Waterfalls

Ever since I first picked up a camera, I have loved photographing waterfalls.  It’s easy to understand why.  Who doesn’t like them?  They offer up beauty, power, and for photographers, endless shooting possibilities.  By adjusting the shutter speed, you can go from a high speed shot, stopping the water in its tracks, or you can slow it down to make it silky smooth,  which is the way I like to shoot them most of the time.

Chapman Falls

It was a beautiful early spring afternoon back in 2010 when I took my first ever trip to Devil’s Hopyard State Park in East Haddam, CT.  I took my time walking around the park along the various marked trails, noting a couple of spots that would be nice to photograph after the leaves turn in the fall.  By the time I made it back to Chapman Falls, the park’s most crowd pleasing feature, it was just starting to get dark out.  The lower light helped in slowing down the shutter speed but it was still faster than I wanted, so I added a circular polarizer bringing the speed down another couple of stops.

This was one of first ever HDR images I ever produced and it solidified my choice in which software to use.  Photomatix Pro is still my favorite HDR software but I also use Photoshop and Nik HDR Efex Pro once in a while.  I am most comfortable with Photomatix and it continues to produce the results I am looking for most of the time so it remains on top as I move forward in HDR.

Tomorrow? Another from the darkroom days.