I visited these beautiful waterfalls with my photography club on the weekend. The water springs from the sides of cliffs. There are countless springs varying in size. This one was the largest we saw. I experimented with a variable neutral density filter for the first time. It was fun to create the smooth effect of the water. This shot was an 8 second exposure. I am curious as to whether this is the right shutter speed? Too long, too short? Any other comments or suggestions are welcome.
Well I don't know what I'd do differently - this looks perfect to me, and definitely a fav. I think the long exposure works really well in smoothing the water. Those falls look spectacular.
ps. IMHO I think the 8 second shutter speed has worked perfectly. The cliffs in the foreground are sharp so provide the perfect contrast to the moving water
Lovely shot, this looks right, but slightly shorter or much longer exposures can change how the water appears quite a lot. It also depends on the amount and speed of the water. If I try these, I end up with a load of shots that are identical except for the water, and then have to pick which is best. This looks best.
Looks perfect to me, smooth and milky asd it´s supposed to be, I really love that magical glow on the stream especially at the left right, I´d say 8 seconds seams to be perfect for these kind of shots
So beautiful, looks absolutely stunning to me. Can't help with critique unfortunately, my shot would have none of this amazing quality if I took it :-)
I love it. For your consideration only, though, I went to an outdoor photography workshop last summer and when we went to the waterfall the instructor told us to try for a 60% rock-40% water ratio in our composition. When I compared my 75% water to my sister's 40% water images I found her's more appealing to my eye. Still, I had fun. You might play with some crops aimed to take out some of the water just to see if his suggested ratio appeals to you.
@aecasey Thank you, April! I never thought about that. I figured more water less rock was better. I actually cropped out some of the rock on the right to accomplish that. I will play around. Thank you for sharing.
One thing I noticed, and this may just be me... I found my eye bouncing back and forth between the crisp foreground and the silky water without really coming to rest on a focal point. For me, the falls are the star of the show and the colorful rocks in the foreground are the supporting actor. But because the foreground is in sharpest focus, it draws my eye away from the falls. April's suggestion to try including more of the surrounding rock might remedy this. Of course, if it makes you happy as is, that's what counts, right? Good job on your new experiment!
@aecasey I was told similar info when I took my course last fall. Wonderful Lisa - just watch out for the overexposure in the water. I hope to get the ND filter this summer to play with. You are now making me want to go through my water photos from the fall season. I may just post one tomorrow since I miss seeing moving water (rather than frozen)! ;)
I wrote a long comment before then lost it. I love the exposure here Lisa and the crop, however it is interesting to try different exposures and compositions to see which pleases you the best. I went on a photo walk with Canon yesterday and we shot a small waterfall but I got more of the foreground in because I was shooting on one of their cameras and it was a wide angled lens so I couldn't use my ND filter, it was suggested to me to change my white balance to give a different effect than my first shot and I thought it worked well and preferred it. I am sure yo must have taken quite a few different shots. Anyway it's a fav from me.
My favorite part of this is the POV you chose, Lisa. I also learned a lot from the thread so appreciate your posing the question. I just love the water and was drawn to it immediately, and did not find the sharper focus on the forefront to be an issue as I thought it was a framing device for the falls. Wow and fav!
I like everything about this capture. The water is soft and beautiful and yet the land at the right is sharp and colorful. Nice light too. It works for me!
Whoa! I think this is perfect. If this is where I think it is, you made the choice to include just the bottom half of the falls, when everyone else would do the natural thing and include it all. That choice filled the frame beautifully. An obvious fav.
@rvwalker Hi Ross, thank you so much. I'm delighted you like it. I think you do know where this is. It is the falls near Ritter Island which I recall you visited on your way home from Boise last summer. Unfortunately, Ritter Island was not open but we did enjoy photographing the falls.
@sansjuan Hi Nita, thank you so much! I really enjoyed meeting you, too. It was so fun to get together. I hope we can do it again soon. Next time we'll have to go on a walk on the Greenbelt.
Beautiful shot! I love this area and always come home with some good keepers. Which camera club do you belong to? I have been wanting to join one in our area.
For my tastes, beautifully done, great silky water capture. Are *you* happy with it? If yes, then it was the right shutter speed for this shot whatever the rest of us think. :-)
The only thing wrong with this is that I wish my screen were 6 ft wider. Brilliant, it has everything. Composition, colour tones, perfect water movement with lovely white to blue tones. Fav, many times over. Expect to see it in the T20 later.
Congrats on the T20 Lisa, sorry I missed this when you posted it. You go, girl :)
ps I agree with Sean, I wish I had a huge screen to admire it, too!!!!
@gwynkm Hi Gwyn, sorry this response is delayed. I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to offer a critique. I really appreciate it. I can see what you mean about the rocks competing with the falls. i will experiment on toning down their colors.
@kass Thank you for your feedback, Kass. I appreciate the critique. You are right. It's easy for the highlights to go too far in a shot like this. Hoping I can adjust in LR. Thanks again.
@elaine55 Hi Elaine, sorry for my tardy reply... I wanted to thank you for your detailed comment. I appreciate the tip about the white balance. That is something I don't think about when shooting. I know it can be a great creative element that deserves consideration. Your Canon photo walk sounds like great fun and learning opportunity.
Judging from the exposure of the land, the shutter speed was perfect for the specific filter. The slower your shutter speed, the more misty the falls will become, creating a softer effect, like the effect you have here. The sharpness of the plants in the fore- and background is, in my opinion, essential in this kind of shot to "anchor" the picture...you want to capture the movement of the water, not an earthquake! So, extremely well done (I think!)!
This is beautiful...........this is another of your stunning shots I have missed, I've followed you for ages, but you are not showing in my feed and I must have missed so much :( FAV
One thing I noticed, and this may just be me... I found my eye bouncing back and forth between the crisp foreground and the silky water without really coming to rest on a focal point. For me, the falls are the star of the show and the colorful rocks in the foreground are the supporting actor. But because the foreground is in sharpest focus, it draws my eye away from the falls. April's suggestion to try including more of the surrounding rock might remedy this. Of course, if it makes you happy as is, that's what counts, right? Good job on your new experiment!
Great shot...............and a fav
ps I agree with Sean, I wish I had a huge screen to admire it, too!!!!