Weekend excursion to Niagara Falls C+C Please

[shefjr]

My wife and I went up to Niagara Falls this past weekend. It was nice to get away and continue practicing with my Nikon D7000. I feel like I have a good grasp on the use of the camera. I use only manual mode so I am constantly reading my histogram and adjusting shutter speed, ISO, and aperture. I feel where I am really lacking is in my creativity. I am getting frustrated with the fact that I can’t take one photo out of 250 that is interesting, enjoyable, or basically evokes some sort of emotion other than “that’s nice”. My goal for photography is to simply take one photo that evokes an emotion of awe. I want one photo that I can hang in my living room after that I could hang up my gear happy. (I wouldn’t really stop) I know I can’t pick up a camera and expect to take that shot instantly and that it takes time to take such a photo. I just wish I wasn’t bored looking at my own photos. Lol. Okay, I’m done complaining now prepare to be bored lol. Here are the four that I thought were almost worth saving. C+C is appreciated.

1. F3.2, ISO 100, SS 1/5000, 50mm. Here I was trying not to show anything more than the falls. I didn’t want the viewer to see the distant background which is IMO busy with man made structures and people.


Niagara-falls by Shefjr, on Flickr

2. F14, ISO 100, Exposure time 20 seconds, 32mm, UV, CPL, ND 10. I really enjoy the silky look of the falls and with the long exposure the people looking out from the observation deck aren’t as easily noticed.


Niagara-falls-L-exposure by Shefjr, on Flickr

3. F14, ISO 100, Exposure time 20 seconds, 18mm, UV, CPL, ND 10. In this image I like how the terrain cuts across the photo and how with the exception of the two people standing on the stairs the other people are merely ghosts in the picture. Looking more closely however, I probably should have cropped the photo a little bit to eliminate the extra sky.


Niagara-falls-long-exposure by Shefjr, on Flickr

4. F16, ISO 100, Exposure time 15 seconds, 50mm, UV, CPL, ND 10. For me the center piece is the rock. I liked the silkiness of the water throughout the photo and both how the foreground and background looked. In hind sight I probably should have attempted to get some sky into the photo. Maybe?


Long-exposure-of-rock-in-Ni by Shefjr, on Flickr

 

[spacefuzz]

I like 2 and 4

 

[spacefuzz]

#2 I really like your shutter speed and how the falls dissapear into the mist. Id be curious to see other crops, perhaps less on the right?

#4 Also like your choice of shutter speed and your use of the flowers as a FG element. Not sure if I would have centered the rock. Or if I had centered it perhaps try a shot without the flowers. but thats just personal preference.

 

[jfrabat]

To me, #1 is the winner; it shows some movement, but not having the silky evvect shows the POWER of the falls. Also, the sky in the others is a bit dull, so I like the fact that it is not included in #1. I would have liked it better if the camara was pointed a little higher up, but still leaving out the sky, and a bit more to the left of the photo (so the fall on the foreground is close to the third of the shot, but the rear fall is still in the frame). Still, not a bad series, so don't worry about them not being National Geographic material...

 

[shefjr]

#2 I really like your shutter speed and how the falls dissapear into the mist. Id be curious to see other crops, perhaps less on the right?

#4 Also like your choice of shutter speed and your use of the flowers as a FG element. Not sure if I would have centered the rock. Or if I had centered it perhaps try a shot without the flowers. but thats just personal preference.

I like how the falls disappears also that's one of the reasons I chose it out of the many that I took. As for #4 I didn't crop it at all. I took the photo with the thought that I would crop it later. I had thought about cropping with the ROT in mind but, to be honest I kind of liked it like this. I may crop it now though just to see what I might add to the photo.
Thanks for viewing I appreciate the comments.

 

[shefjr]

To me, #1 is the winner; it shows some movement, but not having the silky evvect shows the POWER of the falls. Also, the sky in the others is a bit dull, so I like the fact that it is not included in #1. I would have liked it better if the camara was pointed a little higher up, but still leaving out the sky, and a bit more to the left of the photo (so the fall on the foreground is close to the third of the shot, but the rear fall is still in the frame). Still, not a bad series, so don't worry about them not being National Geographic material...

I agree with you about the silky effect and loss of power. Stopping the action really gives it a much more dramatic effect. I also agree about the sky being dull. I would love to have had a few clouds to add to the photos. I just don't know if that might have made the photos too busy. Thank you for the "not a bad series" comment. I look at my photos and get bored, which to me means that everyone else will also be bored. If you say there not bad then to me that means they aren't totally boring. lol
Thank you for taking the time to critique my photos.

 

[Erinw417]

I really like number 4. The silkiness of the water is almost like looking into a dream or something. Lol if that makes sense.

 

[Joel_W]

After reading your intro, your desire to create meaningful, and as you put it Awe inspiring photographs, is what the vast majority of the members here also aspire to achieve. We all have a deep and sincere interest to improve our skills as a photographer. And I'm quite sure that everyone who keeps on working at improving their skills both technically, and subjectively, continues to improve and grow. With that being said, forcing yourself to use only manual, and constantly studying every histogram and making adjustments to your exposures, has little to do with creativity, unless you're after a special effect.

As a matter of fact if you spent less time worrying about the basics, and more time studying your compositions, trying to improve them subjectively, controlling lighting, DOF, etc, you'd grow at a more meaningful pace, be more satisfied with your work, and enjoying photography as a relaxing hobby.

I rarely shoot in manual these days. I prefer AP for florals, scenics, close up/macro work. And SP for when there is movement involved. Rarely do I find it necessary to work in Manual unless there is a distinct reason to do so. You have so many options for focus, exposure, and the combination of both with your D7000, that there is little to force yourself to constantly shoot in Manual.

As for your Niagara Falls set, pic 1 just seems out of wack with your crop. I would have either included more land mass above the falls, or cropped all of it out. the narrow strip you left just seems out of balance to the massiveness of the falls. Picture 2 is basically the same composition but much better composed with the land mass above the falls. Pic 1's water flow has great movement, yet isn't soft. It clearly shows the power and intensity as it cascades over the falls. Pic 2 lost that as the flow just looks to soft. My point here is that studying your histogram won't solve this issue. Taking several exposures from both angles would have.

Pic 3 just doesn't do much for me as the falls are a minor point in your composition as the hill and steps are the main focal points.

Pic 4 is a solid composition, but the water flow is too cotton like, too soft. Again, look at the colors, power of the water in picture 1. That would have made this picture really rock.

Your work is solid. You understand composition, exposure, and but lack confidence to explore and experiment. Use your camera as a tool for you to create. Bottom line is you're dong just fine.

 

[shefjr]

After reading your intro, your desire to create meaningful, and as you put it Awe inspiring photographs, is what the vast majority of the members here also aspire to achieve. We all have a deep and sincere interest to improve our skills as a photographer. And I'm quite sure that everyone who keeps on working at improving their skills both technically, and subjectively, continues to improve and grow. With that being said, forcing yourself to use only manual, and constantly studying every histogram and making adjustments to your exposures, has little to do with creativity, unless you're after a special effect.

As a matter of fact if you spent less time worrying about the basics, and more time studying your compositions, trying to improve them subjectively, controlling lighting, DOF, etc, you'd grow at a more meaningful pace, be more satisfied with your work, and enjoying photography as a relaxing hobby.

I rarely shoot in manual these days. I prefer AP for florals, scenics, close up/macro work. And SP for when there is movement involved. Rarely do I find it necessary to work in Manual unless there is a distinct reason to do so. You have so many options for focus, exposure, and the combination of both with your D7000, that there is little to force yourself to constantly shoot in Manual.

As for your Niagara Falls set, pic 1 just seems out of wack with your crop. I would have either included more land mass above the falls, or cropped all of it out. the narrow strip you left just seems out of balance to the massiveness of the falls. Picture 2 is basically the same composition but much better composed with the land mass above the falls. Pic 1's water flow has great movement, yet isn't soft. It clearly shows the power and intensity as it cascades over the falls. Pic 2 lost that as the flow just looks to soft. My point here is that studying your histogram won't solve this issue. Taking several exposures from both angles would have.

Pic 3 just doesn't do much for me as the falls are a minor point in your composition as the hill and steps are the main focal points.

Pic 4 is a solid composition, but the water flow is too cotton like, too soft. Again, look at the colors, power of the water in picture 1. That would have made this picture really rock.

Your work is solid. You understand composition, exposure, and but lack confidence to explore and experiment. Use your camera as a tool for you to create. Bottom line is you're dong just fine.

I agree with you. I feel like you are telling me to MAN UP! lol! And you're right. I guess I just wanted to vent a little. It's IMO virtually impossible to take a photo at the falls that hasn't already been done. I also see your point about my focusing too much on basics of technique. However, I don't yet have the knack for seeing the photo. Quick story, my wife and I went to Old Fort Niagara. I (Mr. Point and Shoot) walked passed several nice places to take photos. My wife (Mrs. Creative Eye) kept pulling me back and saying "wait look at how cool this shot would be!" lol/ugh! I did learn though to take a breath and stop and look at the shot and look for the better point before taking the shot. I felt I did that much better at the falls but, still have a lot of room for improvement. I should note that I actually enjoy both using manual mode and reading my histogram simply because for me, I feel that until I can get a more photographic eye, I can continue to improve/practice with the technical aspects. I am actually relaxed in shooting that way because I feel like I'm accomplishing something.

My first pic isn't actually cropped at all. I agree that it's a little off with the slight amount of green space above. The reason I took the photo that way was because the background would have become busy with people in brightly colored clothing. You don't get to see the people in the second photo because it's a long exposure. I had considered also considered cropping the down the green space but, then I would have cut off some of the falls, which I didn't want to do. I guess I was thinking, that would be like cutting off a hand in portrait photography. I understand your point about the histogram. You are right about taking multiple photos which in some cases I did. However, not this one.

I completely agree with you.I almost didn't post #3 because it was boring to me. The only reason I did end up posting it was because I liked the idea that there are two people almost frozen in time, while you can see that the world is passing them by.

I agree with you that this is a solid composition. This is the one photo that I am most happy with. However, IMO with the exception of the colors, I think the subject of the photo would become lost in the busyness of the scene. These would have been too much power around the rock and the rock would have become lost in the photo. You're right about the color though. I find the colors to be too green, yellow, and not enough blue.

Thank you for both your compliments and critique of my photos! I'll keep clicking away and hopefully one day I'll see through my viewfinder that one grand shot that I'm searching for.
Also thank you for the confidence boost. Sometimes getting only negative critiques can become discouraging when there is not a lot of positive feedback. I know that's what C+C is for and I do have thick skin and a salt shaker next to me when reading C+Cs, but it's still nice to hear the occasional "your work is solid" thank you!

Overall this is the my first post where everyone has been positive about the photos that have been posted! :x :thumbup: thank you everyone!