]

No offense, Mike but I do like #1. We are talking of waterfalls here so I looked at just the waterfall. You went beyond. I didn't so your perspective might be better than mine. Just that I am not very fond of long exposures? so I like #1 better for what I want to see.

[Rita]

Mike, your feedback is much appreciated. I don't have a polarizer, yet. It is one of the many things on my list though. A reshoot is possible on the next nice/semi nice day we have and I will certainly take your advice when I go back. A new crop of number 3 is attached here. Is this the kind of idea you had in mind for the crop?

[Rita]

Izzie, thank you.

[Digital]

Rita, nice images. In regards to #1, IMHO I believe you need something on the left side of the photo to give the photo more balance.


Bruce

[Mike Buckley]

That crop works great for me, Rita. Exactly what I was thinking.

[Mike Buckley]

We are talking of waterfalls here so I looked at just the waterfall.

Help me out, Izzie. How do we justify viewing only one-third of an image?

[NorthernFocus]

Nice set of images of some nice falls. A lot of potential here. My comments as follow:

1. The people in the frame do add a sense of scale. Nice shutter speed for this fall. IMO a vertical pano crop would even further enhance the sense of how high the fall is and would eliminate the dead space in right side of frame. On tall falls like this a vertical 2x1 or 3x1 crop can really work well.

2. The rain forest really provides a lot of opportunity. IMO the bottom third of the shot adds nothing. And you know the old saying, if it doesn't add then it subtracts. You REALLY need to get a polarizer. They don't have to be expensive and they make a HUGE difference in this type of shot.

3. My favorite of the set. Great selection of ss and the cropped version of this one is much improved compositionally IMO.

It's really nice to have access to such beautiful falls in your area. Your doing well with the techs. Try some different crops/formats and get that polarizer.

[David547]

waterfalls will photograph best in light overcast. Light overcast produces a light that is gentle but which still has enough power to bring out the colors in a scene.

[Rita]

Bruce, thank you for the feedback.

Dan, thank you for your comments, I am including a new crop of #1. I will be going back to re-shoot but it is supposed to rain for the next week Hopefully I will get a polarizer by then
You are right that I do live in a beautiful area and since taking up photography I am appreciating it even more than I did before.

[Rita]

Oops, didn't add the new crop. Here it is....

[Rita]

David, thank you for that, I will keep that in mind next time I go there

[Colin Southern]

Hi Rita,

For #2 you could get a cracker shot by getting down really low with a wide-angle lens about 1/2 way up that scene - like this ...

[deetheturk]

Great set Rita,I would never have guessed the size of #1 had the men not been in the shot,well done,is that one of my flies in there

David

[Rita]

Colin, thank you for posting the pic as an example for me. That gives me an excellent example to work towards.

[Rita]

David, these falls are really quit high. They are rated as the 38th highest in BC. The entire falls are 400 feet but only the bottom 200-250 feet are visible. I have seen them many times driving down the highway but today I hiked up to the falls and was really amazed at how spectacular they really were.

If one of your flies was there it would be a lot wetter than coming out of the dog dish. Oh wait, your fly couldn't of been there because I killed it last night

[Colin Southern]

Colin, thank you for posting the pic as an example for me. That gives me an excellent example to work towards.

You're welcome Rita. If it helps, here's a pull-away shot showing my setup for that shoot.

[deetheturk]

They really look amazing,I have just arrived in Scotland,not a photographic trip,and I'm viewing them on an iPad so I nearly missed the men at first glancekeep up the good work,and stop killing my flies

David

[Rita]

they really look amazing,i have just arrived in scotland,not a photographic trip,and i'm viewing them on an ipad so i nearly missed the men at first glancekeep up the good work,and stop killing my flies

david

lol.