The trunk inside the waterfall
Jul, 2014Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
The trunk inside the waterfall was taken in the Rhein Falls in Schaffhausen (Switzerland), the larger waterfall in Europa. I walked down the stairs carved in the rock until near the water and I was lucky to find the trunk that was standing stuck inside the fall surrounded by foamy water. The noise of the fall hitting the rock bed was impressive and the place, a humid terrace below the Laufen Castle (Schloss Laufen), was continuously showered by water drops.Time
The picture was taken in the afternoon around 4:00 PM in early spring. The location was very special. The foamy water was everywhere and the rocks surrounding the fall painted nice shadows in the otherwise completely white water, widening the range of tones.Lighting
The sun was still high in the sky and illuminated the foamy water in a brilliant white. The power of this photography lies to a great extent in the contrast between the dark trunk, the pure white water and the deep shadows. The strong light condition allowed using high speed (1/5000) at low ISO (200).Equipment
The shot was taken with a Nikon D300s and Sigma's 17-70 mm F2.8-4 DC Macro OS HSM. I had to use the longest focal distance (70 mm) what let me with an aperture of f/4, enough anyway for the light conditions.Inspiration
I saw the photo as soon as I saw the trunk going out of the water in the middle of the foam. I moved as close to the water as I could and used the longest focal length to carry the focus of attention towards the trunk. The rest was easy. I tried different speeds to study how the moving water was looking. Not surprisingly a fast speed that froze the foam was providing the greatest texture.Editing
The post-processing was relatively straightforward. I worked with the raw file to adjust the white balance, increase the contrast and make the shadows deeper. Finally I cropped it slightly to get the final picture.In my camera bag
I take most of my pictures during short trips or in longer holidays. I normally try to keep the weight of my equipment low so that I don't need a big bag for my garments. This implies that I seldom take a tripod or a second camera with me. I like my Nikon D300s. It is fast, reliable and robust. Until I can invest in a high end camera is perfect for me. At this moment I have a short zoom (Sigma's 17-70 mm F2.8-4 DC Macro OS HSM). I am happy with its sharpness but I am seriously thinking in getting a longer zoom (100-300 mm) that can give me more options for landscape and cityscape shots.Feedback
This is shot that appeared quite unexpectedly, so a first advice would be being ready for the magic of the moment that we photographers permanently seek. Great spots like this fall always guarantee few good shots. But don't get satisfied with a single shot of a trunk. One needs to look for the best fit of the elements within the frame. In this case, finding the best balance between the bright foam and the dark shadows and capturing the details of the frozen water are essential to build a perfect shot.
