Would a circular polarizer help?

[Aylwin]

This shot was taken on a dark, cloudy day. There's also lots of mist from the waterfall. In fact, the camera was getting a bit wet.

Equipment: 10D, 17-40L, Skylight 1B, tripod, remote switch
http://www.cal-family.org/download/CRW_4729.JPG

Would a polarizer help? I've never used one and I'm reluctant to buy fearing I might buy the wrong one. Any other tips to take a better picture given the circumstances?

Anyway, after Levels, Brightness & Contrast, Saturation and Unsharp Mask, it now looks like this:

http://www.cal-family.org/download/CRW_4729_mod.JPG

Any PS tips? I'm not very good at it either.

Aylwin

[shniks]

Second one looks great to me. I think a polarizer would help reduce the reflections and make things more saturated, but photoshop may still be required to achieve the nice result you have achieved here.

[Radtech1]

EXCELLENT SHOT.

I like it a lot. If there is anything to critique, it would be that the whites, especially on the fall on the left, are blown. But that could jut be the fact that they are foamy. Is that it?

If you have access to the same area, try shooting in raw and the process two different jpgs - one like this and one dark, for the whites, then combine the images. I would like to see the whites with a little texture to them.

Where was the shot taken. I have some vacation time coming up and would love to see it.

Rad

[Aylwin]

Thanks for the nice comments.

Rad, I noticed the same with the whites. I believe the water was a bit foamy but the the real problem may have been that the shutter speed was too slow. It was probably around 1 second.

I did shoot in raw. However, I have no clue how to combine 2 (or more) images. My PS skills are very basic.

The shot was taken at Shiraito Falls near Mt. Fuji. We were just passing through so I didn't have much time to take photos. On a good day, I'm sure the view would be fantastic.

[Radtech1]

Thanks for the nice comments.

Rad, I noticed the same with the whites. I did shoot in raw. However, I have no clue how to combine 2 (or more) images. My PS skills are very basic.

This is one of the best tutorials on Digital Blending.

http://luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/digital-blending.shtml

What you need to start with is 2 jpgs. As I mentioned, one with this density here, and another darker, to pull out some texture in the whites. Then just apply the information in the above tutorial.

The shot was taken at Shiraito Falls near Mt. Fuji.

Dang it. I was dreaming that you were going to say that it "was taken down the street, next to the 7-11." Oh well.

Rad

[Aylwin]

Wow! Thanks for the link! :D It wasn't nearly as complicated as I thought it would be. Like you said, one regular version and one dark version (-2 on the digital exposure compensation before conversion).

Here's what I ended up with:
http://www.cal-family.org/download/CRW_4729_mod2.jpg

There's a significant improvement, right?

Dang! I wish I knew about this last weekend. I could've taken light and dark shots of Mt Fuji and put together some decent pictures. Oh well, there's always next time. :)

[DC]

...There's a significant improvement, right?
...

Ohh yea...:)

Stunning shot to start with. I might be inclined to take a little off the bottom though.

Great PS work on this last one. One thing to bear in mind though, if you blow the whites "in-camera" then no amount of blending will bring back the detail. Just gotta watch that histogram :)

[rnconync]

I like it very much! Great shot! My only suggestion would be to give it a few tries in B&W and see what you get...B&W is good to use on cloudy/not clear days...sometimes gives more pleasing results than color!
here's just a quick change to give you an idea...I changed it to B&W and cropped it a tiny bit...hope you don't mind...

http://img68.photobucket.com/albums/v208/rnconync/BWwaterfall2.jpg

[Aylwin]

Thanks for the input! I'm really learning alot and I appreciate it! :D

Good cropping is something I'm still trying to improve on. I saw on another thread how dramatic the effect can be after cropping. As for the histogram, that's the graph similar to what I see in Levels, right? All I know is that sides should reach both ends which is what I do when adjusting Levels. :oops: What exactly should I be looking for?

The B&W is certainly an option. It appears to give a different mood to the photo. I've never really considered converting to B&W before but now I know I should give a try every now and then.

By the way, below is another shot a bit downstream.

Original:
http://www.cal-family.org/download/CRW_4731_orig.jpg

After blending, cropping, etc.:
http://www.cal-family.org/download/CRW_4731_mod.jpg

I think in this case the original wasn't too bad. Still, blending seems to have brought out a bit of extra detail. Anyway, I'd love to hear comments on this photo too. For example, is there a better way to crop it?

[rnconync]

I really like the newer shots too! I like the 3 rocks in the bottom left corner of the picture! Nice pictures again! Yeah. B&W is something nice to check out every now and then...try shooting straight from the camera B&W instead of converting even...I think the best results are straight from the camera..

[Radtech1]

...try shooting straight from the camera B&W instead of converting even...I think the best results are straight from the camera..

But my camera store does not sell Black and White CompactFlash cards. Only color.

Rad

[arogop]

...try shooting straight from the camera B&W instead of converting even...I think the best results are straight from the camera..

But my camera store does not sell Black and White CompactFlash cards. Only color.

Rad

I think you can just take tape and coverup a few of the holes on the Card :lol:

All kidding aside these are great pictures. I definitly am not good at blending and will have to try it.

[stopbath]

...try shooting straight from the camera B&W instead of converting even...I think the best results are straight from the camera..

But my camera store does not sell Black and White CompactFlash cards. Only color.

Rad

I think you can just take tape and coverup a few of the holes on the Card :lol:

All kidding aside these are great pictures. I definitly am not good at blending and will have to try it.
Be careful of the holes you cover up... You might cause under exposure if you block out the too much light... :oops:

[DC]

... As for the histogram, that's the graph similar to what I see in Levels, right? All I know is that sides should reach both ends which is what I do when adjusting Levels. :oops: What exactly should I be looking for?...

When previewing a pic in the camera, hit the info button. This will show you a histogram (yes, similar to the one for levels in PS) of your shot. There are many schools of thought on exactly how the histo should look. Some say put it as far right as possible, some say in the middle, etc. The only thing everyone agrees on is not to let it touch the right hand side. If it does, you'll see a corresponding area on the pic flash. This part will be "blown". You'll need to apply some negative exposure compensation and shoot again. For this type of shot, you'll need to have the whites just off the right hand side. In other words, as bright as possible without blowing them out.

HTH

[SWPhotoImaging]

I just want to know where this location is? Looks like a great place to spend a day capturing waterscapes.