There is something about waterfalls that makes you feel calm and relaxed. Maybe it’s the smell of the freshwater or the sound of running water. But waterfalls seem to capture our imagination. We particularly love the calm, serene feeling that a waterfall gives, especially when looking at images of waterfalls that show a dreamy, milky picture of the water.
We decided it’s time Farnworth Photographics captured a series of photographs, showing some of the waterfalls found in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, NSW.
We knew it would not be an easy assignment. After all, getting close up to a waterfall often requires a long trek downhill. Then a trek back uphill, carrying camera equipment and in the heat.
For our first photo shoot, we chose a medium-difficulty walking trail. Our research for a beginner’s trail with waterfalls led us to Lawson, a small village in the Blue Mountains. Lawson has a waterfall trail that leads to 4 waterfalls, all within a few hours of walking.
Lawson waterfall trail
4 waterfalls within a couple of hour’s walk
Preparation
We did not want to walk in the Blue Mountains and discover that we did not have the right equipment to photograph waterfalls. Especially the way we wanted to capture them. That is, smooth, milky and dreamy. Therefore, pre-planning was essential.
To achieve our creative vision, we knew we would need to use a slow shutter speed. We guessed it would probably be around 3 seconds. With an aperture size of around f/11 to give a good depth of field and a focal length of around 50mm to provide a wide field of view, for showing the surrounding environment.
achieving a slow shutter speed with a low ISO, would mean going at a time of the day when the sun would not be too high and bright. As we would be deep down in the rainforest, we would still need to have some sunlight shining through to give a good contrast. Therefore, to get good quality light, we decided an early morning trek would be best. At least going early would also ensure we didn’t run out of daylight.
Equipment
Slow shutter speeds would mean we would need to take a tripod and a shutter trigger to prevent any blur from camera shake.
Not knowing what the lighting conditions would be like to get a correct exposure, meant we would need to cover all our bases controlling the light reaching the camera sensor. We packed 2 different strengths of ND filters. An ND8 filter, which would give us a 3-stop reduction of light, and an ND64 filter, which would give us 6 6-stop reduction of light if needed.
We timed our adventure for a day when it had been raining a few days before, so we would see a good flow of water.
Action
With all camera gear packed, we made an 8:00 am start. The trail was steep but it was pretty easy to reach our first waterfall, ‘Adelina Falls’.
There was nobody around, only the sound of the Lyrebirds. It was hot and humid, but tranquil. The sun was shining through the trees onto the floor of the rainforest. It was bright but lots of shade.
The trails were moderate
Recent rain made the steps slippery
Adelina falls was beautiful. They are not a fast-flowing waterfall but are scenic and accessible. The sun was shining through the trees which meant we had to use an ND64 filter. An ND8 filter did not allow us to reduce the shutter speed enough.
Adelina falls – shutter speed 2sec.
Our 2nd waterfall was about another 1km trek through a fairly well-maintained trail. We only saw one walker on the trail, as it was still early morning and fairly isolated in the depths of the rainforest.
Our next waterfall was accessed by climbing down a short steep path (if there had been a lot of rain it would not have been accessible). This was our favourite waterfall. It was pretty shady with enough light to get good contrast in the image.
Shutter speed 5 sec (ND 64 filter)
2 hrs had gone by, the sun was getting high in the sky and tourists were starting to arrive in groups. Capturing photos without someone having a selfie was proving to be difficult. The serenity and peacefulness had gone. But we had achieved what we set out to achieve and ‘captured a moment in time that will last forever”. Now it was time for the long trek back up to the top.
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Farnworth Photographics
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