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Waterfall

NIKON D750

settings

Aperture f/22 ISO 100 Shutter 1/1 Focal Length 580/10

upload_date

Mar, 2016

Views

494

Likes

+40

Awards

Action Award

Zenith Award

Creative Winter Award

Curator's Selection

Legendary Award

Spring Selection Award

Outstanding Creativity

+15

Top Choice

+15

Absolute Masterpiece

+14

Superb Composition

+14

Peer Award

All Star

Magnificent Capture

Emotions

Impressed

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Behind The Lens

Location

I took this photo at Canaan Valley, WV, and these falls are called Blackwater Falls. They are very accessible; from the visitor center parking lot it will only take a few minutes to walk on the trail to the viewing areas.

Time

I was able to take this image on my first trip to Canaan Valley, and my wife and I definitely wanted to see the falls. We arrived early afternoon sometime early in December 2015. The weather was overcast and rainy. We walked down the trail from the parking lot, knowing we were close to the falls because the rush of the water was loud and overpowering, even from far away. We walked to the closest viewing area available. I set up a tripod, and tried as best I could to cover my camera with a plastic bag that I made a hole in to put the lens through.

Lighting

Lighting was not ideal; it was midday to early afternoon and it was very overcast, causing the sky to be very bright. I used a f22 to combat the bright grey sky so I could take a longer exposure to get the misty water effect. It would definitely be amazing to try this location again in the spring or fall during a sunrise or sunset.

Equipment

I have a Nikon D 750, and I used the 24-120mm lens it came with. I did use a tripod and remote shutter, but perhaps most importantly I used a plastic bag with a hole in it for the lens to keep the equipment dry in the rain. My wife was also very helpful, holding an umbrella over us as I shot!

Inspiration

Photographing nature is one of my favorite things because there are a lot of beautiful things to capture, but it is also very enjoyable to walk through new trails and enjoying the day hiking. Sometimes you find the site you are after; other times you are completely and pleasantly surprised by what you can find. I have seen a lot of amazing photos of running water and falls, and for this shot I wanted to capture the grace of the falls with the misty running water effect. I also took some shots with a faster shutter that captured the power of the falls by stopping the motion of the water, but this particular photo and effect turned out best for me.

Editing

I am still new to post-processing, but most of what I did was in Lightroom. Due to it being winter, it looked quite dead so I did bring out some of the green in the remaining leaves. I overexposed the photo a bit while shooting, so I brought the exposure down to reduce the whitewash look of the water and to bring out the brown color in the water. I also sharpened portions of the photo, like the rock features to bring out a little texture, in Photoshop.

In my camera bag

Photography is a new hobby for me, so I am still accumulating items. Right now I carry my D750, a 24-120mm lens, a 105mm macro lens, and a 50mm f1.8 lens. I also carry a tripod,some wipes for the lenses, and one extra battery.

Feedback

The goal for me in this photo was to capture that misty running water effect. A stable tripod and a remote shutter greatly reduce shake for the longer exposure that is required to get the motion blur of the water. Practice this technique by finding any source of running water--stream, river, falls, even a fountain--and experiment with different exposures and apertures. Every situation will vary greatly due to the lighting conditions, so there is no one right way to do this. In shutter mode usually a half second to a second will achieve the effect, though. It is also fun to use a faster shutter speed to stop the water in motion.

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burkeada

Waterfall

Behind The Lens

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