Niagara Falls

Civchic · May 5, 2014

I know - a monkey could take photos of Niagara Falls that are amazing, and I'm pretty sure every possible photo has already been taken, but here are my attempts (C&C always appreciated).

may 4 022 edge of the falls by civgirlca, on Flickr

may 4 027 niagara by civgirlca, on Flickr

may 4 016 niagara falls skyline by civgirlca, on Flickr

may 4 018 up river by civgirlca, on Flickr

bribrius · May 5, 2014

looks like fun. went there a few years ago with the family. Tourist trap but still nice. Good place for pics. I actually found more pics NOT of the falls while there. still pretty amazing even if it is a tourist trap eh?

limr · May 5, 2014

I think the second one is most successful. You've got a clear subject and there's nothing in the frame that is unnecessary.

In the first shot: too many twigs in the foreground that do nothing for the picture. There's not enough of the actual falls to make that the obvious subject, and there are other elements competing with it (rocks, bridge).

The in the third shot...well, you're at an immediate disadvantage when faced with a skyline that isn't particularly pretty or interesting. You have to work hard to make that look nice

But if you are trying to highlight the skyline, then cut out all of the equally uninteresting foreground (ugly chain fence, that section of separated water to the left). You've also got some spray on the right of the frame that makes the viewer wonder what's off camera to the right, leading them to ignore what IS in the frame.

The fourth one would also benefit from some cropping to make it clearer what the subject is. If it's that barge, then I'd suggest getting rid of almost everything to the right of it and some of the sky as well. You want enough to give it a context, but not so much that the viewers are looking all over the frame trying to figure out what we're supposed to look at.

Civchic · May 5, 2014

Bribius, I grew up here (well, twenty minutes away) so it's got whole weird angle for me - definitely kitschy tourist trap, and you KNOW it is amazing to see - but you've seen it soooooo many times that it's ordinary.

Limr, thanks for the critiques! It's really helpful. I liked #4, but I see what you're saying. Is this a better picture of the barge?

may 4 015 old scow by civgirlca, on Flickr

I am definitely weak at landscapes - and was carrying my 55-250 (not expecting to actually be at the falls themselves, that day - we had been hiking at Dufferin Islands upriver).

limr · May 5, 2014

Yup, that's better.

As for the one in the OP, how do you like this?

or this:

Including enough of one side or the other (but not both) preserves the context of the photo and lets the barge be a more prominent subject.

(At first I thought I preferred the first one, but as soon as I tried the second crop, I started to like it better.)

Civchic · May 5, 2014

Ahh! Yes, I like the second crop better. The island really takes away from the photo, surprisingly. And the far away buildings on the right anchor it. Thanks!

agp · May 5, 2014

I'm going to buy you a 10 stop ND filter for your birthday so next time you go you can take some crazy shots.

Civchic · May 5, 2014

agp said:
I'm going to buy you a 10 stop ND filter for your birthday so next time you go you can take some crazy shots.

OMG. You have NO IDEA how many times yesterday I moaned about needing some filters. A GND and a 10 stop and a 2 stop for cloudy days and and and...

I don't want to buy cheap ones, so I'm saving up my pennies.

My birthday is January 25. Hahaha.

agp · May 5, 2014

Okay great, thanks for the notice in advance! Some ND filters will do wonders.

JeremyD · May 6, 2014

Nice photos of the falls!

I live in Kitchener and I take a few trips here

I recently took photographs of a proposal with the fireworks in the background and it was fun!

Civchic · May 6, 2014

I looked at your pics, very nice! That would be a tough (near impossible) setup for me with the fireworks and the dark, and your couple are so crisply focussed!

But - how did you get hired to do a "surprise" proposal without being caught out by a suspicious bride, or arrested for being a creepy stalker? LOL.

Ec1981 · May 6, 2014

Wonderful photos!

JeremyD · May 6, 2014

Civchic said:
I looked at your pics, very nice! That would be a tough (near impossible) setup for me with the fireworks and the dark, and your couple are so crisply focussed!

But - how did you get hired to do a "surprise" proposal without being caught out by a suspicious bride, or arrested for being a creepy stalker? LOL.

Haha I get asked this a lot! I was in contact with the boyfriend who wanted to set up a proposal and have me taking photos, she was so in the moment she didn't notice me! It was black as well & yes I was manual focusing at a aperture of 1.8 :O Half of my photos were in focus but it was enough

Still a lot of fun!

thereyougo! · May 7, 2014

For something like Niagara, 10 stops is way too much. I took photos of Kerikeri falls in New Zealand which are much smaller than Niagara, and because of the speed of the falls, the results with a 10 stop are meh. They just look soft and out of focus as there is no detail in the water at all. IMO 10 stops are for cloud movement and thin waterfalls. A 3 stop ND filter with a GND to hold back the sky? Now you're talking. Aim for a shutter speed of around 1/3 or 1/4. You'll blur the water but not enough for cream, but you'll have some detail in the water too. With a 10 stop, a big waterfall looks horrid as it just looks like Cadbury's glass and a half ad!

I have Lee filters including the Big Stopper. They are expensive but excellent. The Big Stopper has the smallest colour cast of any 10 stop i've used