I don’t suggest that I am a great photographer. Men
like Ansel Adams, Galen Rowell, David Muench, Ray Atkeson and
the like have slammed shut the door on duffers like me. I have
shot and wasted enough film to have stumbled upon some reasonable
tips to help ensure that you won’t waste as much film
as I did in order to capture the qualities of the waterfall
in your viewfinder. This information is designed for the photographer
who has a basic understanding of exposure.
The Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera is far more versatile
than a point and shoot type of camera.
I wasted so much time trying to shoot fast film at a waterfall.
I typically shoot 50 speed film, Fuji Velvia, which allows
me the use of a longer exposure time. I find slower films
yield more favorable results than faster films. I also use
Fuji films which good color saturation, especially in the
blue and green portions of the spectrum. Fuji Reala is my
print film of choice, on the odd occasion I use print film.
The “Rule of Thirds.” Using your imagination,
superimpose a “Tic-Tac-Toe” diagram onto the
scene you are about to shoot. The “Rule of Thirds” suggests
that the action in the image should take place at one of
the four points at which the lines cross.
The "Golden Ratio." Rather than a 50/50 split
or the thirds used by the aforementioned "Rule of Thirds",
this is a ratio that seems to be based on the Fibonacci sequence,
where each number in a progression is equal to the sum of
the two previous numbers. For example: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5,
8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, etc. If you're not a mathematics wizard,
it boils down roughly to a 3:5 ratio. Its applications divide
into two primary categories:
The "Golden Triangle” rule applies to images
with a strong diagonal line. If you divide the image from
one corner to the opposite corner, you'll have one strong
diagonal. Superimpose a second triangle from an unused corner
to the pre-existing diagonal. Make the lines in your frame
coincide with these lines.
The "Golden Rectangle" is similar to the "Golden
Triangle" except you are dividing your image into a pair of
rectangles, then subdividing the smaller rectangle using the 3:5
ratio.
 
If the day is overcast, don’t frame your shot such
that the gray of the skies are visible at the top of the
falls. It tends to blur the distinction between falls and
sky. If the top of a waterfall has the sky as a backdrop,
I’ll try to shoot the falls in the morning or evening
of a sunny day when the light doesn’t shine directly
on the white water. This time of day, with its soft blue/pink
tinted glow is often referred to as “Sweet Light.”
A good rule is to “wash out” a gentle waterfall
and to “freeze” a powerful one. To wash out a
waterfall, leave the shutter open for a longer period of
time. In order to start the “washing out” process,
you need to use a shutter time no shorter than one eighth
of a second. I prefer to leave the shutter open for as long
as I can. There are many ways to do this without overexposing
your photo: I don’t often shoot photos on a sunny day,
I use polarizing and neutral density filters which block
a certain amount of light, I like to shoot in the early morning
- or at dusk when the light takes on a softer glow, I
close my f-stop down to f-22. These factors all work
together to allow me the longest possible exposure.
To freeze a waterfall, use the shortest exposure necessary
to properly expose the image. This will connote the power
of the rushing water. This is one of the few circumstances
when I welcome the presence of the sun when I’m making
photographs. It works best with large waterfalls with
good exposure to the light. Bracketing your exposures
will increase the likelihood of getting a decent shot. If
my light meter suggests a one second exposure at f-22, I’ll
shoot exposures of 1/4 ,1/2, 1, 2 and 4 seconds. Given
the five stop latitude of print film and the three stop latitude
of slide film, all five exposures (or three, if you use slide
film) in theory, will be usable. This isn’t always
the case, so I make sure to have exposures of several different
lengths to hedge my bets. I also have gotten into the habit
of taking insurance shots, meaning more than one image at
each recommended exposure. This decreases the likelihood
that you will lose a shot to something like a scratched negative
or a similar event. Even if you burn a whole roll of
film at the waterfall, film is cheap, certainly less than
the cost and effort of a return to a waterfall to take new
shots because the last attempt wasn’t well executed.
Galen Rowell suggests that photographers must strive to
see the image as the film will see it. The human eye, in
his estimation, could detect 11 stops of light. Print film “sees” about
five stops of light, and Slide film only “sees” three
stops. Let’s say you are photographing a waterfall
that is lit up by the sun. If you expose for the bright areas
(hot spots) you will badly underexpose the shadows. If you
expose for the shadows, you will badly overexpose the light
areas. This is why I don’t often shoot waterfalls on
sunny days.
A tripod is a thing of joy, and is indispensable when taking
a long exposure. “Shutter shake” becomes
an issue at speeds of 1/15th of a second or slower. The
tripod will eliminate this. A telephoto lens magnifies “shutter
shake". This makes a tripod necessary for any
telephotography. If you don’t have a tripod,
the lower end models are quite inexpensive. If you
forget your tripod, don’t despair. I’ve
had pretty good results using my wadded up shirt as a pad
for the camera. Don’t laugh; it saved me once
or twice. A cable release is also a very nice thing
to have. Using a cable release means you won’t
have a slight jiggle when you press the button to take your
photo. If you don’t have one or forgot it at
home, no problem - use your timer to trigger the shutter.
A camera bag is also a good idea. The only damage
to my medium format camera came when I was too lazy to carry
the camera bag up to the Falls of Lana. I tripped on
a rock and gave my camera a good whack. It works fine,
but there was quite a lot of cosmetic damage to the viewing
hood. Camera bags also hold lots of film, filters,
lenses, and other photographical necessities.
Filters are also very helpful. If I could only keep one
filter, I would select the Circular Polarizer. It cuts
glare, minimizes reflections, and eats up a stop or two of
light which allows me to use a longer exposure. The
polarizer is the most frequently used filter in my bag. I
sometimes use an Ultraviolet (UV) Filter which cuts haze
on long shots. I have a couple of Warming Filters (81A)
that I use to add a gentle orange or yellow hue to an image
that is likely to be too blue or gray, unless I want the
image to be that way. I use Neutral Density Filters
to allow me a longer exposure. These are simply tools
that help me to reach my desired results.
Remember the simple tips: proper film, proper exposures,
and proper composition. Meet these few criteria and you can’t
go wrong.
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