Thank you to all who provided feedback on my first photo post; I really appreciate it! Above is a photo I took in December in Orderville Canyon in the Narrows of Zion National Park. I rented a full dry suit and ended up submerged to my chest to take this shot. Now, obviously, standing my tripod in the shifting sands of the river is not ideal. However, I often find it necessary. Do any of you have tips for photographing the Narrows? I normally carry my camera gear in a few dry bags and use my tripod as a walking stick up the river. I'll be returning soon and welcome any tips for improving my inexperienced river-wading technique.
Nikon D5100 with Nikkor 18-55 mm kit lens
18 mm
f/16
ISO 100
13 secs
neutral density filter
Targus tripod
**I prefer very smooth water when I photograph rivers, cascades, or waterfalls; however, do you think 13 seconds compromises the quality of this image?
Thanks again!
Posted by Kane Engelbert on February 23, 2014 at 10:46 PM
Hi Crystal, well what do ya know, a shot from Orderville vs the main Narrows...nice twist. I'm curious to know what time of day this shot was taken? When I first viewed it, I thought the sun was burning up your background but realized it was overexposed snow, and not direct sunlight. I'm guessing your 13 sec exposure may be the reason portions of your waterfall and snow are overexposed. I think 13 seconds is too long for the smooth water effect your looking for. I bet you would be happy with maybe 3-5 seconds, plus you would minimize the possibility for camera shake.
At f16 the depth of field looks good on the left but I'm wondering about the right side. It seems a bit out of focus maybe? .
I love the color of the water!
Posted by Don Grall on February 24, 2014 at 8:00 PM
Love the shot and the long exposure that smooths out the water revealing the beautiful reflection of the warm glowing sandstone face. Up to your chest in cold water in the winter could make anybody shake even with a full dry suit although I don't really see any softness from that. Congrats for enduring the conditions! The snow does appear blown out, so maybe a two exposure blend would have solved that.
My only nit is that a part of the waterfall is cut off by the cliff on the right, but I'm guessing moving to the left might not have been an option.
Great shot!
Posted by Ken Henke on February 24, 2014 at 9:10 PM
Crystal,
Not sure you can salvage those blown out areas of snow, but you may try playing with the middle slider on a levels adjustment layer. By lowering the exposure, you should be able to bring out the richness of the background and left side. Of course, that would also lower the exposure on the right side, probably making it too dark. Thus, masking that side out would essential. So, that would require some advanced knowledge of masking and selections. If your are interested, reading some of the info on Tony Kuyper's website would be quite useful. Frankly, luminosity masking has completely changed the quality of my post processing. I was a poor photographer, now I'm at least average
Posted by John Mumaw on February 25, 2014 at 12:22 AM
Kane pretty well summed it up, but my concern is visiting these places in the winter when the sun is at it's lowest.
I've seen this spot when the light is much, much richer and that was when the sun was much higher in the sky, allowing the light to bounce on the sandstone for wondrous colors. Same with almost all narrow/slot type of canyons.
So, my advice would be to try this trek later in the year under much more optimal conditions.
Posted by Bill Pelzmann on February 25, 2014 at 2:30 AM
I love the long exposure for the smooth water pool. But, sunny snow in a dark canyon is about as tough as it gets. I know I couldn't make a composition with this patchy snow work.
If you get a chance, I HIGHLY recommend doing Orderville from the top down. A long day, but incredible fun.
You can get a shuttle that drops you at the trailhead. Our kids consider it one of their best day hikes ever.
Thank you all for your suggestions. I tried to fix the blown out highlights in Lightroom but each time came out with a photo that appeared too dark elsewhere. Thanks for the tip on luminosity masking, Ken! I have never tried this and will do my research.
Posted by Jared Warren on February 25, 2014 at 5:00 PM
Nice work, Crystal. I do think it's often worth the effort to visit great places like this during off-season; your memory of the experience (chest high water in a dry suit in December) may be just as valuable as a nice print. You've received great feedback already. I think the comp works well, but the progression of dark in LRC to light in ULC sort of draws me out of the frame and competes with the main element of the waterfall. Different time of day or season could change that, or sometimes very adept processing, but overall this is good work. Keep these coming!
I'll add a few words on hiking in the Narrows, as I've done it a number of times. I've never done it in the super-cold, though; only with thick neoprene socks (March-November).
I strongly prefer having two trekking poles. In fact, I went out to a thrift store and bought two non-collapsing ski poles (1970's!) for about $6; much stronger and I don't care about scratching them up. I put camera gear in one large dry bag inside a hiking backpack. I use a pretty sturdy tripod and have a strap on the tripod so that I can sling it over my shoulder. When I'm in a "target-rich" section of the canyon, I'll keep the camera mounted on the tripod, the tripod slung over my shoulder, and the sternum strap of the backpack securing the tripod strap from sliding off. Personally, I'm confident enough to hike through knee-deep water with that setup; I hate having to get everything out and put it away again every time I see a shot. I figure the camera is up near my head, and even if I stumble I'm unlikely to fall in completely... (now watch, the next time I go out...) When I'm pretty sure that I won't be shooting for a while, I'll take the camera off and stow it in a second smaller dry bag.
I'd also recommend thinking about a sturdier tripod. I don't know your Targus model, but I'm guessing that it might not hold up against the vibrations from the running water.
Like Kane, I suspect that 13 seconds is overkill for flowing water. You'll probably get the same effect from 2-6 seconds, depending on the amount of water flowing. Nothing inherently wrong with longer exposures, though, unless your tripod gets jostled mid-exposure.
Thanks, Jared! I appreciate the tips, Mark. I agree, I hate wasting time getting my camera set up each time I want to take a shot, although I know it's much safer. I'll try using two poles instead of my tripod, that seems like a much easier way to maintain stability. Yes, I desperately need a better and sturdier tripod, I'm just working on saving enough to make the purchase! Thanks again for taking the time to provide such helpful feedback!
Discussion
10 repliesNikon D5100 with Nikkor 18-55 mm kit lens
18 mm
f/16
ISO 100
13 secs
neutral density filter
Targus tripod
**I prefer very smooth water when I photograph rivers, cascades, or waterfalls; however, do you think 13 seconds compromises the quality of this image?
Thanks again!
At f16 the depth of field looks good on the left but I'm wondering about the right side. It seems a bit out of focus maybe? .
I love the color of the water!
My only nit is that a part of the waterfall is cut off by the cliff on the right, but I'm guessing moving to the left might not have been an option.
Great shot!
Not sure you can salvage those blown out areas of snow, but you may try playing with the middle slider on a levels adjustment layer. By lowering the exposure, you should be able to bring out the richness of the background and left side. Of course, that would also lower the exposure on the right side, probably making it too dark. Thus, masking that side out would essential. So, that would require some advanced knowledge of masking and selections. If your are interested, reading some of the info on Tony Kuyper's website would be quite useful. Frankly, luminosity masking has completely changed the quality of my post processing. I was a poor photographer, now I'm at least average
I've seen this spot when the light is much, much richer and that was when the sun was much higher in the sky, allowing the light to bounce on the sandstone for wondrous colors. Same with almost all narrow/slot type of canyons.
So, my advice would be to try this trek later in the year under much more optimal conditions.
If you get a chance, I HIGHLY recommend doing Orderville from the top down. A long day, but incredible fun.
You can get a shuttle that drops you at the trailhead. Our kids consider it one of their best day hikes ever.
I'll add a few words on hiking in the Narrows, as I've done it a number of times. I've never done it in the super-cold, though; only with thick neoprene socks (March-November).
I strongly prefer having two trekking poles. In fact, I went out to a thrift store and bought two non-collapsing ski poles (1970's!) for about $6; much stronger and I don't care about scratching them up. I put camera gear in one large dry bag inside a hiking backpack. I use a pretty sturdy tripod and have a strap on the tripod so that I can sling it over my shoulder. When I'm in a "target-rich" section of the canyon, I'll keep the camera mounted on the tripod, the tripod slung over my shoulder, and the sternum strap of the backpack securing the tripod strap from sliding off. Personally, I'm confident enough to hike through knee-deep water with that setup; I hate having to get everything out and put it away again every time I see a shot. I figure the camera is up near my head, and even if I stumble I'm unlikely to fall in completely... (now watch, the next time I go out...) When I'm pretty sure that I won't be shooting for a while, I'll take the camera off and stow it in a second smaller dry bag.
I'd also recommend thinking about a sturdier tripod. I don't know your Targus model, but I'm guessing that it might not hold up against the vibrations from the running water.
Like Kane, I suspect that 13 seconds is overkill for flowing water. You'll probably get the same effect from 2-6 seconds, depending on the amount of water flowing. Nothing inherently wrong with longer exposures, though, unless your tripod gets jostled mid-exposure.