Water Falling Over Things 2006, Part II (DIAL-UP WARNING)

[regnaD kciN]

Staying on Mount Rainier for the moment, yesterday's photo session covered Ipsut Falls, at the northwest corner of Rainier, just off the 150-mile Wonderland Trail that encircles the mountain.

The falls themselves can only be seen at a distance, as direct approach beyond the Ipsut Creek spur is forbidden by park regulations (and made pretty much impossible, in any event, by a huge logjam separating the falls from the downstream creek).



The falls are in the background, behind the logjam. Since they're not really all that visible, I found the creek itself far more interesting to photograph.







The falls and the campground are surrounded by one of the few temperate rainforests in the U.S. Here are a couple of views of the area just around the falls.

[Ms. Toad]

1. I particularly like the third one.

The water has such a dreamy quality.

[Whoa_Nelly]

2. I love them all!

And have already learned things from your reply to me re: your first set of 2006 Water Falling Over Things post. :hi:

This is such a great forum group! :loveya:

[Blue_In_AK]

3. These are wonderful, kciN.

every single one of them. I love all the green moss everywhere, that's one of my favorite things about the Northwest. What shutter speed did you use on your moving water? I'm looking forward to playing with that when we're out on our trip.

[regnaD kciN]

5. The moving water shots...

...were mostly taken at 1/4 second, except for the third, which was 1/2 second. I basically set the slowest possible ISO (100), used a circular polarizer, put the camera in aperture-priority mode, and set the f-stop as high (i.e. the smallest opening for the greatest depth-of-field) as possible, and let the camera figure the shutter speed automatically.

As strange as it may seem, the rainforest shots required much longer exposures than the water. Until you try photographing there, you don't realize just how dark it gets. Both of the shots I posted here had exposure times of three seconds at smallest aperture; another shot I didn't post took a six-second exposure.

Does your 20D have mirror lock-up? If so, I'd recommend you learn how to use it before trying slow shutter-speed shots. The problem with DSLRs and exposures of between 1/15th and about 1/2 second is that, even if you have the camera on a tripod, you'll get enough vibration from the "mirror slap" that it might blur the resulting image. If you compose the image and lock the focus and exposure, then lock-up the mirror so it doesn't move during the exposure, you won't have any vibration. On the same subject, while EVF cameras like mine don't have that same problem, I found that even the motion from pressing the shutter would cause blurriness at those speeds. (O.K., I'll admit I have a cheap P.O.S. tripod -- a better one might not have that problem.) I finally discovered that the way to get a sharp exposure was to compose the image, then set the self-timer to take the photo ten seconds after I had hit the button, so that the camera had stabilized again. Alternately, you can get the same results from an electronic cable release, but this was my cheaper alternative technique.

[Blue_In_AK]

8. I'm pretty sure I read in the manual somewhere

about that mirror lock-up deal. I'll have to go back and figure out how it's done, because my guess is I'll be running into shots like this. I don't know much about polarizers - I've just kept the UV ones on all my lenses for protection, but I do have the kind of gray-looking ones and the pink ones which I've never used. Is the one you're talking about one of those graduated ones (that I don't have) or the gray thing?

[regnaD kciN]

9. Just a standard circular polarizer...

There are graduated neutral-density filters (which I recommend you get), but I've never heard of a graduated polarizer.

The one thing you need to keep in mind is that there are two types of polarizers, circular and linear. For reasons I don't understand, the linear ones play havoc with some auto-focus systems, and so those cameras are only supposed to work with the circular variety. While you're looking for mirror lock-up in your manual, I'd recommend seeing if they require one specific type of polarizer, and whether the one you have is the right type -- otherwise, you may get back from your trip and discover you have lots and lots of out-of-focus photos. :-(

[Boo_Radley]

4. Nice shots!

I REALLY liked #s 3 and 5.

[priller]

6. Very nice!

Especially liked the next-to-last shot. Looks cool and peaceful. It reminds me of Muir Woods, and just how quiet it gets in there.

[TahitiNut]

7. I agree. That one could be a greeting card or 'Thank You' note.

Peaceful and serene.