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Cwm Idwal path
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Cwm Idwal path



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I took this on the path to the popular location in Snowdonia

I took this on the path to the popular location in Snowdonia
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cameraCanon EOS 7D

settings Aperture f/25 ISO 100 Shutter 25/1 Focal Length 36/1 

upload_dateOct, 2015

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582

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Awards

Great Shot
Superb Composition
christrabant jarenmorris sacirsuruliz ChrisBee453 pikkiewolmarans dan_williams28 najgallemilio +7
Absolute Masterpiece
giacomoflisi Hercmech roberttaylor andrevondeling KoralC angelparentperez JeannieMatteson +2
Top Choice
cstar lorrainesouthern ivanfurman ginaschmucker Bruz diegoscaglione JimJims +2
Peer Award
jiha_1591 colinshepherd khanspecial virgiljlee ImagesByLouisa colinwilkes KarYan
Superior Skill
DocTom truereflectionsbyshauna
All Star
patrick7778 kathleenweetman
Magnificent Capture
shanecorby snapshots16
Love it
jkrmi
Outstanding Creativity
PeteLlevares

Top Ranks

Beautiful Waterfalls Photo ContestTop 10 rank
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My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 3Top 10 rank week 1
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3 Comments |
truereflectionsbyshauna
 
truereflectionsbyshauna October 13, 2015
This is so lovely.
kathleenweetman
 
kathleenweetman February 10, 2016
Great walk to a lovely scene....Feel like I am there...Voted k
angelparentperez
 
angelparentperez February 10, 2016
I love the way the water flows. Beautiful shot. It has the calmness with the flow and colors.

Submitted to Photo Contests

Tags

#waterfall #cwm #Idwal #snowdonia #north #wales
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Behind The Lens

Location

I took this on the well-trodden path up to Cwm Idwal in Snowdonia, North Wales.

Time

This particular shot was taken around 10:30am in the Autumn (October 22nd 2014), a good time of year up in the mountains because the air is cooler and therefore purer for sharper photos.

Lighting

The sky was a little dull which I think is great for this type of long exposure shot, I have taken waterfall shots in sunshine only to see the water having badly blown highlights due to the sun reflecting in the fastest spray sections which just ruins the effect for me.

Equipment

This was one of the first times I had really attempted this type of waterfall shot, a tripod is pretty much essential and unless you are shooting in very low light, a filter such as an ND is needed in order to get the slow shutter speed required. On this particular shot I used a Hoya NDX32 screw-in type filter (5 stops) which got me 25 seconds at f25 which was slow enough to get the milky waterfall effect I wanted. Camera was a Canon 7D mk1 but I cannot for the life of me remember which lens I used (it seems to be missing from the exif data), it just may have been my Canon EFS 15-85 or a Sigma 17-70.

Inspiration

Absolutely everything about the location inspires me, North Wales is a photographers paradise, if you have never been and have the chance to go, please, please take it! providing the North Wales curse (rain) holds off, you will not regret it! Anyway, I had gone up to Cwm Idwal armed with filters to try to get a perfect mountain reflection shot in the famous lake (Llyn Idwal) but on the way up the path I saw this small waterfall which just cried out to be captured.

Editing

The only thing I did to the raw image was adjust levels and then did a very minor amount of sharpening in Photoshop.

In my camera bag

I now have the MK2 version of the Canon 7D and 99% of the time I only carry 2 main lenses, the EFS 15-85 and the EF 100-400L. I also pack a canon 1.4 TC and I carry a Polarising filter and 3 ND filters of different strengths, ND4, ND8 and ND32. I also carry a Rode Video GO external mic and a 10mtr cable which I use for wildlife videos if I can get close enough to setup.

Feedback

In my limited experience of this type of shot, it is preferable to have a dull day with little or no wind (especially if there are leafy plants appearing in the shot), as well as a sturdy tripod. It can sometimes be awkward to get the best framing so waterproof boots can be useful as you can occasionally may find yourself wanting to stand in the water to get the best position! (But take care!). I usually take various different shutter speed exposures because sometimes a fast capture is good, and sometimes slow milky water looks better. It is also essential to regularly check and wipe clean any spray that gets on the front of the lens. I once learned this the hard way, happily snapping away then getting home and finding water spots on my photos!

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