Your images are excellent, and at the same time examples of why you might need a ND filter. How would you shoot the same image and get the same effect in full sunlight?
Thank you, and I have no doubt you're correct about full sunlight. That's sort of my point, I've never actually seen a waterfall in direct enough sunlight to use an actual ND. I have of course used soft edge GND's in waterfall shots to balance the scene as many times you have very dark areas/shadows.
I went back to the waterfall I shot with the 6 stop ND a couple weeks ago (shown in earlier post) and this time shot it with only a polarizer. I like this one better as the shorter shutter speed (1/2sec vs 6sec) has resulted in a shot with more detail in the water yet still has the blur effect. At this point I'm guessing that the ND filter is probably going to work better for those waterfalls that are in the sun and a ploarizer for those in the shade. The speed and volume of the water, distance to the falls, etc probably play a part too. For that matter, I'll take two shots in the future, one with the polarizer and one with the ND filter, and see which one I like best when I view them on my monitor.
Yeah there are a lot of variables, but somewhere in the .50 to 2 sec. range seems to be the sweet spot for getting good water texture. Actually the waterflow in north GA is so heavy right now that water texture is very difficult to control and "needs" to be on the faster end of that shutter speed. I've found myself shooting ISO 100 or even 200 this year due to the flow. 6 stops is a lot of light to cut however, but I may run into that situation yet we'll see.
Is it just me that thinks the "milky water" effect is one of the most toe-curling cliches in contemporary landscape photography?
A friend recently showed me a copy of a (UK) book entitled "Landscape Photographer of the Year". It comprises various categories (age groups, subjects) but basically, I think, displays the work of talented amateurs; certainly the hardware specs listed in an index are often fairly modest - a lot of kit lenses etc. Some very nice work though.
The book is absolutely full of shots utilising this over-used effect. And people moan about HDR!
Roy
It's a matter of opinion, I take stop action shots as well... guess which ones end up being more popular? It's those cliche` shots you're talking about with the smoother textures in the water. Granted it's not about being more popular, it's also my personal preference. Given the same shot with frozen action vs. a smoother texture.... I tend to print and hang the smoother one.