Waterfall pics

[brewmaster15]

Was playing around recently at a waterfall with the camera. I'd have preferred the lighting to be softer as there were some sunlight patches that over exposed. I always do better with these shots in the early am or late afternoon, but still not bad for mid day, harsh light. These images are taken with the camera set on Bulb. Using a tripod, I basically hold the shutter open for various amounts of time. If the aperture of the lens is set to the smallest opening (in this case F22) and the lighting is low enough and evenly distributed, you can get some really neat pictures of the water as it streams over the falls. Its something that you can't do with autofocus on a Dslr. I rarely use auto features on my cameras. prefer manual and having more control over my mistakes.:)

I haven't made any adjustments to these images, just straight downsizing to Jpegs for the forum.



http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=83243&d=1408296871

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=83244&d=1408296871

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=83245&d=1408296871

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=83246&d=1408296871

-al

[tacks]

Al very nice. Is that near your house? Ed T

[brewmaster15]

Hi Ed,
Its about 4 hours from me, in the Green Mountains of Vermont(rte 100). Took a drive thru them and snapped some shots.:)

-al

[Second Hand Pat]

Al, I like the water effect in the first two shots but suspect the water is more realistic in the last two shots. Moving water can be a complicated subject.

[brewmaster15]

Pat they are all longer than normal exposures but the first 2 are the longest....Thats how you get the silkie flowing look. But you really need to do it on a tripod , and cable release works best, but you can use your finger if you don't shake the camera.

This is abit more like what a camera would capture the falls in standard imaging.

http://i1309.photobucket.com/albums/s623/Snakebyte2/IMGP2174_zpsd450b5c7.jpg (http://s1309.photobucket.com/user/Snakebyte2/media/IMGP2174_zpsd450b5c7.jpg.html)

-al

[brewmaster15]

I wish I could get the above pic with us and the silky water...but we would blur.
-al

[Second Hand Pat]

Great picture of the family. If you guys held really still perhaps you would not blur. :D

[brewmaster15]

Pat, Thanks, its going to be a Christmas card pic probably.:)

Its a chore to get a 11 and 13 YR old to stay put and smile for any Pic!
-al

[Second Hand Pat]

Pat, Thanks, its going to be a Christmas card pic probably.:)

Its a chore to get a 11 and 13 YR old to stay put and smile for any Pic!
-al

It does Al but you do it.

[Discus-n00b]

Nice pics Al. Al, take 2 shots. One of the silky water then stitch your family in from another photo. With a tripod and remote shutter it should be easy to not have the camera move and make the stitching easier.

I'm dying to get a set of Neutral Density Filters for myself. Will do wonders for silky smooth water.

[brewmaster15]

Al, take 2 shots. One of the silky water then stitch your family in from another photo. With a tripod and remote shutter it should be easy to not have the camera move and make the stitching easier. Thanks Matt I thought of trying something like that...be we lost out private water fall.:( Can you believe that other people showed up there and wanted to take pictures also! Jeeze The nerve of them! LOL:) I will have to try it here as theres a few streams I know of that are a moderate hike and private.


I'm dying to get a set of Neutral Density Filters for myself. Will do wonders for silky smooth water. Matt I have alot of various camera gear here....I probably have ND filters and circular polarizers I no longer use or need. What size do you need..I 'll take a look see if I have anything in my boxes of gear.

-al

[Discus-n00b]

Haha! I'd be looking for the 4x4 square type of filters as I have a filter holder that attaches to the front of the lens and allows me to stack them.

[brewmaster15]

Haha! I'd be looking for the 4x4 square type of filters as I have a filter holder that attaches to the front of the lens and allows me to stack them.
Bummer can't help with that! Sounds like ebay or B&H photo is what you need!

-al

[pauline]

Those are all gorgeous pictures. I was going to say a particular one was my favorite but then I'd see something in another one...and so on. :)

[Disgirl]

Wow Al, you are quite the photographer! That pic of the family will be wonderful as a card, and the others would be calendar-worthy. I love all waterfalls, none of them here at the beach, except for the 3' tall one going into my Koi pond out back.
Barb

[brewmaster15]

Thanks Pauline and Barb!:)

-al

[rickztahone]

Al, you and Matt are spot on about ND filters for waterfalls. I have used a few in the past, and I have found that the best ones for my purpose are the screw on ones. The square filtered ones are great, but they get really expensive quick if you go for Lee big stoppers or something like that. I have found that the Cokin ones are good entry level. I had some HiTech 85's and they did the job well on a budget. I took this shot with a set of 3 stacked:
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7381/12774754655_87ed56c961_c.jpg (https://www.flickr.com/photos/rickztahone/12774754655/)
Arboretum Waterfall revised (https://www.flickr.com/photos/rickztahone/12774754655/) by rickztahone (https://www.flickr.com/people/rickztahone/), on Flickr

However, some of the best results I have gotten have been with screw on ones because during editing I have noticed less color shifts.

Either way Al, the easiest way to have a family portrait with the silky background is simply to get an ND filter that allows you to get over 1 second exposure, preferably around 5sec or so. Then, if you have off-camera flashes, set them to rear sync wireless. No matter how slow the shutter speed is, the flash will freeze any motion from your family, but will burn in the silky background of the waterfall. Think of the light streaking technique.

[brewmaster15]

Very Cool Picture Ricardo, Thanks for sharing it!

-al

[khooyang]

I have some old waterfall shots:

http://www.redbubble.com/people/passtube/works/6982817-archive

http://www.redbubble.com/people/passtube/works/6626619-beech-forest-fall

I am not sure if you are a fan or stitching photos?

If you want, you can use ND filter to create a creamy waterfall effect and then another photo with your family members. And then in PS, stitch them together by layering in PS. Some people just like natural 1 shot photo.

[SMB2]

Eukala Falls West Virginia.
No ND filter here, just a dark rainy day before sunset. I do use a circular Vari-ND filter to slow the shutter speed.
http://i899.photobucket.com/albums/ac196/LongLure/20141009_EukalaFallsWVa_171558_0683wtmk_zps86b65e1 b.jpg

[khooyang]

Another more recent shot of mine:

https://500px.com/photo/56522032/mckenzie-fall-by-ray-yang?from=user

:)