Waterfalls. C&C please

Found this nice spot nearby recently and finally got out there with the camera. it was pretty slippery and I almost ended up in the river.
I recently read Bryan Peterson's "Understanding exposure" and decided to use what he called "story telling aperture": f/22.
I had to crop out/straighten the top edge of the falls due to the angle the camera was at (rough bank) and the fact that there is a highway overpass right above it.

Please tell me what you think.

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/mszuminski/6422​632991/

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/mszuminski/6422​496819/

A CPL filter would have done wonders for this image.
The composition isn't as good as it could have been for this location.
Hyperfocal Distance isn't really there.
and is overexposed as the water is extremely bright.

With better light and exposure, the first one would be a really cool shot. It's way overexposed there, though...if it's somewhere you can go to to reshoot, try going back with morning/evening light on it; or even when it's more overcast.

Work on getting your exposure dialed in a bit better, and maybe pick yourself up a circular polarizer to help with some of the reflections, etc.

Yes, I will be going back there as its very close. And yes, the light was a bit odd there (waterfalls were getting a lot more direct sunlight than the rest of the scene). And I knew going in that the CPL would have been good to have.
What would you suggest I meter off in this situation? At least as a starting point? I used evaluative metering mode and try to meter off the rocks or the bank so it wouldn't be underexposed.
Next time I go there I will play with different settings but wanted to know your opinion for the time being.

In the first shot, I'd have used Spot metering on the small cascade in the lower, left and set the meter to right around +2 as a starting point.

That would have kept most of the highlight clipping to a minimum but left everything else relatively well exposed. Might have to make some adjustment up/down from there, of course, depending on actual conditions.

Alternatively, go into Live View with exposure simulation on and adjust until your highlights on the water are JUST losing detail as you're viewing.

That's how I wound up shooting my series of this fall, since the scene was half/half sun and shade:

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/snydremark/6321​587792/

smyke wrote in post #13470933
Yes, I will be going back there as its very close. And yes, the light was a bit odd there (waterfalls were getting a lot more direct sunlight than the rest of the scene). And I knew going in that the CPL would have been good to have.
What would you suggest I meter off in this situation? At least as a starting point? I used evaluative metering mode and try to meter off the rocks or the bank so it wouldn't be underexposed.
Next time I go there I will play with different settings but wanted to know your opinion for the time being.

Read up on exposing to the right...this will ensure that you pull up as much detail in the shadows without blowing out the highlights. Look in your camera's menu system and see if it has highlight notification...if so, enable this function. Any blown highlights will show up on your LCD as blinking spots, aka 'blinkies'. This will be a visual indicator for blown highlights as well...combined with exposing to the right (ETTR) you'll be good to go.

Lucky you to live in a place like that!

I think if you pulled back a little more it would be even better...just my first impression
Might not work but would be cool to see shot from down closer to the stream like the second but also catch more of the straight lines of the first falls.

Beautiful place to shoot.

Thank you for your pointers Eric and argyle.
Its funny how you remember things you read after the fact. luckily I can go back and do it over pretty much at any time.
I am familiar with ETTR and will make sure to pay attention next time and adjust accordingly. makes total sense.

@Tom: not sure if you were referring to me but this spot is almost smack in the middle of the residential area with the overpass right above it.
I know there is a lot of nature to shoot in Central Florida too.

@Volc0m23: I was already racked out at 18mm in the second shot and there was no better spot behind me. the river was bending the other way a bit. I will have to go back when its a bit drier so I dont slide all over the place on the wet leaves, but with winter coming it may be harder. It should be beautiful after the ice or snow storm there. come summer it may be time to get wet.

I rather like the composition of the first one, though the shrub on the right is a little annoying. As said, watch your highlights. It doesnt look particularly sharp either, and that is probably a combination of camera shake and diffraction from the high aperture.

Use mirror lockup if your exposure is going to be in the range of 1/15th-2 seconds. With exposure times around there the movement of the mirror will cause enough vibration to soften the image. As for diffraction and the highlights, you can do a bit of exposure blending to get rid of those problems. You can take one shot at a wider aperture (F8-F13) and faster shutter speed to get sharp rock detail that is properly exposed, and then take another shot at F22 to get the soft water movement with proper exposure. Combine them in photoshop and you will have a sharper and better exposed image.

EDIT: As for composition, lower angles are always fun. Low angles also can make lines more apparent with the use of foreground