How do you photograph waterfalls?

[Jack E]

Hey guys,

I have a Canon EOS350D

I want to be able to take those those nice photos of waterfalls where the water looks cloudy but everything else looks normal.

According to the little book which came with the camera I set the dial to "Tv".
I then select a slow shutter speed.
Supposedly the camera will sort out the aperture and the exposure will be correct.

However, all I get is a white screen which I assume is because the photo is over exposed.

I don't know if I am setting too slow on the shutter speed but I have tried many variables with the same result.

Any help appreciated.

Cheers, Jack

[markharrison]

Basically, you need a slow shutter speed. Generally I would use a manual exposure using the camera's metre to calculate the correct aperture opening for the shutter speed.

[ciscokid]

Use a tripod and experiment with holding the shutter open for increasing amounts of time until you get the effect you desire. This is generally used to accentuate the motion of the water. Quite a nice effect if pulled off correctly.

[Jack E]

So should I be able to set the aperture to suit any shutter speed or do I need compromise?

For example, I have a plug in switch which allows me to open the shutter for as long as I like, but if I can't set the aperture to suit my photo will be incorrectly exposed.

Cheers, Jack

[Jack E]

Use a tripod and experiment with holding the shutter open for increasing amounts of time until you get the effect you desire. This is generally used to accentuate the motion of the water. Quite a nice effect if pulled off correctly.

That is exactly what I was doing.
With a slow shutter speed I was getting incorrect exposure, the only way I could get a correct exposure was to have the shutter speed too fast to get the nice effect.

Cheers, Jack

[bitingmidge]

You live in an area that's got a bit of stray light!

At low shutter speeds you may simply be running out of aperture adjustment.

Make sure the ASA is set at the lowest you can (100 I think on your camera), if you have a filter use it. A polarizing filter would be really good.

You may even need one of those filters that does nothing more than block light!

Start off at 1/60 on tV and see if the lens is stopped right down. Work your way down the shutter speeds until you have it nutted out. The beauty of digital is that you can just keep trying till it works.

If it's as bright as I think it is, you may be in trouble! :D

I'm guessing you aren't taking this one on TI eh?

Cheers,

P
:D

[Jack E]

Midge,

Not many waterfalls on TI:D
I was trying to take some nice waterfall shots on the drive through Cape York. I gave up on the dSLR and used the little Casio Exilim instead.

It is fairly bright up here and I have a 18-200 Tamron lens fitted, not sure of its aperture range.

What is ASA and how do I set it?

Cheers, Jack

[Jack E]

Peter,

When you said ASA did you mean ISO.
I checked the ISO and it was on 1600 which is the highest for my camera.
That may have been the problem:) .

Also, in one of the reviews in a link you provided, there was reference made to photoshop CS2. Do you know i this is available for "free" or does one need to purchase it. If so, roughly how much.

Cheers, Jack

BTW, my lathe is locked away in a container for the next 18 months.
I guess that makes me young again:D

[munruben]

Don't know about digital cameras for this kind of shot but with a SLR 35mm I would set the camera at f32 and bracket the shot by opening the shutter for 10 seconds and move up from there in increments of 5 seconds for daylight and night time would try bracketing from about 1 minute and adjusting the exposure time accordingly.

[Jack E]

My lens only goes to F22, but I understand your point:)

Thanks, Jack

[bitingmidge]

When you said ASA did you mean ISO.
I checked the ISO and it was on 1600 which is the highest for my camera.
That may have been the problem:) .
Yep ISO.
That'll do it every time! :wink: You'll find you'll get a much cleaner shot with the lower ISO, Less "noise".


Also, in one of the reviews in a link you provided, there was reference made to photoshop CS2. Do you know i this is available for "free" or does one need to purchase it. If so, roughly how much.
Not for free. Photoshop is the full Pro Job. I use photoshop elements (http://www.adobe.com/ap/products/photoshopelwin/) which is around $150.00.

I'm sure there'd be a freebie out there, but don't know too much about that windoze software stuff!


BTW, my lathe is locked away in a container for the next 18 months.
I guess that makes me young again:D
Only if me not using mine makes me young too! :p

Cheers,

P
:D

[Jack E]

Can you do the corrections you linked to on photoshop elments?

Cheers, Jack

[Grunt]

Try this free photo editor. Paint.Net (http://www.getpaint.net/index.html)

It's quite good, actually very good for a freebe.

[woodbe]

Waterfall shots aren't really hard. All you need is the willingness to spend a bit of time getting a good angle, then adjusting exposures so you capture a range of effects. You do have to watch out for blown highlights, so avoid taking shots in bright sunlight. As with most photography, the best time is early morning and the golden hour in late afternoon.

Here is one I did in march:

http://bellavist.com/blog/wp-content/photos/3403_070328.jpg

It was taken at ISO 100, F8, for 6 seconds

And this one:

http://bellavist.com/blog/wp-content/photos/3404_070328.jpg

Same scene and light, but I backed the ISO off to 50 and managed 15 seconds at F11

Usually, for this sort of shot, I set the camera to Av and adjust the the Aperture (no less than 5.6, no more than F16), then tinker with the ISO if I'm having problems getting a slow enough shutter speed. Given the time taken to setup, I usually take a few shots at different exposures, they all come out differrent because of the moving water and bubbles.

And yes, Tripod is absolutely required for repeatable shots like these. It's too hard getting to wonderful locations like this to come back without good photos...

woodbe.

[ian]

My lens only goes to F22, but I understand your point:)

Thanks, JackJack
as others have said you need a tripod and a shutter speed slower than ½ seconds – which means the lens needs to be stopped right down.
Regardless of how low your lens goes, if you're serious about bluring the water get yourself a one or more Neutral Density (ND) filters
an ND2 will double the shutter speed for the same aperture setting (depth of field) i.e. a ½ second will increase to 1 second for the same exposure
an ND4 will multiple by 4, i.e. a ½ second will increase to 2 seconds for the same exposure

the filters can be stacked


ian

[Grunt]

Here are a couple of hand held waterfall shots. Taken at 1/10 of a second @ F32.

http://www.users.on.net/%7Egril/Photos/Back%20Paddock%20Waterfall.jpg

http://www.users.on.net/%7Egril/Photos/Back%20Paddock%20Waterfall2.jpg

[Amb]

I want to be able to take those those nice photos of waterfalls where the water looks cloudy but everything else looks normal.

Have you tried pointing the thing at the waterfall and pushing the button? You'll probably find that there is no need for anything technical, just leave the camera on auto. The water will naturally look 'cloudy', because it is moving. Everything else looks 'normal' becuase it is not moving.

[thetassiebfg]

Another thing to remember is that if you ar going for slower shutter speeds then other moveable objects (trees, shrubs, flowers, animals) will also blur so they are best taken on a still day..

May be a point you have already thought of but thought i would mention it.

[Ernie47]

It is pleasing to see there are still people willing to manipulate their camers's controls to make photographs rather than point & shoot and take snaps.
The answers are all there, Jack.
Tripod, slow ISO (or ASA or even DIN if you are from Europe,) Aperture priority, f16 or smaller aperture, ND filters if it very bright, polarising filter (if the light is reflected at the right angle.)
Hope you are still somewhere near the waterfall!

Ernie.

[Ianab]

Another thing I find with waterfalls is that a cloudy day often makes for better pictures. The lighting is more even and you dont have the high contrast between sunlit and shaded areas.

Other than that, what the guys have said, set min film speed (ISO) and aperature, set up on a tripod and let the camera pick the exposure time. Depending on light and camera type it may come out .2 - 10 secs, but that gives a nice blur to the water.

Also do some high speed shots as well, where you try and freeze the water drops, makes an interesting comparison.

Cheers

Ian

[Jack E]

Thanks for your help guys, all good info.

I am not near the waterfall anymore but it is not far to Cape York from here and there are heaps.

Cheers, Jack

[Harry72]

I tried my hand at doing a slow speed shot turned out Ok I guess
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v725/ST170ish/IMG_0680.jpg

You want waterfalls to take pictures of, take a trip and go see Ianab... he's probably surrounded by them!
Like this
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v725/ST170ish/IMG_0329-1.jpg
This is one of my best shots
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v725/ST170ish/IMG_0323.jpg

[Cliff Rogers]

How do you photograph waterfalls?
... all I get is a white screen ......
Jack.... get out of the waterwall first. :2tsup:

[Ianab]

Yeah.. got a few waterfalls here :)

This one is about 10 mins up the road, Dawson falls on Mt Egmont.
http://www.geocities.com/ianab/egmont/daw02.jpg

Shot was taken with 35mm SLR, tripod, 100 ASA film, min aperature and time as picked by the auto exposure (around 1sec if I remember right) Overcast day gave more even lighting.

Cheers

Ian