[GSVJase]

Canonteign Falls on the edge of Dartmoor

Click for bigger piccies



Settings
10sec f36 4xND & Polariser


The wife pointed this part of the stream out as it looked like a good flow of water hitting the rock!



25sec f36 4xND & polariser



This is one of the main waterfall. It's not quite as impressive or "full" as the first shot.




Appreciate any criticism as I need all the help I can get !!!

[Matty]

i like this type of shot, very impressive

[Liberalis]

Love that first one, slow shutter water shots are a fave of mine.

The full size shot looks a touch soft on the focus on the branches, but I still think its a cool shot.

nice one Jase.

[Steve]

I have to agree with Liberalis on the first one being a touch soft. As the other two seem fine maybe it was your tripod not being footed as well that could have attributed to this. It’s a nice capture though and overall well framed and executed.

The second shot (btw the linked version is huge, maybe reduce that a little to protect your work from being taken by someone else?) has a great deal going for it, your wife spotted a good shot. My only advice for this one would be to have done a little pruning at the location to remove the distracting twigs at the front of the picture. If this was not possible and now since you have already taken the shot, I would spend a few minutes in an image editing package and clone them out. Maybe play just a touch with levels also to bring a little of the shadow detail out and this will transform the photo from a good picture into something outstanding.

The third shot is outclassed by the first two but when viewed full size and individually is still something to be more than happy with.

Thanks for showing them

[Digital SPG]

In terms of the the colours and the impact of the image the first one is a definate. It is a shame about the sharpness of the picture but you have to look for it to see it. Still a cracking shot. Definately one of may favorite styles of photography.

The third one is a bit busy in the top left quarter and the sky at the top is a little distracting.

Really good efforts though. On my list of things to try.

[Matt]

The first shot is great compositionally and the colours are fantastic.
As the others have said the softness lets it down.
This could be down to two things:
1. you hadn't focussed for the sharpest point.
2. not hitting the sweet spot on the lens.

Point one is easy to remedy, spend more time getting the focus right. Don't always rely on the AF switch to MF if you need to.

Point two I think you've used the wrong depth of field for this image, f22 would have been more suitable. If you do a google you could find what f-stop has the sweet spot for your lens. This will give you the sharpest image achievable.

Image 2
A great find and well spotted by your other half.
It may have benefitted from bit of gardening but not too much.


Image 3
A lot more busier than the first two and the saturation doesn't have the impact of the first two (did you use the poloriser with this image?).
The tree on the left distracts from the falls. I think the only way you could have got round it would be to get closer to the fall and lower down, but you may have been limited by your lens.

[GSVJase]

Many thanks for the comments guys I really appreciate you pointing out the problems with my shots

I seem to be producing a few "soft" shots lately and I'm thinking there might be something wrong with my eye !!!! They were all taken on full manual mode but as you say my tripod might not have been steady enough.

I'm getting to grips with the composition of a photo but I still kick myself when I get home and notice something stupid like too many twigs in the shot! I'm going to have aplay shortly with that shot and see if I can make it better in Photoshop


The more I look at the 3rd image the more I'm beginning to dislike it in comparison to the others. I'm planning a return to a similar locaion with some smaller waterfalls in a few weeks with my new tripod which should help with any tripod problems (about 10 times heavier!).


Thanks again for the comments

[Liberalis]

Just wondering, what lens are you using for the shots, ages ago I had a sigma 18 - 50mm used for wide shots, and no-matter how many times I took it back, and had replacements, I could not for the life of me, get an in focus shot.

Another thing, are you using a timer to release the shutter or a remote ? there is a slight shake in using your finger, not sure it would cause this much shake on a 10 seconds exposure, but might be worth a thought.

Finally, when you resize your image for using on the net, do you sharpen them at all ? I have to sharpen each time I shrink a photo using Psp7.

Kind regards

Kris

Ps: I feel there is still a good shot in that last image, why not try and crop the original, below is just a couple of idea's that I can see.

[digitalfailure]

Jase

Some cracking shots there,
softness aside (minor point for me) i'd be over the moon to have taken shots like that.

[MyPix]

does the 300D have a built in 'Diopter changer ' for the viewfinder ??
if so have you got it set right cuz it sounds like the problem is for manual focus only, which means the camera is not helping in any way for focusing,and u will never see a clear image if the diopter is out

MyPix

[GSVJase]

Liberalis, I'm using the stock lens that came with the kit 18-55 and tbh I'm losing faith in it fast The more I use it the more problems I'm getting with this soft focus problem (a bad workman always blames his tools ) I was using a shutter release cable for allt he shots but the tripob was a cheap jessops job as my new Slik hadn't arrived so that might have contributed.

I have to confess that my photos are not touched in Photoshop at all and as you say might require some sharpening after resizing. I will try that along with the crops you've suggested later tonight and see what happens.

Digitalfailure I am chuffed with these shots but strive for perfection, or even better, commercial quality photos !!! I promised myself that I'm not going to upgrade to a new camera until I've sold a photograph!

Mypix I do wear glasses and have to take them off when using the camera and have tried to adjust as best as I can. I think it might need some more testing as you say! Or I might be just clutching at straws to try and find the problem!


I'm currently looking at which short range and long range L series lenses to get as I'm more than positive that my current lense is not helping things




I really appreciate the help guys [smilie=t:

[Catdaddy]

GSV, I had a similar opinion about the lenses that I originally bought with my Nikon F65 - the 28-100G and 70-300G lenses - none of my exposures were ever quite as good as I seemed to remember when taking them. But I added a 50mm 1.8 prime lens to the collection, and the change in quality is outstanding in terms of contrast and overall sharpness, not to mention speed. I woud try to hunt down something similar in the Canon range.

As for your glasses, have you tried contact lenses? Or maybe a rubber eyecup for the viewfinder?

Just a couple of ideas to throw into the pot...

But other than the softness in the first images, you got some great shots there!

[silkstone]

Jase: If you are focusing the camera manually without your glasses, or if you have adjusted the dioptre setting to suit your eyesight without glasses, you won't get sharp manual focus because the camera settings are compensating for your eyesight. If you can't use the viewfinder properly when wearing your specs, try the eyepiece extender which gives more eye relief.

BTW the shots are even better if you've done no post-processing. The 18-55 is not the best lens in the world, and perhaps you should look at the Canon 17-40L or the Tamron 17-35 Di.