Sol Duc Falls

This one was a challenge. The dynamic range was broad, yet I had no

tripod to facilitate multiple exposures. In particular, I wanted to not only

capture the lushness of the scene, but also the scale of the waterfall,

and the best way to do that would be to include a familiar point of

reference, in this case my parents standing at the overlook on the right

(which happened to be in the darker portion of the scene). So I took

many shots, trying to expose for the highlights but not plunge the rest of

the image into too much darkness. This is the best of the series (which

I touched up a bit in LR, using a gradient filter to lighten some of the

darker areas). Feedback and suggestions for improvement welcome.

Michael, you did a very good job here. The composition is excellent: The water guides the eye through the picture and your parents on the right hand side making the picture balanced. Indeed, the only minus for me are the blown-out areas in the water, and maybe lacking sharpness. What a pity you did not have a tripod with you!

 

Kind regards, Alex

Thanks Alex.  Yeah, I actually toned down the highlights quite a bit already, but I suppose a little more would be in order.  Regarding the sharpness, do you mean the sharpness in the water, or in the photo generally?  Almost every photographer I saw at the falls had a tripod...might be time for me to get one that's light enough to take on trails. :-)

I meant sharpness of the whole picture. I do not mind at all if the water is a little blurred. And yes, taking into account to you're a registered user of photo.net for more than 9 years now, it's high time to get a tripod to take on excursions. :-)

 

Kind regards, Alex

You're right...it isn't as sharp as it could be, but I think much of that is due to the fact I was hand-holding it on a bridge with a fair bit of foot traffic.  But I do have my eye on a few good tripods...just waiting for the right occasion to get one. :-)

I like the composition and the light is very beautiful. I would also advise using a tripod for any kind of waterfall or landscape shot ;-). My hiking tripod weighs less than 1.5 kilos including a ball head.

Boeboe - which tripod / ballhead do you have?