Alex Wise Photography

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.

Another from Cradle Mountain, Tasmania. Those familiar of the national park may recognise the bridge as you enter the park and pass a waterfall. This is up a little looking back at the bridge behind the waterfall. I was almost tempted to fiddle with black and white for this image as the sky really is quite dull but I’m attracted to the tones and texture of the foreground rock which would otherwise not be appreciated under a black and white conversion.

Udi at DIYPhotogaphy.net recently mentioned my work on his popular blog which I greatly appreciate It’s definately a big thing for me knowing my work is appreciated by others and is something that inspires me to continue shooting. Click here to view the article discussing why as a photographer we should use manual focus

This was taken on the walk into Pencil Pine Falls, Cradle Mountain. The weather for Dove Lake was terrible with it being completely overcast with no contrast what so ever in the clouds which wasn’t all bad for other styles of shooting. The conditions as we walked into Pencil Pine Falls were quite dark (2-3pm) however the light was so soft and perfect for what we were soon to shoot. We spent hours just taking our time but I really need to get some gumboots or something so I can get more in the action but they would look a little gimpy haha.

Phase One P65 has been previewed at Luminous-Landscape which sounds amazing.. 60MP and incredible handling of noise at super long exposures but let’s not discuss the price tag. Click here to view the preview article

Another long exposure waterfall shot of Strickland Avenue just on the way up Mt Wellington, Tasmania.

This little waterfall is located along Strickland Avenue (funny that ha) and is towards the end of the road as you approach Ferntree. For anyone interested, the car park is quite obvious so you shouldn’t have much trouble finding it. The waterfall itself doesn’t have a easy access path so you have to hop over rocks at the quiet patch of the stream. Don’t worry though this is really easy and the rocks are dry so you don’t have to worry about slipping so just take it easy and you’ll be alright. Once you’ve crossed to the other side you then make your way up a dirt path for a minute or two and bang.

For this shot I used a .6 and .9 cokin neutral density filter to heavily darken the waterfall but create great emphasis on the leaves in the foreground.

If you’re interested in exploring Mt. Wellington for photography and require nearby accommodation be sure to check out Apartments on Strickland

This photograph was taken at Snug Falls earlier this year. It was a terrible day with the rain bucketing down and upon arriving at the waterfall I looked like I had just showered. For this shot I composed the shot then bracketed it 3 stops to create a HDR image (high dynamic range). This is because it allowed me to get more detail around the rocks in the foreground but also the rock around the main waterfall which was otherwise the victim of harsh shadows. Snug Falls is a pretty little place and is around 30 minutes ~ from Hobart, Tasmania. I’d best recommend taking photographs there in winter when the weather can be a bit random and heavy showers are more likely. This is the time to strike as all the little streams which come off the main waterfall really come alive.

Friday was quite humid, hot, rank. Thunder and hard rain randomly coming through in patches which made it a good time to go take some shots of waterfalls at Mt. Field, Tasmania. But upon arrival the sun came out and things looked pretty poor for taking shots but you get over these things as theres more to life then taking little photographs right? ok maybe not.. Photography seems to play a increasingly part of my life, i think about it way too much. My mind wanders when I walk down the street as I imagine how I would compose a certain shot with that little puddle on the side of the street, it could look nice with the incoming storm reflecting.. Ahhhhhh!

The two above shots were taken with a Canon 350D and Canon 10-22 and no neutral density filters or any of that.

—————-
Now playing: Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip - Thou Shalt Always Kill
thou shall not shake it like a polaroid picture.

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.