Waterfalls for Terry

[Brownbear]

Terry suggested that I try photographing the waterfalls the day after a heavy rainfall to capture the abundance of roaring water that occurs the day after. So I tried.

All hand held because the terrain is just too rough and slippery to navigate and manage carrying a tripod.

#1 Lynn Canyon Falls (photographed from a suspension bridge)

f/8 SS 1/100 ISO 640 Focal Length 24 mm




Twin Falls - Difficult to compose an image because it is hard to get around in this area.


#3 f/10 SS 1/50 ISO 1600 Focal Length 24 mm


I tried bracketing again but I made a mess of bracketing (too much over or underexposure... and chaos deciphering the order of the images).

Processed the underexposed image in Adobe Photoshop CC using Levels and Curves to lighten the underexposed rocks and forest. I realize my colours are all washed out but I prefer this to the overly colourful version below. (I did increase the saturation)



Processed in Lightroom combining 2 Exposures using LR Enfuse. Too saturated for my preference



I will be trying for these types of images again later this year. Hopefully by then I will be more comfortable with bracketing and/or have invested in some filters. (and seen improvement in my post-processing)

These I'm sharing because simply because Terry suggested I try, to share my learning experience and also simply to show the beauty of the roaring water.

[Polar01]

Christina you are getting better at this, I think with #3 if you find the darkest black and set that as the black point I think you will see that the image will pop nicely. This is where having Photoshop instead of just LR can really polish an image rather quickly without a lot of work. Keep up the good work, if it was easy everyone could do it.

Cheers: Allan

[Brownbear]

Thank you for your encouragement. Landscapes are impossibly hard but I will keep trying.

In image #3 I moved the black point (in ACR) to lighten the exposure on the underexposed rocks. Is this not the correct way to do this?

Christina you are getting better at this, I think with #3 if you find the darkest black and set that as the black point I think you will see that the image will pop nicely. This is where having Photoshop instead of just LR can really polish an image rather quickly without a lot of work. Keep up the good work, if it was easy everyone could do it.

Cheers: Allan

[Polar01]

I would set my black point than up shadow slider to bring out the detail in the underexposed rocks, remember that you also have an adjustment brush in ACR where you could have increased the exposure of those rocks.
As I said you are getting better just relax as there are not rules and it is your reality.

Cheers: Allan

[Mike Buckley]

In image #3 I moved the black point (in ACR) to lighten the exposure on the underexposed rocks. Is this not the correct way to do this?

That's one way of doing it and it works fine so long as doing so doesn't detrimentally affect the rest of the image. There are lots of ways to do it:

• Leave the black point alone adjust the curve;
• Adjust the curve and the black point; or
• Select the underexposed tones and adjust them using whatever method you prefer.

[Brownbear]

Allan and Mike...

Thank you for advising. I will try an edit tomorrow for the learning experience. I am going to try and photograph these falls again at a later date. Appreciated.

[FrankMi]

Processed in Lightroom combining 2 Exposures using LR Enfuse. Too saturated for my preference

Nice captures Christina, I really like the third one!

When I run into this kind of an issue I either back up a step or two or, if it's too far back, I'll just kick the saturation down a bit. I've had times when after playing for a while, I just don't like the result and set it aside for a bit. Some images I've had to go back to several times. I have two images in particular that I go back to about once a year and still am not satisfied with how they are tuning out! They provide a little forced humility that helps keep my head from getting to big!

[Shadowman]

Nice, I like that last shot.

[Stagecoach]

Good series Christina and you did well without the tripod. I especially like the composition of No 3 and with a bit of balancing between the two versions it'll be great.

Grahame

[Lon Howard]

I tried bracketing again but I made a mess of bracketing (too much over or underexposure... and chaos deciphering the order of the images).

I have made just a few attempts at bracketing while hand holding, never with any success. Are there any tools or plugins that can compensate for the inevitable camera shake?

(Feel free to move this if appropriate)

[IzzieK]

Beautiful Christina...I like the third one too for the reasons already stated.

Yes to your question Lon -- you can do it in Photoshop CS6.

[Mike Buckley]

I forgot to ask the following:

Processed in Lightroom combining 2 Exposures using LR Enfuse. Too saturated for my preference

Why didn't you desaturate the areas you feel are too saturated?

[Nancy Moran G]

You just gotta love waterfalls
I wonder if a little off the top of #1 would help?
Am too new to help with pop, but the water seems overly bright. But as someone said, can you address the
areas you think are over saturated?
Congrats on hand holding and getting clear shots!
Nancy

[Loose Canon]

Wow Christina!

That drop is ripping! Looks like you caught it at a great level and it really paid off getting there after a nice soaker!

These are all good and I’m liking the shot you consider over saturated.

Sometimes a little saturation boost here and there, and a little contrast boost here and there not only gives a little pop, but adds to at least the illusion of sharpness if not the actual sharpness itself.

I also think we are seeing too much saturation at times and as a whole might be getting too used to seeing it and therefore accept it as the norm. But I would bet if you showed both of the shots to non-photographer types 10 out of 10 would like the more saturated version better.

It’s a fine line sometimes and as usual it always comes down to personal preference.

So let me lay something on you for consideration Christina. If you look at the lower pool, and look at the upper pool where the fall starts, would it look to you as if the photo is fairly well canted to left? In other words would the shot benefit from a counterclockwise rotation?

[Brownbear]

Thank you to everyone for your help and advice. I've learned a lot from this try and I expect that as summer approaches and the water levels drop that I will be able to get down to a lower position, hopefully with tripod in hand.

Frank.... Thank you for sharing. I have several images that I've placed on my to do list to edit in future. Partly because I'm still working on developing a vision and partly because I still learning to post process. Truly appreciated.

Grahame, John, Nancy, Mike, Isabelle, Lon... Thank you for your comments and tips. Appreciated as always.

Lon...

Please always feel welcome to ask anything and contribute anything on my threads. They are all about learning and if someone else can learn while I'm learning I think that is a wonderful thing. When I don't have a tripod with me I try to find something to brace myself against (in this case a tree I climbed up on) or something stable to place my camera upon. Better to have a tripod but not always possible.

At this time, I'm just learning to process images in Adobe Photoshop CC so I don't know anything about aligning images but I found this link which might be helpful to you. (and likely also to me in future)

http://www.photoshopessentials.com/b.../align-layers/

Nancy... After another look, I agree. I cropped the 1st image on the top and also off of the left side, and re-posted in the original posting. The water is truly that beautiful (perhaps a bit bright) (as seen in the LR Enfuse image)

Isabelle... I'm truly surprised that you didn't mention the "Man embedded in the rock face"

Grahame... Yes, the revision is somewhere in between the two and still to be discovered!

Mike ... I'm not sure why I didn't think of desaturating the LR Enfuse image. I suppose it is all part of learning just what can be done with post processing. I was quite surprised to see how much I could lighten the underexposed rocks. Thank you. In my revised edit you will see a desaturated version.

Terry ... Thank you for encouraging me to visit the falls the day after a rainfall. You were right the water was roaring and I will be visiting these falls again on a later date and trying for a sharper image. I'm still learning what I like and yes, I suspect that many would prefer the saturated version. I tried to post process these again and although both are improved in terms of colour, neither is quite right. An image I will have to revisit at a later date.

I deleted the blurry water image. I posted it simply so you could see the abundance of white water.

Thank you for tip on rotating the image. (done in the edit below) Honestly, I'm not sure if the angle is right or not because I was in an odd position when trying to capture the image.

When I started out it was sunny. The falls are only about 1 1/2 hour hike from where I live. I decided to continue exploring. The skies opened up, and after 4 hours of hiking I was thoroughly drenched, but I learned that my camera bag does indeed keep my camera dry. Bonus - I found a beautiful patch of forest shrouded in mist that I plan to revisit (with tripod in hand)


Processed in Photoshop CC (Black and white points left as photographed (selectively increased exposure using the adjustment brush in ACR (exposure and shadows) and the curves tool)

A little more vibrant but still not enough so.



Desaturated and Rotated LR Enfuse Version

The originals were not cropped so rotating the image cropped the image and changed the composition.




Thank you to all!

[Loose Canon]

Oops! Sorry about that!

Meant to say "clockwise" rotation!

[Brownbear]

Hi Terry,

No worries. It served as a refresher for differentiating clockwise from counterclockwise!

Rotated clockwise...

Oops! Sorry about that!

Meant to say "clockwise" rotation!

[Mike Buckley]

Notice that the image that you post-processed in Photoshop CC displays more detail in the whitewater.

Ironically, the best way to emphasize the highlights in clouds or water is to ensure that there are plenty of grey tones. By displaying the greys alongside the whites, the detail is displayed and the whites actually look brighter even though they aren't. Comparing your two versions provides a great example of the detail that is displayed when the grey tones are used as in the Photoshop CC version and the lack of detail when the grey tones aren't used as in the Enfuse version.

[Brownbear]

Yes, I noticed that and indeed tried to keep the detail in the water. Hopefully the exercise provided me with enough knowledge that I will be able to do this again in future.

Notice that the image that you post-processed in Photoshop CC displays more detail in the whitewater.

Ironically, the best way to emphasize the highlights in clouds or water is to ensure that there are plenty of grey tones. By displaying the greys alongside the whites, the detail is displayed and the whites actually look brighter even though they aren't. Comparing your two versions provides a great example of the detail that is displayed when the grey tones are used and the lack of detail when the grey tones aren't used.

[bnnrcn]

Hi Christina, I like both compositions very much. Although majority likes #3, #1 is a very nice image too and it might look better with some PP