first waterfall shot..

[EXILER]

okay ladies and gentelmen.. just wanted to see how i can improve this shot... and how i can make this shot better if i go back to the same location...

so lets hear your comments critiques and suggestions.



exif
camera: D200
exposure:1/3
aperture: F20
iso:100
focal length: 12mm

btw i realized that the sky was over exposed but i wasnt sure how to fix this in post process... so i was told to spot meter the sky next time... so ill have to go back and try that technique..

[Wylde007]

beautiful photo!! nice dreamy water happening and i love the star of light from the sun!! nice colour too!! can't offer any more than that due to my embryonic stage of photography!!

[barabe]

Very nice picture, You did a great job on it. The sky does not bother me at all with all the beautifull colors and the silk waterfall. If you meter for the sky, you will not be able to acheive anything more than a silhouette of this scene and no silk waterfall because you will have to use a fast shutter speed. Personally i would not change anything but if the sky bothers you take another shot with the exposure on the sky and merge the two in PP.

[LeeR]

I like the long exposure and the creamy movement of the waterfall. If you go to street art fairs you see a lot of this kind of thing, with inexperienced people saying things like, "Isn't it amazing the way he captured the movement of the water" as if it was by some magic. You have also successfully included the sun in your image and even made it a feature rather than a problem to overcome. However, the sun has left you with one unresolved issue: the lighting on the buld of your image is rather flat. There are some post production things that might help you; for instance, some healthy burning and dodging could add some interest in the foreground and there are some other techniques too lengthy to go into here.
Long story short: great shot, could use some fill light.

[EXILER]

Originally Posted by barabe

Very nice picture, You did a great job on it. The sky does not bother me at all with all the beautifull colors and the silk waterfall. If you meter for the sky, you will not be able to acheive anything more than a silhouette of this scene and no silk waterfall because you will have to use a fast shutter speed. Personally i would not change anything but if the sky bothers you take another shot with the exposure on the sky and merge the two in PP.

thanks.. that might be something i have to try... i guess that over exposed sky isnt that bad.. but i think go back and try and take one regular shot and then spot meter the sky and merging them in PP like you mentioned above... i doubt that i will get the nice sun flare though... i got lucky on that ... it was more of a right place at the right time kinda thing...

Originally Posted by LeeR

I like the long exposure and the creamy movement of the waterfall. If you go to street art fairs you see a lot of this kind of thing, with inexperienced people saying things like, "Isn't it amazing the way he captured the movement of the water" as if it was by some magic. You have also successfully included the sun in your image and even made it a feature rather than a problem to overcome. However, the sun has left you with one unresolved issue: the lighting on the buld of your image is rather flat. There are some post production things that might help you; for instance, some healthy burning and dodging could add some interest in the foreground and there are some other techniques too lengthy to go into here.
Long story short: great shot, could use some fill light.

hmmm.. thanks for your suggestions leer..ive always enjoyed looking at waterfall pictures. so when i came across this one i couldnt pass up the chance and i was totally unprepared.. i didnt have a tripod or a remote... so i used a backpack and the self timer. i really liked this photo and thought it was print worthy so i wanted to touch it up where i could. i will try some of what you suggested about fill light and dodging and burning in hopes to make this photo better...

[dakwegmo]

For your first shot this is amazing. Very nice work. Some things to think about for next time. The composition doesn't really work for me. The waterfall on the right is running right out of the frame, plus the trees, sky, rocks, and water all seem to be isolating the right third of the image from the left two thirds. If you want to include it, I think you would need to move back so you can get more of it in the frame. Alternatively, I would just leave it out. I think a vertical oriented shot, of just the waterfall on the left would give you a much dynamic image.

For the exposure, I agree that it could use some fill light. I'd recommend either using a graduated ND filter, or shooting two images, one exposing for the sky and one for the water, then blending them in post. Because it's not too dark, you can probably fix this without introducing much noise, but on a brighter day, if you were to only shoot one image exposed for the sky, you wouldn't be able to get an image worth printing.

All in all though, you've done a really good job. I think if you were to crop this to vertical, and add some fill light, you would have an awesome shot.

[leviathan]

Lovely shot. Other than the sky being blown out, I think it's wonderful!

[EXILER]

Originally Posted by dakwegmo

For your first shot this is amazing. Very nice work. Some things to think about for next time. The composition doesn't really work for me. The waterfall on the right is running right out of the frame, plus the trees, sky, rocks, and water all seem to be isolating the right third of the image from the left two thirds. If you want to include it, I think you would need to move back so you can get more of it in the frame. Alternatively, I would just leave it out. I think a vertical oriented shot, of just the waterfall on the left would give you a much dynamic image.

For the exposure, I agree that it could use some fill light. I'd recommend either using a graduated ND filter, or shooting two images, one exposing for the sky and one for the water, then blending them in post. Because it's not too dark, you can probably fix this without introducing much noise, but on a brighter day, if you were to only shoot one image exposed for the sky, you wouldn't be able to get an image worth printing.

All in all though, you've done a really good job. I think if you were to crop this to vertical, and add some fill light, you would have an awesome shot.

thanks for the valuable input. i think my best bet is to go back to the location and shoot this scene over... theres so many things i would do differently now... its funny that you said that the right waterfall was distracting. i understand why you would say that but i just didnt see it at first glance. i know you said to try this shot (minus the right waterfall) in a vertical oreintation but i dont think it looks as surreal (you can see some other compositions HERE my next approach when i go back to this place will be to take multiple shots to show the detail all around including the sky. thanks again dakwegmo

Originally Posted by leviathan

Lovely shot. Other than the sky being blown out, I think it's wonderful!

thanks for the kind words leviathan...