Day 5 - Various Niagara Falls pictures (advice wanted)

[SeaSquirt]

Hi all,

Day 5 with my Canon Rebel!

I went to Niagara Falls yesterday. I used Aperture Priority (Av) mode to photograph some flowers. I didn't use Macro. I like the bokeh in some of them.

http://i40.tinypic.com/ji2s5v.jpg - Flowers 1
http://tinypic.com/r/33zbbz7/5 - Flowers 2
http://tinypic.com/r/2h2pnb5/5 - Flowers 3
http://i43.tinypic.com/2d1lf14.jpg - Flowers 4

Which one is the best of the four? How could I have improved the shots?

Also, I noticed the Exposure Time is different for all four photos. I was working in Av mode, so I couldn't have changed this myself. Did the camera automatically do this when I changed the Aperture? I know Aperture and Shutter Speed both control how much light comes into the camera, but I thought Exposure Time was independent of Aperture and was a function of Shutter Speed.

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Here is the Skywheel I tried to take:

http://tinypic.com/r/mtkzsh/5

Should've spent more time snapping more than one shot from different angles. I also should've filled up the entire photo with the Niagara Skywheel so there was less sky at the top. B&W would be cool too. I'll work on that during my next trip. :)

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Finally, my pictures of Niagara Falls look overexposed. I used Tv mode for it and took it on the fastest speed possible (1/4000). I went in the afternoon (around 4:00 or 5:00), so perhaps it was just poor timing. Maybe I should go in the morning or evening when there's less sunlight? Or get a Uv filter?

http://i41.tinypic.com/1xb9e.jpg - Ugh, so bad. I've entered point & shoot territory again.

http://i44.tinypic.com/msofaf.jpg - A tiny bit better, but that doesn't say a whole lot

http://i39.tinypic.com/mirno.jpg - Exposure is a bit better, but composure was sacrificed. Tried to get in the rainbow and falls and it doesn't look too great.

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks,
Jen

[Valleyboy]

Out of the flower shots, I really like #2. great composure imo, although all 4 are good.

as for the falls, in the first pic, I think the problem may be the mist coming off the falls causing a haze that could be very difficult to photograph through. I haven't shot the falls yet (though I've been meaning to), but i encountered the same thing when I was at the top of Gibraltar, and the mist made photography almost impossible. Your third pic looks nice and sharp, with good colours, except where that mist shows up at the right side of the frame, which to me says the problem might be that mist. I could however be way off base lol.

btw nice to see a local! i live in virgil lol

[SeaSquirt]

Okay, I'll keep that in mind! I might try going at night... I love the way the falls look lit up.

I live in Buffalo and love Niagara Falls! There are a lot of things to photograph between Niagara Falls, the flowers, the trees, the ducks and seagulls, and Cliffton Hill.

BTW, if you go to Niagara Falls (Canadian side), they charge $4/hour for parking, with a $16 maximum fee. For free parking, here's what to do:

Drive down the street with Niagara Falls on your left-hand side. On the right-hand side, you'll first see an Edgewater restaurant, then some sort of water/power plant, then a street that prohibits cars from entering. You'll cross over a bridge and there will be an entrance to Dufferin Island Park, where you can find free parking. It's a mile to walk back to the Falls, but you'll see ponds, ducks, beautiful flowers, etc., so the walk is pleasant, and you can burn off that 110 calorie Yogen Fruz on the way back, haha.

[Sisyphus]

I know Aperture and Shutter Speed both control how much light comes into the camera, but I thought Exposure Time was independent of Aperture and was a function of Shutter Speed.

Right. In Av mode, YOU set the aperture and the camera automatically adjusts the shutter speed to produce the "correct" exposure. You must also set the ISO, which in most cases can stay at 100 or 200 until you change it.