Alex Wise Photography

F.13 / 20 seconds

I’ve been meaning to submit this one for some time since I photographed it in July but kept forgetting. This was captured at Cradle Mountain National Park on a short walk to a much larger fall. We arrived late afternoon at around 3pm so it was already starting to get quite dark being the middle of winter which was a real shame, this place was stunning and I probably could of spent hours here just messing around getting my feet wet but were rushed a little.

Photographed with a Canon 350D, Canon 24-70, Tripod

Clifton Beach, Tasmania not so long ago.

I’ve recently been playing around with the Adobe Camera profiles beta (http://labs.adobe.com/wiki/index.php/DNG_Profiles) and quite liked what the slight adjustment did to this test image. As per usual shot with a Canon 350D, Canon 10-22, Cokin ND grads Z-Pro and tripod.

12mm / 30 secs / F.14

Seascape long exposure at Clifton Beach, Tasmania with a Canon 350D, Canon 10-22 and Cokin ND Grads Z-Pro. One of my favourite places for nature photography as it’s quite exposed and picks up a bit of swell frequently and a relatively close drive of 45~ mins. I really need to get down there on a huge swell.

Nature photography at Lauderdale, Tasmania

An old photograph just a little out from Hobart with a black and white conversion for something different. I’ll post the colour in the coming days but I quite like this one.

The cold conditions of Cradle Mountain, Tasmania where my photo budies hoped for blue skies, reflections and amazing light but were disappointed. Instead we battled poor visibility as cloud blocked any hope of sun shining through but I wasn’t too fussed already having a nice shot from 2007.

This one is stolen from Martin Pot, Some really inspiring shots in this link and definately worth checking out for those lacking a bit of motivation > Click Here for 50 Amazing Pictures You Must See on Flickr

2 minute seascape long exposure exposure at Clifton Beach when it was well and truly dark which made focussing from a distance fun..

A long exposure of a quiet stream which runs off St Columbia Falls, Tasmania. This is located on the east coast of Tasmania and is roughly 30 minutes out from St Helens which is a great little town to visit. It’s interesting how different each town is in terms of facilities available. I really like St Helens because it has a few restaraunts, Banjos for pastry and a large supermarket. If staying in St Helens, Queechy Cottages is ok if on a budget, nothing exciting.

I continually come across photographs of waterfalls and they seem to lack something. I wonder if the owner just doesn’t understand what their camera is capable of or they just don’t care. But anyway I wanted to note what natural resources I rely on (such as weather) but also the technical aspects such as shutter speeds. I just find it amazing that people come across waterfalls with such potential and if they just took their time for a extra minute then I think the shot would be of much higher standard. Anyhow here are a few beginners photography tips which might help.

When shooting landscape photography, not only does the location play a important factor but the weather and time of the scene must also be taken into account. For waterfall photography, I find the weather to be a very important factor, this comes as it can ensure that the exposure is good which contributes to the final shot.

My favourite weather for shooting waterfalls is a overcast sky with patchy showers. The reason behind this comes as a result of the highlights which a clear sunny day may create when shooting. As you will be aware, most waterfalls have many surrounding trees which with a sunny sky can contribute to highlight around the scene. This in turn means that when attempting to take your shot, the end result will have patchy bright areas around the scene which aren’t exactly appealing. Also, when the weather is sunny and there is more light available this means that it’s difficult to use slower exposures to create movement in the water. So if you have the option and can be selective with when you are planning to shoot a popular waterfall, hold back for a overcast day. Here are a couple of examples of what I’m getting at and you can decide yourself which looks better..

Thanks Flickr

Another important part of shooting a waterfall is the exposure time. When shooting waterscapes at the beach I’m careful not to sometimes shoot exposures that are above 3-5 seconds. This is because an exposure of 20 seconds creates a completely different image which a 3″ second exposure may create. For waterfalls this isn’t as much the case and the only thing which puts me off a long exposure is that trees may move during the exposure and create a blur. This is usually fine if they aren’t even at the viewers attention but are something just to take into account because although the long exposure is good for the water to create an effect, you must carefully manage your other areas of the scene. I increasingly come across people who take pictures of waterfalls and just use a high shutter speed. This is fine and that’s your decision but I find adjusting the shutter so it’s relatively slow (say 0.3″ seconds) can make quite the difference. Obviously this requires a tripod but is well worth the extra weight you may have to carry in.

Thanks again flickr

So just in a nutshell for anyone starting out doing long exposures, set the camera into a shutter priority mode and set the speed to around 0.3″+ seconds and slowly play with it until you end up with a image your happy with. Initially you might be faced with an over exposed (bright image) which may mean you will have to fasten the shutter up a bit. If you just can’t get the shutter slow enough to create a blur in the water then I recommend neutral density filters.

In terms of composite of waterfalls, that’s something which you can’t really teach someone as we all have our own way of taking a photograph. Personally I like to frame the shot so there is something in the foreground such as rocks and then have the waterfall in the background. This is good as it not only creates a bit more interest to the viewer but also forms a different perspective to the average post card image.

Hope that helps with your future endeavours. I’m by no means a expert at photography but these things are so simple, abide by them and you will be rewarded.