So, I Finally Got that Digital SLR I've Been Wanting ...

[The Lone Ranger]

I've had it for about a week now, but Saturday was the first day I had any time at all to try it out. As it turned out, it rained pretty-much all day. Still, I went out just before sunset and took a few pictures. The combination of the sunset and the heavily overcast sky really brought out the autumn colors.

http://www.freethought-forum.com/forum/gallery/files/5/0/KitchenCreek1.jpg


I've been really impressed! The original version of the above picture would have been 50 inches wide if I'd printed it at full scale! And that wasn't even the maximum-possible resolution the camera is capable of! Based on my experiments with scanning 35 mm film negatives, I'd say the digital camera is actually quite close to being able to capture as much detail as 35 mm film does. And since I'm not planning to print any poster-sized pictures anyway, it's surely more than adequate for my needs.


So, I went out to my favorite nearby park on Sunday to do some more photography. Alas, it was a bright, sunny day -- wouldn't you know it? The worst-possible conditions for photographing waterfalls. Still, I was able to get in some nice hiking, and in the very late afternoon/early evening, when the Sun had gone down behind the mountains and the valleys were shaded, conditions for waterfall photography were excellent.

I tried taking a picture from nearly the same position of the above picture. This time, however, it was a good 2 hours before sunset, and the sky was clear. It's still a neat picture, I think, but the light doesn't bring out the colors to the same extent. When you compare the pictures, it's easy to see why so many photographers like to use "Sunset Filters," which simulate the lighting conditions at sunset. I've never used one myself, since I think it's "cheating," but it's easy to see why they're popular.

http://www.freethought-forum.com/forum/gallery/files/5/0/KitchenCreek2.jpg


Next I decided to perform an experiment. I took a picture of Kitchen Creek with a relatively short exposure time of 1/8 second. This partially "freezes" the water, so that you see waves and ripples in it. I think the moving water blurs the image just enough to create a sensation of motion in the picture.

http://www.freethought-forum.com/forum/gallery/files/5/0/Stream2_636019.jpg


Then I took a nearly identical picture, but I left the shutter open for 10 seconds. With the shutter open for so long, the moving water creates a "motion blur" that smooths out the surface. This creates the impression that the water surface is much smoother than it actually is, while creating streaks that clearly convey the water's motion. I can't really decide which effect more clearly conveys the water's motion.

http://www.freethought-forum.com/forum/gallery/files/5/0/Stream1.jpg


Some trees had fallen over the stream during the last storm, right in front of a small cascade. I liked the way the tree trunks framed the cascade.

http://www.freethought-forum.com/forum/gallery/files/5/0/Creek.jpg


Then, of course, came the waterfalls! This is Ganoga Falls, a classic "Wedding Cake"-type waterfall. The picture can't do it justice, as it's almost 100 feet tall. A girl was trying to photograph her boyfriend as he stood in the spray at the waterfall's base, and in order to get the entire waterfall into the picture, she had to back up so far that her boyfriend was no longer recognizable in her picture.

http://www.freethought-forum.com/forum/gallery/files/5/0/GanogaFalls.jpg

Next is Harrison Wright Falls, which is more of a "Plunge"-type waterfall. It's about 38 feet high.

http://www.freethought-forum.com/forum/gallery/files/5/0/HarrisonWrightFalls.jpg

Then there's Mohican Falls, which is about 39 feet high.

http://www.freethought-forum.com/forum/gallery/files/5/0/MohicanFalls.jpg

After that, there's Sheldon Reynolds Falls, a lovely 36-foot waterfall.

http://www.freethought-forum.com/forum/gallery/files/5/0/SheldonReynoldsFalls.jpg

Finally, there's Tuscarora Falls, which is about 47 feet high.

http://www.freethought-forum.com/forum/gallery/files/5/0/TuscaroraFalls.jpg


Of course, we can't forget the plant life!

This is Lycopodium annotinum, commonly called "Stiff Club-Moss". (It's actually a close relative of ferns, and not a moss.)

http://www.freethought-forum.com/forum/gallery/files/5/0/Lycopodiumannotinum.jpg

And this is Mitchella repens a lovely little evergreen that's commonly called "Partridge Berry."

http://www.freethought-forum.com/forum/gallery/files/5/0/Mitchellarepens.jpg



I think I'm going to be happy with the fact that I've finally gone digital.

Cheers,

Michael

[Plant Woman]

Incredible! You live by these falls?

What camera did you get? I just bought another new digital: Canon EOS 40d.

[livius drusus]

Totally gorgeous landscape and photography, Michael. I LOVE the Partridge Berry. Is it a ground cover?

[Uthgar the Brazen]

Gorgeous pics, Masked Stranger! Our Autumn was something of a blink-and-miss-it affair this year.

Harrison Wright Falls looks familiar. Is that where we got to see Kevin Costner's butt double for Robin Hood?

[Crumb]

Great pics, TLR! Thanks for sharing.

If it matters I like the water with less motion blur.

[The Lone Ranger]

Incredible! You live by these falls?
Pretty much. I live less than 20 miles from them. The park has more than 20 named waterfalls, plus countless smaller, unnamed cascades. It's a wonderful thing to have practically next door!

What camera did you get? I just bought another new digital: Canon EOS 40d.
I bought a Canon EOS 400D Rebel XTi. It's a 10.1 megapixel camera; I had priced some 12 meg cameras, but you really pay through the nose for those extra 2 megs, and in retrospect, I'm happy I didn't shell out for what wouldn't have represented a significant increase in picture quality as far as I'm concerned. My 10 meg camera gives me the option of printing out poster-sized pictures if I want -- and I'm unlikely to ever want to print pictures that big. So why waste all that money on an extra 2 megs?


Totally gorgeous landscape and photography, Michael. I LOVE the Partridge Berry. Is it a ground cover?
Yup. It's a common ground cover in the forests of the East, and I've seen patches that probably cover an entire acre or more. I think it's a lovely little plant myself, and it's always nice to see some when walking through the woods. Even though I've seen it growing in some pretty dry and rocky soils, it doesn't seem to tolerate direct sun. That's a shame, because otherwise I bet it'd make a great ground cover for flower gardens -- it has white flowers in the Spring, bright red berries in the Summer and Fall, and green foliage all year, so it seems like a near-perfect ground cover.

Harrison Wright Falls looks familiar. Is that where we got to see Kevin Costner's butt double for Robin Hood?
I doubt it. Robin Hood was filmed in Britain, wasn't it? I'm in the eastern U.S.


If it matters I like the water with less motion blur.
I like long exposures for waterfalls, but I'm inclined to agree that shorter exposures create a better impression of movement for running water. Overlong exposures make it look like glass or ice, I think.

Cheers,

Michael

[curses]

Wow, nice pics, Michael! The Rebel is a nice little camera.

[Leesifer]

My goodness, Michael. They are wonderful pictures.

[Dragar]

Indeed they are.

[Dingfod]

Holy crap, I've got to get one of those cameras.

[Pinecone]

Those pictures really are beautiful. I googled the camera because I've had a new digital camera on my 'wish list' for a couple of years now. I suspect the gorgeousness of the pictures has more to do with the photographer than the camera but I can dream... What lens or lenses did you use for the shots? The close ups are as beautiful as the landscapes.

[Dingfod]

It's got to be at least partly the camera because my 10 year old Sony Mavica can't do anywhere near that quality.

[livius drusus]

Yup. It's a common ground cover in the forests of the East, and I've seen patches that probably cover an entire acre or more. I think it's a lovely little plant myself, and it's always nice to see some when walking through the woods. Even though I've seen it growing in some pretty dry and rocky soils, it doesn't seem to tolerate direct sun. That's a shame, because otherwise I bet it'd make a great ground cover for flower gardens -- it has white flowers in the Spring, bright red berries in the Summer and Fall, and green foliage all year, so it seems like a near-perfect ground cover.
Oh wow... It just gets better and better. If it grows in dry and rocky soils, does that mean it's generally drought tolerant?

[Pinecone]

It's got to be at least partly the camera because my 10 year old Sony Mavica can't do anywhere near that quality.

That's the same crappy one I have! My condolences! Takes pictures on a floppy disc right? It takes a sad picture it does.:sadnod:

[Dingfod]

Yeppers, floppies. At 2 Megapixels, on Hi-Resolution it isn't too bad, I've blow pictures up to full monitor size with no discernible pixelation. However, on Hi-Rez, you can only fit three or four pictures on a floppy instead of the 16-20 or so on the Normal-Resolution setting. That's a big drawback. But, I do love how easy it is to use.

[But]

Wow, cool pictures, TLR! I love how the blurred water looks like out of a computer game.

[viscousmemories]

Amazing, Michael. Very beautiful pics.

[seebs]

The Rebel XTi is what I ended up getting too. The other thing I got is too busy to take pictures. WEEPING ENSUES.

[Petra]

Oh! What beautiful photos of a stunning place. :vapours:


The XTi is a wonderful camera, isn't it? And with your eye for beauty and nature you should be able to take some truly magnificent photos. Congrats on finding the joys of digital!

[The Lone Ranger]

What lens or lenses did you use for the shots? The close ups are as beautiful as the landscapes.
The stream and waterfall pictures were taken with a 28-70mm zoom lens, set to 28mm. I used a circular polarizer to reduce glare and bring out the colors.

The plant pictures were taken with a 70-300mm zoom lens, set to 300mm. I didn't post the resulting picture, but I screwed a macro converter onto the lens and took a close-up picture of the Mitchella. I'll attach a reduced-size version so you can see how that came out. It works pretty well, but I think the technique of screwing macro converters to a lens is cumbersome, so I think I'll soon invest in a zoom lens that has a macro function. I had a nice zoom lens for my old camera that converted to a macro lens with the flip of a switch; it took wonderful close-up pictures of flowers. I think I'm going to have to get one of those lenses for my new camera.


I saved the pictures I wanted to a flash drive and went by the local drug store last night. I simply plugged the drive into the kiosk, selected the pictures I wanted, and in 5 minutes' time, had them all printed. I printed them at 4" x 6", but based on the instructions on the kiosk, I could have printed them at nearly ten times that size before pixelation would have become noticable. (Not that the drug store had the facilities to print pictures that size.) The pictures are absolutely indistinguishable from those taken with a film camera.

Given how expensive film is, and how I usually keep only about half of the pictures I take, this is a great deal! I can take as many pictures as I want without having to worry about running out of film (I have 2 memory cards for my camera, and each holds 300+ pictures), and I have to pay for the printing of only those that I want.


Oh wow... It just gets better and better. If it grows in dry and rocky soils, does that mean it's generally drought tolerant?
I did a little searching and found some websites which mention that Mitchella repens is sometimes planted as a ground cover. It likes somewhat acidic soil and prefers the soil to be well-drained. Given that I've seen it growing in very dry soil, I'd guess that it's pretty drought-tolerant, but it doesn't do well in the sun. On the other hand, I've seen it growing in the spray from waterfalls, where the soil is permanently waterlogged, so it must have an amazingly broad tolerance for moisture.

According to some of the gardening websites I've checked, it makes a good ground cover in shaded gardens. Personally, I think it's a lovely little plant that's beautiful in all four seasons.

Some nurseries sell wildflowers, so you might be able to buy it. Alternately, you can find it growing wild in just about any well-established, undisturbed patch of forest in the eastern U.S. that has acidic, well-drained soil.


The XTi is a wonderful camera, isn't it? And with your eye for beauty and nature you should be able to take some truly magnificent photos. Congrats on finding the joys of digital!
It's turning out to be a great purchase!

Last night, I did some more experimentation. I set the camera to maximum sensitivity (ISO 1600) and shot some pictures of the Moon and stars, just to see what would happen. Even with a quick, 15-second exposure, the stars showed up beautifully! I discovered that ISO 1600 was actually too sensitive to photograph the Moon well. Even at exposure times of 1/10 second, the Moon was completely overexposed. Neat!


So, not only is the camera great for landscape and flower photography, I should be able to get some great pictures when the next good meteor shower comes along!

Neato!


Cheers,

Michael

[Ari]

It works pretty well, but I think the technique of screwing macro converters to a lens is cumbersome, so I think I'll soon invest in a zoom lens that has a macro function. I had a nice zoom lens for my old camera that converted to a macro lens with the flip of a switch; it took wonderful close-up pictures of flowers. I think I'm going to have to get one of those lenses for my new camera.

If you have an EF lens (most EOS lenses are EF) you can buy some kenko extension tubes for a reasonable price (canon makes you pay through the nose for theirs). They will get you better macro than the close up lenses but at a cheaper price than new glass.

I set the camera to maximum sensitivity (ISO 1600) and shot some pictures of the Moon and stars, just to see what would happen.

For serious dark or long night shots look into the noise reduction custom function. It will double the time it takes to make a shot and thus suck batteries twice as fast but it will help clean up a long-exposure.

[freemonkey]

Those are some nice pics, Michael!! I'm impressed with the sharpness of that macro shot, too. That XTi is such a popular camera, and I am in the market for a DSLR (my first). The only trouble with that particular model is that it just does not fit my hand right. I have large hands & long fingers and I can't grip the thing properly.

I'm thinking Nikon D80, but would rather have either the Nikon D200 or Canon 40D but those may be more $$$ than I could pay, especially when you start adding necessary lenses.

[InTheServiceOfZeke]

the nikon d80 kicks ass. it is basically the same as the d200, with the biggest difference being a more rugged body. i thought the canon weighed a lot.

i chose to go with the d80 and with the money saved- buy good glass.

nice pictures, Michael. you are lucky to live so close to such beauty. it would be hard not to get a good pic in a pretty place like that!!

[JoelJ]

Congratulations! Great pictures!

I just got my first digital camera in May (the 6.3mp Canon Digital Rebel), and I love it, too.

If you aren't familiar with it, check out http://www.ncwaterfalls.com/. It contains spectacular photos of dozens of waterfalls in North Carolina, Tennessee, and South Carolina.

[livius drusus]

Welcome to FF, JoelJ. :welcome1: