Hints & Tips
Safety
Getting out into nature is both fun and healthy, provided that you take some care to ensure your own personal safety. With that in mind, here are some tips to make your forays into nature healthy and enjoyable, rather than major disasters.
Be aware of your environment
It is very easy to become complacent about your environment, particularly when you visit a place on a regular basis. Unfortunately, environments change. Always pay attention to your environment, whether visiting a location for the fist or the fiftieth time, and act appropriately for the evironment - that slope that has always been dry could now be wet and slippery and a one way trip to the river at its bottom.
Be aware of your personal limitations
As a sixty year old, my body takes great delight in constantly reminding me that I'm not as young as I once was. There are plenty of occasions when you need to be aware of your own personal limitatons, especially around water, as an accident could prove to be fatal.
Always carry a stick
My walking stick is probably the single most useful thing that I carry and whenever I forget it, I always end up regretting it.
- Use it is a third leg to provide additional balance when navigating difficult trails;
- Use it as an advanced warning sensor when the ground is not visible - a stick is essential for checking for holes hidden under snow;
- It is not uncommon, when chasing waterfalls, to have to cross a creek or stream by jumping from rock to rock. A walking stick is invaluable for testing that next rock to see if it will tip and dump you in the water when you step onto it.
Dress for the weather
This should go without saying, but if the weather is likely to be cold, wear extra layers; if it is likely to be wet, wear something waterfproof.
Crocks, plimsoles &c are not suitable footwear, particularly if you are planning to go off trail. Walking shoes are an absolute minimum requirement, but you can't beat a pair of decent hiking boots - they are made to be comfortable when walking longer distances and provide better protection and support to ankles.
Ticks...
When walking in long grass always be on the lookout for ticks. Most Conservation Authorities post notices when ticks are present. Always check yourself and your companions (be they human or otherwise) for ticks. Wearing clothing that doesn't leave skin exposed (trousers as opposed to shorts, long as opposed to short sleeves) will make it more difficult for ticks to attach themselves. Wearing light coloured clothing makes ticks easier to spot.
Photographing Waterfalls
Now that you have arrived safely at your destination and have sat enjoying the sights and sounds of your waterfall, it's time to take some photos so that you can remember the experience.
Cameras
Cell Phones
Nearly every cell phone has a camera built in and they vary wildly in quality. Some can even fake long exposure by overlaying multiple images. The main limitation with cell phone cameras are:
- Inability to change lense other than by placing a separate lense over the phone's lense;
- Small sensor, even if it is 100GPx.
Point-and-shoot
This area covers a huge range of camera styles from small pocketable models to ones that look more like a mini SLR. They usually have a considerably larger sensor than a cellphone and the fitted lense's zoom range is usually better than a cellphone, however, their inability to changes lenses can sometimes be a disadvantage.
Semi-pro/Pro
MKam shoots with a Canon 60D. I (Jona) shoot with a Nikon D750 and a Nikon D810 and, if not carrying either of these, I am carrying a Nikon Z-fc. If I am going out to specifically photograph waterfalls, I always have a 24-70mm f/2.8 zoom as my 'standard' lense and a 14-24mm f/2.8 wide angle zoom lense for when I just can't fit the whole waterfall in using my 'standard' lense. Of course, the major downsides of using this kind of kit are cost and weight. At this level, you are unlikely to walk out of the camera store without dropping over $1,000 and at the top end, the sky's the limit. However, these cameras have a larger sensor than cameras in either of the other categories and the ability to fine tune every setting.
Long Exposure
As already mentioned, cellphone cameras fake this effect by overlaying multiple images. It is a feature that is available on an increasing number of point-and-shoot cameras and with the upper and top tier cameras, it's just one of those settings that can be tweaked. My personal preference is an exposure of somewhere between half a second and two seconds. I find that anything longer and the flow ceases to look 'flowy' and starts to look more like it was added later in your favourite image editing sofware.
Whatever type of camera you are using, you will have to hold the camera completely still for the duration of the exposure. The alternatives for doing this are:
- Brace the camera hard against yourself and tuck in your arms to help;
- Brace the camera against something solid, such as a rock or a tree;
- Use a tripod...
Tripods
Tripods come in all shapes, sizes and weights. Both MKam and I are currently using K&F Concept tripods. I used to change tripods about every year as standing them in a semi-frozen river or a 1.5m snow bank plays havoc with the nylon locking rings, however, my larger tripod (for the DSLRs), a T255A4, is on its third trip round the sun and is showing no signs of its legs dropping off. The one I carry with me when I'm using the Z-fc is a super lightweight carbon-fibre job (A225C0) and it's great for the smaller camera, but it has a limited weight capacity and I suspect it might fall over if I put a big heavy camera with a big heavy lense on it.
I also have a Benbo Trekker II, the most versatile tripod ever created (except that it's a bit short). Unfortunately it weighs something ridiculous (all steel construction). Paterson took over the manufacture of Benbo tripods in the late 1980s.
ND Filters
Sometimes, now matter how you play with your camera's settings, it is simply too bright to get an exposure longer than 1/30s. You set your camera's ISO to its lowest and shut the lense down as far as it will go and still the exposure is too short to get the effect you're looking for. This is where Neutral Density (ND) filters come in. They reduce the amount of light entering the camera without altering anything else. I have a set of K&F Concept ND filters (along with a polarizing filter) that make long exposures a breeze, even when the midday sun is against you.
Now go out and enjoy taking photographs of waterfalls!
