I had a very nice nature walk through the Wehr Nature Center in the Milwaukee area over the weekend and spent some time taking (almost too many) photos of the falls. There is one technique I've been wanting to master, not sure what its technical name is (if any exists), but I've been wanting to learn how to slow down water so it looks more misty flowing over rocks.
So, here's what I did: I took photos from different angles and distances using my Nikon D50 set to apperature priority, used a neutral density filter (ND4), and used my monopod. I was also using my 55-200mm zoom lens with vibration reduction turned on.
The falls are challenging because the area in front is well shaded and the sun was shining directly on the falls. The photos were taken between 9:45am and 10:25am on a pretty bright day.
What I'm looking for is feedback in two general areas:
1) Regarding the effect I was going for with the water (i.e. areas to improve)
2) Critique of the shot itself (e.g. would have been better at different time of day, use a different setting, etc).
This first image's data is: ISO 200, 90mm, f/22, 1/6sec
Just realized that I can't post more than one photo each day so, the other two are here:
Posted by scott lanz on August 13, 2008 at 10:29 PM
Eric, the comps are all good. I especially like the second framed by the tree. However, IMO, you took these images under unfavorable lighting conditions, particularly for what you are trying to accomplish. The bright sunshine caused two problems. First, the images are very contrasty (the sunlit water is overexposed while shady areas are blacked out). Second, your shutter speed was a little too fast, given the low water volume, to give you the silky look you're after. I think 1/2 second, or even slower, would have been better, but you were already shooting at f/20, so slower speed wasn't much of an option. You might have tried adding a polarizer to reduce the light (thereby allowing a slower shutter speed). This also would have reduced the glare on the rocks. Also, if your camera allows it, you might have set the iso to 100. Just some suggestions. Hope they help.
One of the things I would try in this situation is to generate an HDR using several photos to account for the light and dark areas. Runing them through a program like Photomatrix seems to work well. This looks like an interesting falls with lots of possibilities, I think photo 2 is the most interesting although I would crop off the sky since it is washed out,
Hey Eric, Scott made some very good points about the light, etc. I completely agree that you need at least 1/2 second to really get the effect you want. One to four seconds might be even better, but that comes down to personal preference. So you will need to bring a tripod too, not a monopod!
Neat falls though - lots of interesting options.
CJ
Thanks to each of you for the feedback and suggestions. They were all quite helpful. Now that I know the falls are there I'll bring things like my tripod and try out a few of the ideas.
Posted by Jack Graham on August 14, 2008 at 7:12 PM
Everyone comments were really accurate. I did take this image & put it into Lightroom 2.0 (New version) I added some work with the graduated filter and shadows and it helped a bit, (SEE ABOVE RE-POST) but the biggest thing is to get back here i the fall, with some leaves all over the place on a cloudy day after a rain with wet rocks & a polarizer. I really like the comp as well.JG
looks like you are off to a good start. I shoot a lot of waterscapes and one thing that is always helpful is cloudy weather. In cloudy weather you don't get shadows or blown highlights and it makes it easier to get the type of shot you are after. Even on a day with limited clouds if you wait a few minutes you can often have the sun blocked out by a cloud even for a few seconds which is all you need.
Another idea especially for small creeks that are in the woods or in a gorge is to shoot early or late in the day when the water is in shadow. You will get the same effect as on a cloudy day and the reduced light will get you longer shutter times as well.
If you really want to get into this type of work I would also get a few more ND filters in various strengths. I would definitely recommend a B+W 3.0 ND filter which reduces the light by 10 full stops
There's been a lot of good suggestions here. Lighting is really the key IMO, and the only way to control it with landscape subjects is to be there when the light is ideal. Stick with it, and keep experimenting to find what works best for you. There honestly are no blanket rules, and different scenes lend themselves to various approaches.
That said, if fuzzy water is your goal, I typically find shutter speeds of 1/4 sec to give a softened look while retaining texture - though this will vary to some extent depending on the falls/water speed. At one second and beyond, virtually all texture is lost and the rendering begins to look more surreal. I personally prefer the former look. Best of luck!
Posted by Toni Lankerd on August 16, 2008 at 5:58 PM
Nice looking falls, Eric. Problems with lighting at waterfalls is the norm, for the most part, but Jack's adjustments work very well.
Discussion
8 repliesI had a very nice nature walk through the Wehr Nature Center in the Milwaukee area over the weekend and spent some time taking (almost too many) photos of the falls. There is one technique I've been wanting to master, not sure what its technical name is (if any exists), but I've been wanting to learn how to slow down water so it looks more misty flowing over rocks.
So, here's what I did: I took photos from different angles and distances using my Nikon D50 set to apperature priority, used a neutral density filter (ND4), and used my monopod. I was also using my 55-200mm zoom lens with vibration reduction turned on.
The falls are challenging because the area in front is well shaded and the sun was shining directly on the falls. The photos were taken between 9:45am and 10:25am on a pretty bright day.
What I'm looking for is feedback in two general areas:
1) Regarding the effect I was going for with the water (i.e. areas to improve)
2) Critique of the shot itself (e.g. would have been better at different time of day, use a different setting, etc).
This first image's data is: ISO 200, 90mm, f/22, 1/6sec
Just realized that I can't post more than one photo each day so, the other two are here:
# 2) ISO 200, 62mm, f/20, 1/6sec
http://www.ericweb.org/test/fallstest-2.jpg
# 3) ISO 200, 55mm, f/22, 1/6sec
http://www.ericweb.org/test/fallstest-3.jpg
Thanks!
Neat falls though - lots of interesting options.
CJ
Another idea especially for small creeks that are in the woods or in a gorge is to shoot early or late in the day when the water is in shadow. You will get the same effect as on a cloudy day and the reduced light will get you longer shutter times as well.
If you really want to get into this type of work I would also get a few more ND filters in various strengths. I would definitely recommend a B+W 3.0 ND filter which reduces the light by 10 full stops
That said, if fuzzy water is your goal, I typically find shutter speeds of 1/4 sec to give a softened look while retaining texture - though this will vary to some extent depending on the falls/water speed. At one second and beyond, virtually all texture is lost and the rendering begins to look more surreal. I personally prefer the former look. Best of luck!