My first waterfall...

Hey guys, what do you think?

Criticism is more than welcomed! Just don't make me feel too bad, only been a week since I got my first SLR...lol

The place is called the Devil's Punchbowl located in Hamilton, Ontario.

I chose the sunniest day to go, and I was fighting some major over-saturation issues, I wanted a slow shutter speed for the water, and putting the ISO at 100 and aperture as big as possible still wasn't doing enough for me at points...

Anyways, here's the pictures, I fooled around with them a bit in Aperture, still has some over-saturated parts though.

1.

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The technique is good with the slow shutter speeds to enhance the flow of the water but the exposures are all blow - too bright.

Get the exposures right and you'll have some great shots!

Naturalist wrote in post #7804592
The technique is good with the slow shutter speeds to enhance the flow of the water but the exposures are all blow - too bright.

Get the exposures right and you'll have some great shots!

I was trying, but I couldn't seem to compensate. I had shutter speed set to about 1-2 seconds, ISO at 100 and aperture as high as it would go, and it still was so bright.

Is there anything else I can do to help with the exposure?

Get some neutral density filters, that will slow the shutter speed.

freo wrote in post #7804617
Get some neutral density filters, that will slow the shutter speed.

+1
A couple of ND8 and you will have the desired effect your looking for.
ND8 Flickr group

You will also want to add a circular polarizer to your camera bag as well

In addition of the filters you should shoot on overcast days or very early in the morning when the light is softer.

Sweet, thanks for the help guys!

You can also stack a circular and a linear polarizing filter to achieve the effect of a variable ND. Circular goes on the inside, nearest the camera. Works great.

Choose an overcast, cloudy day or shoot very early to get less oversaturation would be my first suggestion. It's almost impossible to get decent exposures for slow shutter settings in bright sunshine.

Well i understand your situation with the exposure, next time just try some other time of day for these shots
but for one week your technique is very good

Alex Veringa wrote in post #7808935
Well i understand your situation with the exposure, next time just try some other time of day for these shots
but for one week your technique is very good

Thanks!

Afterwards I thought to myself, maybe a really sunny day isn't the best for taking these kinds of photos where I need a slow shutter speed.

For now, I just have to keep practicing!

you could always try and bracket the photos and see which shot delivers the best exposure. the other option is to not do as long of an exposure....you may not have to do 1-2 seconds at all...just thoughts

4 & 5 have some exposure issues, they need to be tuned down some if possible. I really like the others.

Oh and on another note...filters could be a HUGE help in these situations
i dident think of that before i posted the other comment

freo wrote in post #7804617
Get some neutral density filters, that will slow the shutter speed.

agreed get a ND 8 and your worries are over