Cunningham Falls Photo

Photographer’s Note

I actually just took this a few hours ago on Monday afternoon. I went to Cunningham Falls State Park in northern Maryland. The falls is a 78 foot cascading waterfall. This is the uppermost cascade and we are looking about a four foot or 1 meter section of the falls. After seeing the waterfalls of the Columbia River Gorge this falls has nothing on them! I climbed up to the top of the falls and was very close when I took this. I cropped it for the best composition. The rest of the falls isn't that spectacular.

The main reason for going up there was to try hand-holding with my new VR lens. I brought my tripod but didn't use it. Yes I really hand-held this and didn't sharpen to an extreme amount. It required ever slightly more sharpening but what do you expect at half a second handholding! Taken around 3:30 Monday afternoon.

Hand-held shot: 1/2 second and 200 ISO

weswang, aloyho, danielswalsh, PJE, plimrn, ramesh_lalwani, papagolf21, ChrisJ, jhm, capthaddock, aznegrao, Tue, alvaraalto, Galmeida, joeydrops, Jeppe, huynt, coco has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

weswang (18223) 2006-04-10 20:04

Hi Mr. Steve, You really have a pair of stable hands. I cannot imaging the sharpness you have had with this shot is a result of a hand-held shot. Excellent smoothed long exposure effect to this water flow. Nice light and good contrast. Well done.

[2]

aloyho (6109) 2006-04-10 21:30

Hi Stephen,
A wonderful and successful attempt resulting in this very crisp shot yet full of action. The new lens really works well but it is the good hands that make the difference. I particularly like the metallic effect of the rocks and the matured colours plus of course the drama of the cascading water. Congratulations!! A fruitful day ahead.

[2]

LCannon (2776) 2006-04-10 22:01

This is beautiful Steve, amazing steady hands you have! I wish I could figure out how to get my camera to do this...I think I'll have to upgrade though to be able to accomplish this! I love the soft play of water down these rocks. Great lighting and composition, excellent work.

[2]

danielswalsh (13306) 2006-04-10 22:48

HI Stephen;

An interesting composition for a water exposure shot. You don't normally see them close-up like this .
Hats off to you for a good result being hand-held, but I wonder why you didn't use the tripod since you had it with you?
I think the tripod would have enabled you to get some better detail in the rock, helping to convey the contrast of stationary and movement.

All the best Stephen,
- Dan

PJE (19401) 2006-04-11 0:14

Stephen nice work in presenting these falls. I think I like a half second exposure better than any longer timing. Its nice to maintain some resemblance of how it looks with your real eyes. Nice composition Stephen!

[2]

danyy (68492) 2006-04-11 1:58

Bonjour Stephen,
l'utilisation de la technique du temps de pose plus long est adéquate ici et permet de donner cet effet de 'couler' . Un léger manque de couleurs vives, mais cela ne gêne pas ici, le cadrage est serré, se limitant à l'écoulement de l'eau.
Bien vu et réalisé.
Daniel.

plimrn (19600) 2006-04-11 2:24

Hi Steve,
Well I can see I'm not going to do very well with being critical. You clearly had a fun exercise with your new lens. I agree with with your other critiques; you do have steady hands. As aloyho has commented, the glistening wet rocks look metallic in this light; a nice effect. The way you've captured the silky smooth water is almost sensual. I think a little green for contrast would be nice; perhaps you could carry a bit of fern with you :-))
Regards, Pat

ramesh_lalwani (3209) 2006-04-11 3:18

HI Steve
This 1/2 sec exposure give fantastic picture of water .TFS

carper (64546) 2006-04-11 3:23

well Stephen,
this is a very nice one, the quality standard here is very high, the well freesing water, the good light and the fantastic composition, very good job, I like it.
gr. jaap

[2]

sebinho342 (18734) 2006-04-11 3:52

Hello Stephen, i'm a beginner in photography and i wanted to say that trough this shot, i understand now what is "hand held shot : 1/2 sec" !! ;) I now understand why some pictures have some marvelous sky or sea, cause of the lenght of takin the picture ... This is really a "clinic picture" on that subject :)
Thank you, the picture is great.
Regards
Sébastien

papagolf21 (56159) 2006-04-11 4:25

Bonjour Stephen,
Bravo pour une prise de vue à main levée, il faut avoir une poigne d'acier, ne pas trembler, respirer profondément et viser avec méthode !
Tout est réuni pour obtenir une excellente photo avec une netteté incroyable.
Amitiés.
Philippe

ChrisJ (70019) 2006-04-11 5:17

Hi Stephen

Wonderful motion blur in the water, with a perfect choice of slow shutter speed. Good sharpness & graphism. Congratulations!

jhm (82201) 2006-04-11 7:01

Hi Stephen,
A excellent result with your new lens, I like how you the waterfall frozen, the water gives a wonderful view, maybe 100 ISO be sufficient this for fewest grainy, I like absolutely of this wonderful image, very sharp and clear.
Thanks a lot,
John.

lasscor (7637) 2006-04-11 7:16

Very nice water fall composition.
I like the blurred effect of the water and the sharpness of the rocks. Great light and contrast.
Well done!
Regards,
Corinne

feather (49858) 2006-04-11 8:09

This amount of motion blur on the water is perfect for my taste; I love the silky effect. The new lens seems to be working well, but it's a good job you didn't sneeze :) It's surprising how much drama you can capture with just a detail.
Kath

capthaddock (28640) 2006-04-11 9:56

Hi Stephen - you must have a steady hand, the sharp is razor sharp and the blur is dreamy.

Kenny10pin (19301) 2006-04-11 10:16

great work here, I like the gushing flow of the waters, really nice work and the timing is good too

repaulson (607) 2006-04-11 10:58

Hi Mr. Stephen. I really like this shot. Impressive for a hand held shot. BTW, I found a cool place to take shots down by the river near my place. We should investigate.
-Ross

aznegrao (10230) 2006-04-11 16:06

Hi Stephen!!
O enquadramento preciso, com o bom uso da técnica, aliada a otima qualidade fotográfica resultou nessa otima composição, cheia de vida e interesse.
Rgds.
Friend.
aznegrao.

Tue (25608) 2006-04-11 16:28

Hej Stephen,
Very nice and well cropped picture of those water falls. I like the shapes of the rocks and also the lighting is very nice. Good work!
Hilsen,
Lars

alvaraalto (5229) 2006-04-11 17:51

Hi Stephen,
An interesting choice for a long shutter speed here, which shows us a smooth waterfall like many painters has painted it. I think I had chosen a very short shutter time or a representation of both. Always a fascinating choice.
Groet Rob

cam (8880) 2006-04-11 22:21

Hello Stephen.
Good cropping of the fall,with interresting detail of the water curtain going down.
Always better to use the tripod,especially when you have it,but I can understand that you wanted to test your hand and the lens before going down in a cave with your new baby.I can not wait to see the results,so hurry.
Friendly
Charles

Galmeida (12559) 2006-04-12 16:36

Hi Stephen,

Excelent guideline notes and a splendid capture with a nice water fall and your great eye catch quality picture and a great qualiy composition. Taken from a low vantage point of perspective and in a also so high quality enquadrement view with the approaching nature scenery in a splendid capture.

Good light, colors, definition and sharpness. A great one in this type pf picture that you handle so well. High quality and vision. All the best to you my old TE Member that have a great Portfolio and Links. My Congratulations and TFS.

Fernando

joeydrops (2645) 2006-04-13 1:47

Hi Steve,
Great shot. The clarity is really good considering you took the shot hand-held. I like the smooth effect of the water, created by the exposure. The natural composition is lovely with the water cascading beautifully through the rocks. Well captured!
Claudia

alekpet (4657) 2006-04-13 4:40

Hi Stephen,

congratulations on your steady hand.
Your camera really does well for motion compensation. What can I say about the framing? Almost perfect, 9/10, I would have gone slightly more to the right. You could also try tilt and achieve more creative result, although this one looks really good as it is.

have a nice day, Aleks

john_c (24635) 2006-04-13 10:05

Hi Stephen,
An excellent result from your new VR lens. Great dynamism and great texture on the water. I particularly like the interesting effect of the smooth water that does not entirely hide the rocks below. There is almost a marble appearance here. Good lighting on the left of the frame enhances. A successful and pleasing shot, Stephen. Well done.
John

devimeuxbe (55853) 2006-04-13 17:14

Hi Stephen
this is a nice picture. The time of exposure is good to give this effect.
Nice frame
Bertrand

Jeppe (18623) 2006-04-14 3:31

Hi Stephen

A fine shot indeed - I like the soft water and the fine colours of the wet rock. Also a fine demonstration of the ablities in your new lens - good stabilizer since this made handheld

Thanks for sharing
Jeppe

huynt (5077) 2006-04-14 10:40

Hi Stephen
It is very nice water as milk. all is perfect. well done. Thanks

jemaflor (39211) 2006-04-19 6:51

Hi Stephen,
very well taken with 1/2 s to give thie lovely effect for the water, congratulation.

coco (27766) 2006-05-02 18:23

Hi Stephen.
Interesting note and good photo too.
Sure, with a tripod would be better (and, if you had one there, you hadn't any excuse for don't use it).
Anyway, the photo looks interesting.
Well done.