Alva Glen Waterfall

dudler (e2 Member)

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1 Feb 2013 - 2:18 PM

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I've uploaded a mod, with text explaining a couple of tweaks that I think improve the pictrue a fraction.

Your exposure is spot on, which can be tricky in such situations.

Clearly, you've used a tripod, or soemthign equally stable: good!

However, the EXIF data shows that you have used auto white balance: much better to have manual control in almost every circumstance. (I tend to leave it on the sunshine setting - as with colour slide film, this means that I get the coldness of overcast light, and the full warmth of sunsets). If things go awry, you can always tweak in processing - especially if you shoot RAW files as well as jpegs.

The composition is fine, though there's an option to crop on the right to give a "rule of thirds" composition - however, waterfalls can look good with a central and rather symmetrical composition, emphasising their stateliness.

Constructive Critique!

paulbroad

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1 Feb 2013 - 3:04 PM

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Yes, good of it's type but there is that faint warm colour caste which needs adjustment. You can still do that as dudler's mod clearly shows on the JPG. You use the colour mixer. OK, best get the white balance correct initially, but white balance is only a colour cast within the colour temperature range, degrees Kelvin.

We had a colour temperature meter at work, which was useful, but time consuming. You just need to correct to a colour that suites, but usually whites should be corrected to white.

Paul

Constructive Critique!

pamelajean (Critique Team)

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1 Feb 2013 - 3:52 PM

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As your first attempt at this subject, James, you have done very well. Blurred water cascades are a popular photographic subject, and even small cascades can look like raging torrents when captured this way.
It was obviously your intention to smooth the flow of water by using a three second shutter speed and Shutter Priority, so you knew what you wanted and how to achieve it.
You need to use a tripod, self-timer or a remote cable release for a shot like this, as shots taken with longer shutter speeds are more prone to shake, but I assume you know this.
For really milky shots, speeds as long as ten seconds could be needed. However, if areas of the water begin to overexpose (appear too bright) you'll need to fit a filter to use the slower speeds you want without 'blown out' areas spoiling your shot. A polariser as well as a neutral density filter are handy for cutting down the amount of light reaching the camera sensor.
The foliage around the fall is attractive, and you have used it well to frame the water.
There is a pink cast to your picture. This could be due to using auto White Balance.
There are a few bright areas on the fall, but I find these acceptable. If your Exif is correct, you took this at about 10am. You will find that early morning or late afternoon on an overcast day is the perfect time to photograph waterfalls using this particularly technique. If you try and shoot later in the day, particularly during sunny, summer months, bright sun stops you using slow shutter speeds and the contrast may be too strong.
In my modification, I removed the pink cast, which was quite noticeable on the water. There is something that looks like a white figure at the top of the water, amongst the trees. I feel that this might be a part of the falls, but it kept drawing my eye and I couldn't help wondering what it was, so I treated it as a distraction and ended up cloning it out. In my second modification I tried a crop, but am still unsure about it. Because the foliage either side of the fall is all very much the same, I don't think the composition matters too much, and is just a case of preference.
Pamela.

Constructive Critique!