Camera Labs

Ok, first off the following photo was done with a Point&Shoot on Auto



My plan is to return to the same spot this summer with my T2i and retake this pic again, what would you do to improve it.

My biggest concern is the huge block of light coming thru right in the middle of the pic. My desire would be to slow the shutter to get that nice look on the water but but don't see how I could with that area of light. What else would you or could you adjust to fix a mixed-lighting situation like this

Also, would you use a polarizing filter in this situations like this?

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Mike "The Squirrel"
Canon 550D | Canon EF 35mm 1:2 | Canon 50 f/1.8 II | Sigma 18-125mm DC OS | Tamron SP 70-300mm Di VC USD | Canon 430EX II
Military Issued Canon 40D | Canon 55-250mm IS

!st thing would be to pick a less bright day, or a different time (sun & water don't generally work) Tripod & longer shutter speed would also help.
You could also BKT 3 shots & merge them to help with shadows etc.

Looks a lovely place & good POV on your shot.

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Nikon D700 & D7100 bodies + Nikkor 300mm F2.8 VR11, 1.7TC, 50mm F1.4G, 16-35mm f/4G VR, 105 F2.8 VR macro, 70-300mm lenses. A couple of filters, Giotto tripod & ballhead. Lowepro Slingshot 302 AW

http://www.flickr.com/photos/oldcarlos/

Thanks, I figured time of day would be an issue. Would a polarizing filter do anything for this or do you only use a polarizing filter when you are getting direct sky.

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Mike "The Squirrel"
Canon 550D | Canon EF 35mm 1:2 | Canon 50 f/1.8 II | Sigma 18-125mm DC OS | Tamron SP 70-300mm Di VC USD | Canon 430EX II
Military Issued Canon 40D | Canon 55-250mm IS

Polarizing filters can help with water refelction/glare on sunny days.

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Canon 7D + 50D + EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM + EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM + EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Pelican // Black Rapid // Think Tank // Manfrotto // Garmin

Reflections On Canadian Wildlife
My Flickr

Return there on a cloudy day, maybe even after the rain if you wish to boost some more saturation. Add a polarizing filter to it to slow the shutter speed even more and reduce some of unwanted reflection and this will boost the saturation too. Try to do several different compositions, I would suggest to take the camera lower to the ground, but I can't say for sure because I am not aware of surrounding area that is not included in your shot.

I agree - overcast or when there's even light in the scene.

I'd think about taking my tripod and setting up by where the branches are in the foreground, getting the camera really low by the water's edge. It might need a wide angle to capture the scene in portrait orientation, but stopped right down you'll get good depth of field.

Then I'd either go for a polariser or polariser and ND filter to get a long shutter and blur all the water.

May I express a different opinion?
Why look for a more flat lighting?
I think it's nice as it is. It gives depth and drama to the scene. All the accents, that are now present, make the picture vibrant and pleasant.
And I wouldn't blur the water. Why turn it into something unreal. Nowadays everybody seem to blur the waterfall and turn it into the "dreamy" cliche. A waterfall is rather on the violent side than on the peaceful side of a landscape. Wholly water, as I call it, takes the punch out of a beautiful site, all th spray and foam so characteristic is gone and the glitter completely disappears. That's not water anymore.
But that's only my opinion.

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Radu
Canon PowerShot S100
Canon 50D , SIGMA 10-20 f3.5 ,Canon EF 24-105 L IS USM, Canon EF 100/2.8 macro Canon EF 50/1.4 ,Canon EF 85 f1.8,Canon EF-S17-85 4-5.6 Old Tamron 28-300 inherited from my Canon Rebel G film camera
Canon580EXII
http://www.errre.net

My personal preference is the same as Radu's, I try and capture the sparkle of water. It looks like the sun is directly overhead in this shot, perhaps a different time so the lighting is not so harsh on the top section of water. Still a good shot.


Cheers

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Nikon D7000, D40X, Nikkor 18- 200 VR II, f3.5-5.6, 70-300 AF non VR, Kit Lenses.

Mike, the photo you took is very nicely composed.

A polarizer will not work on water like this waterfall. And if you go in the summer you will most likely not get the same water flow level, so go again soon while the ground is still purging its excess water.

I really like the sun striking the scene. I think you need to take a few shots changing the shutter speed to get the overexposed and underexposed scenes back into a manageable contrast range and then blend them together. A tripod would greatly help getting each of shots to blend together in proper registration.

I really appreciate all the comments, you all have givin me some things to think about..Thanks!!

On doing the multiple exposures, is there a tool built into Photoshop CS5 or GIMP that will do the blend or is is something for me to play with, I have both. I'm very good with computers and graphics but just getting started on photo manipulation (besides cropping and resizing).

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Mike "The Squirrel"
Canon 550D | Canon EF 35mm 1:2 | Canon 50 f/1.8 II | Sigma 18-125mm DC OS | Tamron SP 70-300mm Di VC USD | Canon 430EX II
Military Issued Canon 40D | Canon 55-250mm IS

CS5 has an HDR function in it mike.

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Canon 7D + 50D + EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM + EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM + EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Pelican // Black Rapid // Think Tank // Manfrotto // Garmin

Reflections On Canadian Wildlife
My Flickr

Mike,

I actually did not mean HDR blending I simply meant manually blending several exposures, see youtube for relevant tutorials, such as this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMBQUXYNqPs

WOW that is so easy! Thanks!

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Mike "The Squirrel"
Canon 550D | Canon EF 35mm 1:2 | Canon 50 f/1.8 II | Sigma 18-125mm DC OS | Tamron SP 70-300mm Di VC USD | Canon 430EX II
Military Issued Canon 40D | Canon 55-250mm IS