Just for Fun No C&C will be given: The Four Tier

[Dwayne Oakes]

Thanks for taking a look !

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

Dwayne Oakes The Four Tier​

 

[karlo reyes]

i love waterfalls, making the flow misty/milky like! thanks for sharing! However I'm not really a fan of the blurring/soft effects. Those lovely rocks at the back wold be more edgier and striking if it wasn't softened at all.

the shrubs also on the middle right portion of the image is a bit distracting. It's more vibrant compared to the leaves of the trees.. is this your main subject or focus interest? Looking at the entire image it draws my eyes to it, the shrubs so to speak.. i could have dulled down the green so I could focus on the flowing water here.

much respect,
karlo

 

[Asher Kelman]

i love waterfalls, making the flow misty/milky like! thanks for sharing! However I'm not really a fan of the blurring/soft effects. Those lovely rocks at the back wold be more edgier and striking if it wasn't softened at all.

I agree entirely. In fact I was going to write about the blurred rocks as it's the difference between the hard sharp rocks with distinct dimensionality that makes the artifact of milky water so dreamy. Even the leaves of the trees look better generally sharply drawn.


Dwayne,

I understand what you are trying to achieve. I like the subject. Do you have other views where one can see more of the last level? You've been successful as far as the water itself. However there's much more if one is going to get a sharp set of rocks at the very least. If you use a slow shutter speed, there's a chance that wind or your own movement or the mirror vibrations can blur the rocks too. So that's a dilemma. Such pictures need a sturdy tripod and cable release, mirror up. Still I know that one can just come across a scene and snap.

You chose 1/2 sec exposure at f22. Now for your camera, the sensel well collecting the light are very small. Roughly speaking, beyond f 5.6 and very likely beyond f16 you are degrading the image because the fine pixel pitch is imaging the diffraction artifacts caused by the small aperture.

Would you consider taking two pictures, one for the water and another for the rocks and trees? Combining them by masking out the rocks in one would be simple.

Just an idea.

Asher

 

[Dwayne Oakes]

Thank you very much for the comments and tips ! All great points here Asher and karlo !

I wanted to go feather lite in the woods and carry only one lens a superzoom
(Nikkor 18-200mm VR ) which I just got and I use no tripod now. For slow shutter speed photos
I just place my camera on the ground and use the self timer with the VR turned off.

The only trade off by doing this is sometimes the ground is not level and you get tilts
in your photos, easily fixed in pp but at a cost of some crop as in this case. But traveling
very lite in the woods and being able and ready to capture most things in nature is worth
this trade off in my opinion.

I typically like f/22 for its DOF and water effect (motion blur) and since I am using a soft
focus effect (Orton) in my work anyway, aperture diffraction is not much of a concern.

I did use some selective USM sharpening on the BG rocks but I think sometimes the
quality and type of light on certain days plays a big role in sharpness on objects more
so in digital.

No layers in Nikon Capture NX2 but I happy with the results with this one, based on the
type of light on that day. Thanks again !

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

 

[Asher Kelman]

I typically like f/22 for its DOF and water effect (motion blur) and since I am using a soft
focus effect (Orton) in my work anyway, aperture diffraction is not much of a concern.

Thanks for the feedback on the shot. It's very likely that even at f5.6 you have plenty of DOF. I have just acquired a Neutral Density filter to get 3 stops less light since I often like to shoot with limited DOF and try to keep between f1.8 and f5.6. The great advantage to optically limiting detail, instead of an Orton effect, is that it's more organic to the shoot.

As a matter of fact, a simple lens like a the Lensbaby could give you a lot of fun! Look at these for inspiration!

Asher

 

[karlo reyes]

hi asher and dwayne,

Regarding the DOF at f22, that is my favorite technique as well. However, a lot of my friends and photogs advised me to shy away from f22. Between f11-16 would be enough for web and blowups. The Dof at these apertures are already enough to give you that clarity and sharpness that you need. I just got home from trekking the whole day applied apertures less than 19 and im already blown away with out processing. As soon as i finish the set would post it right away.

With regards to using selective usm at the BG rocks it doesnt add up to the natural appeal of the image. It started to look like "fantasy image" for me. I'd focus the dreamy/fuzzy/milky effect on the water and leave alone the others as sharp as possible. all the best guys!

much respect,
karlo

 

[Asher Kelman]

hi asher and dwayne,

Regarding the DOF at f22, that is my favorite technique as well. However, a lot of my friends and photogs advised me to shy away from f22. Between f11-16 would be enough for web and blowups. The Dof at these apertures are already enough to give you that clarity and sharpness that you need. I just got home from trekking the whole day applied apertures less than 19 and im already blown away with out processing. As soon as i finish the set would post it right away.

Karlo and Dwayne,

It's best, in my opinion to use the lens that has the right effect rather than change it in PS, however skillful one may be. So I really recommend the less well corrected lenses at large aperture to get the dreamy effect. It also allows more attention in an organic way to the central subject, the waterfall. I really doubt one needs anything more than f 8.0 and the DOF will be generally fine at 5.6. These high f stop numbers are really only needed in exceptional circumstances such as with large format photography.

Asher

 

[Dwayne Oakes]

Karlo and Dwayne,

It's best, in my opinion to use the lens that has the right effect rather than change it in PS, however skillful one may be. So I really recommend the less well corrected lenses at large aperture to get the dreamy effect. It also allows more attention in an organic way to the central subject, the waterfall. I really doubt one needs anything more than f 8.0 and the DOF will be generally fine at 5.6. These high f stop numbers are really only needed in exceptional circumstances such as with large format photography.

Asher

This is what makes art and photography so great, we all have are own take on it. (subjective)
Thanks Asher.

Take care,

Dwayne Oakes

 

[Asher Kelman]

This is what makes art and photography so great, we all have are own take on it. (subjective)

Well said, Dwayne,

I only put forward my own ideas as added options that might be considered.

Asher