Photographing Waterfalls Developed and presented by
Harry O’Connor [email protected]
May 3, 2010
All photos by Harry O’Connor
Introduction
• Waterfall photographs are landscapes • Typical landscape considerations apply:
– Foreground interest – Leading / diagonal lines – Rule of thirds – Geometric shapes – Framing elements
• Special considerations apply – Flowing water – others
Connestee Falls
Near Brevard, NC 2
Special considerations
• Flowing water – How much blur
• Icicle look to fog look
• Exposure – Right for the water vs. right for the rocks, etc.
– Right for the water vs. right for the sky
• Terrain – Valley with shadows
– Open overhead leads to bright spots
– Limited views
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More often too much light than too little
light
Waterfalls are where you find them… Sometimes volume and beauty are not synonymous
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Unnamed flow New River Gorge, WV
Looking Glass Falls Pisgah Nat’l Forest, NC
Although you don’t find many around the triangle
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Map from: http://www.northcarolinawaterfalls.info/map.html# Top resource: North Carolina Waterfalls, A Hiking And Photography Guide By Kevin Adams 590 pages, 13 color & numerous B&W photos Published by John F. Blair, Publisher, 2005 Price: $19.95
Caution!
• Waterfall photography can be dangerous
– Steep drops
– Slippery rocks
– Falling / loose rocks
– Unexpected flows
– Snakes, bears, other critters
– Poison ivy, poison oak, thorns
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International caution symbol from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Caution_sign_used_on_roads_pn.svg
Agenda
• Equipment needed or useful
• Basics of exposure
• Applying the basics of exposure to waterfall photography
• Some photos to discuss / evaluate
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Necessary / useful equipment
Camera with adjustable aperture / shutter / ISO settings and filter screw-in thread Lens: wide to moderate in most situations; sometimes a telephoto gets the good shot
Tripod
Cable release
Circular polarizer
Neutral density filter
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Raingear
Straight JPEG files
• All photos in the next section are full frame, straight from the camera card jpeg files with no modifications unless otherwise explicitly stated.
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A polarizer reduces light and reflections
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It is useful to differentiate blue sky / white clouds Put it on and rotate front glass and effect is visible Without polarizer With Polarizer
120426_1516_90
200
1/1600 sec
F9
120426_1516_91
200
1/320 sec
F9
Note: BOTH these images had a slight levels adjustment to alleviate a somewhat muddy cast.
A polarizer reduces light and reflections
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It is useful to reduce reflections in water, glass etc. (non metallic) Without polarizer With Polarizer
120420_1242_71
320
1/125 sec
F8.0
120420_1243_72
800
1/100 sec
F8.0
A polarizer reduces light and reflections
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It sometimes reduces unseen reflections to enhance apparent saturation Without polarizer With Polarizer
120315_1314_36
200
1/320 sec
F4.5
120315_1314_37
200
1/80 sec
F4.5
A neutral density filter just blocks light
• When there is too much light for the desired aperture / shutter combination, ND will block light and allow the desired setting
• ND filters come in “whole stop” increments
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ND name Optical density # stops
ND2 0.3 1
ND4 0.6 2
ND8 0.9 3
ND16 1.2 4
ND32 1.5 5
ND64 1.8 6
Table derived from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutral_density_filter
NOTE: For this discussion we are referring to round, screw-in ND filters. You can also get square partially clear / partially ND filters that can be placed in front of a lens to affect only part of a frame.
Most useful, if you only buy one
EXPOSURE TRIANGLE
100 200 400 800 1600 3200 6400 SENSOR SENSITIVITY (ISO) less Noise more
Basic Exposure
14 Many versions of this graphic exist. Search “Exposure Triangle” for hundreds of hits.
The “perfect” exposure is a full bucket of water
ISO is sensitivity of the sensor…
the amount of water (light) required to fill the bucket
Low ISO takes more light to fill the bucket
High ISO takes less light to fill the bucket
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The “perfect” exposure is a full bucket of water
Aperture is the opening in the hose Shutter speed is the time to let the water flow
A coordinated hose size and flow time lead to a full bucket
The gardener takes longer to fill the bucket with the small hose than the fireman takes with the large hose
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How your camera sets exposure (Auto)
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Shutter
ISO 4
100 2
200 1
400 1/2 Aperture
800 1/4 f64
1600 1/8 f45
3200 1/15 f32
6400 1/30 f22
1/60 f16
1/125 f11
1/250 f8
1/500 f5.6
1/1000 f4
f2.8
f2
f1.4 Probably biased toward a low ISO like 200 Probably biased toward a “hand hold-able” shutter like 1/125 or above Probably biased toward a mid aperture of f8 to f16 But other equal combinations exist (see )
It reads the light and calculates the best compromise of the three variables:
Note: Each camera maker and camera model has its own algorithm for exposure.
How to set and use your camera at waterfalls*
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* Harry’s opinion based on experience and research ** Your camera might have a different indication
1. Auto ISO off; set as low as you can, 100 or 200 2. Mode to Shutter priority; “S” on most cameras, “Tv” on Canons 3. Set shutter to slow speed; ¼ or ½ second a good starting point
Steps 1 2 & 3 result in the camera choosing the best aperture for calculated correct exposure
4. Mount on Tripod, attach cable release, screw in polarizer filter 5. Frame shot 6. Rotate polarizer to darkest setting or near darkest setting 7. Depress shutter part way and review shutter / aperture values
If aperture value is high and blinks**, the scene requires a smaller physical aperture than your lens has; choice is to use ND filter or faster shutter speed
8. Take a test exposure and review as indicated on the next slide
Review your histogram and look for “blinkies”
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Under exposed --- Slower shutter or Wider aperture or Higher ISO
Good overall exposure No blown highlights, Minimal blocked shadows
Over exposed --- Faster shutter or Narrower aperture or Lower ISO or ND filter
Most cameras display blown highlight / blocked shadow indications with blinking warnings. Here, Blue indicates pure black, Red indicates pure white Generally, you want to avoid pure white in the water and sky by adjusting for less exposure.
Histograms and blinkies simulated in Photoshop but are similar to what is available in many cameras
Have Fun!
• Bracket
– Auto if you want to bracket every shot, or dial in exposure compensation for some shots
• Move around
– Get close to or in the water
• Try slower / faster shutter speeds
• Get the “big picture”
• Look for interesting details
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Next we’ll look at some samples of photos shot with different settings
I went to Umstead Park to take some photos of a waterfall there to illustrate this presentation
• The day was overcast but bright. Note the absence of bright sun or dark shadows.
• You don’t see a waterfall?
• Look closer
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The upcoming series of photos was taken with the camera set with ISO fixed at 100 and Mode at Shutter Priority. Then I manually decremented the shutter speed.
No filter
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120420_1214_24 100 1/30 sec F5.0
No filter
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120420_1214_26 100 1/8 sec F13.0
No filter
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120420_1215_28 100 5/10 sec F20.0
No filter
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120420_1215_29 100 10/10 sec F25.0
Polarizer
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120420_1221_35 100 1/15 sec F5.0
Polarizer
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120420_1222_39 100 10/10 sec F25.0
Polarizer
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120420_1222_40 100 20/10 sec F32.0
4ND
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120420_1227_50 100 20/10 sec F32.0
Shoot RAW!
• The photos used to illustrate the shutter and filter points were JPEG to avoid issues of manipulation, but in real situations there is often detail available in RAW exposures in both the shadow and highlight areas that has been compressed out of the JPEG exposures.
• Use the recovery and fill light sliders to bring out detail, as well as the exposure slider to fine tune the overall image.
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All photos from this point forward are from raw images processed in Photoshop.
Hidden Falls
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Hanging Rock State Park, North of Winston-Salem > 14 foot drop 060617_1018_57 100 2 f32
Bald River Falls
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Tellico Plains, TN Just off Cherhola Skyway > 100 foot drop 070720_1029_34 3 exposure HDR 400 1/4, ½, 1 f22
Blackwater Falls
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Blackwater Falls State Park, WV Northeast corner of WV > 60 foot drop 090624_2209_95 800 1/50 f18
Middle Falls
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Near Brevard NC > 6 foot drop 111029_1035_79 800 1/4 f14
Thanks for listening
• Many hints and tips available by searching for “Landscape Composition” or “Waterfall Photography”
• Many locations (including free map and brochure offers) by searching “NC Waterfalls”
• If you need a copy of this presentation, or have any questions, send me a note at:
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