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Stuart Hill
09-18-2010, 01:49 PM
Crossed the border to a very wet Wales (UK) today. Had a change of plan because of the weather and went for a more fine art conversion to this water fall.

Any critiques welcomed.

D300 + 17-50 tamron @ 40mm
1.6secs @ F13 (1.6secs@F13)
iso 200

reards.
Stu.

Dave Mills
09-18-2010, 03:09 PM
Hi Stuart, nice diagonal flow with a silkiness in the water.
Sometimes its good to shoot flowing water at different speeds to see how it would effect the detail in the flow. This flow has nice tonality but I also would have shot this at a bit faster speed(than 1.6 sec) to see what detail I would have captured.
Sometimes it's just hit and miss.

Robert Amoruso
09-19-2010, 06:03 AM
Stuart,

Good composition with a strong diagonal of the falls and a well chosen terminus at the bottom with the white flow transitioning into dark water.

I find the overall dark treatment interesting and effective. I like that you have a hint of detail on the right with the foliage that w/o it would have given you too much negative space. Your other option would be to bring up the rocks in brightness and detail for a different interpretation.

Stuart Hill
09-19-2010, 07:58 AM
thanks for the critique chaps. This is only an hour away so will go back and try at different speeds. My only worry was that of noise as I'd have to increase the iso considerably.

kind regards.
Stu

Robert Amoruso
09-19-2010, 08:58 AM
Stu,

You should be OK with up to ISO 400 on the D300. Once I got over ISO 400 on the one I used to own, I did not like the noise too much. You can also do two exposures - one for the falls and one for the surrounding rocks and blend them as layers in Photoshop. That would be an interesting exercise.

Stuart Hill
09-19-2010, 09:05 AM
Thanks Robert. I thought it was just me! I've read D300 has great noise capabilities but never found it to be so above 400. Great idea about the two exposures though.

What do you shoot with now Robert?

regards.
Stu.

Robert Amoruso
09-19-2010, 03:29 PM
Thanks Robert. I thought it was just me! I've read D300 has great noise capabilities but never found it to be so above 400. Great idea about the two exposures though.

What do you shoot with now Robert?

regards.
Stu.

I meant over 400 ISO above - fixed that. I tried a D300 and 200-400mm for awhile, but I have always used Canon DSLR. Currently a 1D Mark III, 5D Mark II and the 7D. The D300 was much better noise characteristics when it came out then the previous Nikon bodies but it was still not good IMO. D300S is better I understand and of course the later Nikon bodies excelled in their reduction of noise. Can't wait to see if you have a chance to try to two exposures and post it here.

Bob Miller
09-19-2010, 05:45 PM
HI Stuart...love the diagonal composition and the silkiness of the water. i would like to see just a hint of detail in the surrounding shadows. Nice shot!

Dave Mills
09-19-2010, 05:50 PM
Hi Stuart, I have a D300 and have pushed it to ISO 800. I was not unhappy with the results...

Kaushik Balakumar
09-19-2010, 06:24 PM
Nice diagonal composition. The BW conversion seems an apt choice for this image.

Stuart Hill
09-19-2010, 06:38 PM
Thanks for the responses.

Robert, will post after I return from the next shoot.

Bob, worried about letting more detail through and taking focus away from the fall.

Dave, as a large format printer, I am fortunate to be able to print to A3 and larger FOC. i found a big difference between iso 200 and 800 at these sizes. Though sometimes I realise noise can be 'hidden' in the image, if say it's very busy.

Wish Nikon would release a large MP full frame upgrade to the D700. As I can't upgrade my lens and buy a body. My main love is shooting birds and I use a sigma 500 4.5. Resales is pants on the sigma so I'm kinda stuck with my current set-up as I need the reach. Come on Nikon! :confused:

regards.
Stu.

Roman Kurywczak
09-21-2010, 03:26 PM
Hey Stuart,
late to the party but have read this thread with interest! I was with the group for a bit more detail.....but not overall....just some minor/small details to be brought up for the reasons you mention. I am a huge fan of braketing waterfalls because of the flow......more water.....less water....can affect even the same falls! Using this as a rule can greatly help with your final product. Remember this too....grain was acceptable in the film days..."added character".....I know not everyones cup of tea.....but sometimes it isn't that bad! When it comes to print.....many directions you can take....so just keep that in mind!

Stuart Hill
09-21-2010, 06:51 PM
Thanks Roman. Learning lots and hopefully as time passes I can contribute more in the forum.

kind regards.
Stu.