Purakaunui Falls

[Paul Davey]

Appropriately New Zealand's most photographed falls. The small triangular rock lends a strange appearance, but doubled with a sheet of moss to the right, compared with the immediate bottom of the falls to the rear, looked quite effective as my best image from the short trip.

Fujifilm Finepix S5600
Manual Mode
ISO 64, f/8, 1/8 sec, 10x optical zoom @ 380mm, tripod

Comments appreciated.

Paul

[Steve Foss]

Paul, the compositional elements in this image are strong. The verical lines of some of the falling streams of water, the angled lines of some of the rest of the water and the horizontal lines of the stair-steps all make for a nice interaction. The triangle of the rock, with its moss to add color to a fairly monochromatic scene, add appeal to me as well. And I like this fairly tight comp of what probably is most often composed from farther away.

What I don't like, and as always this is just my personal taste, is what I call the half-measure of the water. Half measure because my eye wants to see it cottony with a longer exposure or sharper with a shorter exposure.

That's just me, but there it is.

[Paul Marcellini]

I agree with Steve about the water. I really like the composition, very creative, and I am sure it is different from what most people take of the falls. I think a slight contrast boost may help, especially in the waterfall.

[Paul Davey]

Thanks for the comments Steve and Paul. I am not sure what you mean half measure-water factors though.

Paul

[Paul Marcellini]

I think he means its not frozen but not streaming enough. Thats what I was thinking.

[Paul Davey]

Still confused about the suggestion. I am presuming the moral of the riddle is that I should have used a faster shutter speed?

Paul

[David Stowe]

Hi Paul
What the others are saying is go either a much faster or much slower shutter speed. Eg change the camera setting to a 1second exposure @ f22 (which would also give greater depth of field). THis would result in a more "streaming" "cottony" effect.
Using a faster shutter speed would give a "frozen" effect to the water where you could see the water more sharply.
Personally i would go the longer exposure option to increase the contrast between the hard, sharp rocks and the soft fluent water.
I also agree about adding a little contrast to the image.
Great shot by the way.
Cheers
Dave

[Paul Davey]

Hi David

I understand now. Although my current "compact" doesn't have the capabilities to have an aperture of f/22, I could have gone a slower shutter speed. However, this was taken at midday and even though the scene is in the shade slightly, a shutter speed lower than 1/8 would start overexposing. Thats why I should have photographed earlier/later or on an overcast day. Thanks for the comments.

Paul