If you enjoy my photos and would like to purchase some, I want to thank you! Simply visit my Zazzle online shop and browse the product offerings. If there’s a photo you would like to purchase but don’t see it in my shop, please contact me by using the Contact form at the bottom of my home page and let me know which photos you are interested in purchasing, and in what format / medium.
Before I forget, my 2013 12-month photo calendar is available at 50% off on my Zazzle online store. Use coupon code CALSLASTDEAL at checkout.
This week’s WordPress photo challenge is resolved, as in New Year’s resolutions. This year I’ve decided to make new year’s intentions. not resolutions (sorry, WordPress people). I’m still working on my list but I love the way my list of challenges is going so far, especially when it comes to my photography. My projects will include this website, my Facebook page, and my Zazzle store. The good thing is, there’s plenty of room for growth and improvement.
This year, I’m also resolved to understand the full features of my new camera, the Canon Powershot G1X. I’ve mostly figured out how to use the manual settings on my Canon Powershot SX130, and the two cameras work in a similar way, so it shouldn’t be too hard.
Yesterday, I tried to photograph something new. A waterfall. This has to be the smallest waterfall you’ve ever seen but it was great for practicing taking pictures of running water. It’s part of the San Diego River at Mission Trails regional park, in San Diego, California.
Make sure you click on each image for a larger view.
I love the soft winter light that gives a bluish tint to the water in the shade.
Considering the small size of my subject, I think I did a pretty good job. What do you think?
Of course, the key will be to find a bigger waterfall in the future. This is quite a challenge in Southern California, where water is so scarce. It’s all about timing here, because after the spring, everything dries up. There’s a nice waterfall in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park but I believe the park entrance closest to it is has been closed for lack of funding every time I’ve driven by it. How convenient is that for me? I’ll give it another try in the spring, just in case.
Are you resolved to making small and big changes for 2013?
milkapejovic.com 
Excellent shots. I can ‘hear’ the water.
Thank you! Even though the waterfall was small, it was very loud indeed!
Those pictures are great. If you can do that with tiny waterfalls, can’t wait to see what you can do with the bigger ones. 🙂
Thank you! Unfortunately we don’t have giant waterfalls here and I’m not planning a trip to close big waterfalls in the near future. If the park entrance reopens in the spring, there should still be some water to photograph, especially if the winter rain continues. That place is very pretty, lots of boulders with thin waterfalls in between and shallow pools. 95% of that state park burned down in the 2003 wildfires and part of it again in 2008, so there’s not much to see there otherwise anymore. It’s too bad because it was a beautiful place to hike. 😦
You’ll just have to head to Niagara Falls. 🙂
Yep, they’re just a little bigger than what I photographed. 🙂
they are beautiful images…how did you get the water so smooth ?
It’s all about shutter speed, which is what I played with yesterday. The key is to have good light so you can have a low shutter speed without the image being blurry (I didn’t have a tripod with me). The water needs to be flowing pretty fast too. If it’s just a slow stream, it won’t look smooth. You need to change your camera settings to manual to do that. The automatic setting will give you crisp running water every time.
Thanks…I have a friend who has a waterfall near her place and I want to try to take some good shots. I’ll keep this in mind.
🙂
It’s worth playing around with the camera settings. Just have her google how to take photos of waterfalls and she can find a lot of tips. It’s really not that difficult but you need to have a little time to play with the settings to get the results you want, since the light makes all the difference.
Lovely long exposure. I have just gone up from a compact to my very first SLR. I am at the very beginning of my journey. If in a while I can get a long exposure that good I will be more than happy.
Thank you and good luck with your SLR. I considered a Canon SLR as my new camera but when I saw all the Canon Powershot G1X had to offer, along with a CMOS sensor, I went for it and I haven’t been disappointed. The images are very sharp in various lighting and the colors are beautiful. I need to buy a macro lens for close-ups but I can use my other Canon for that in the meantime.
great shots!
Thank you for commenting and thank you for stopping by!
Very nice. These slow shutter speeds are on my to learn list too. Maybe I will learn from you. go get some more and tell me how it’s done! 😉
Will do! It really is an acquired skill. Low shutter speed, higher aperture and a tripod if you’re a little shaky, are a good start. Unfortunately I don’t have a lot of opportunities to take these shots in San Diego but I think I could try it on fountains too. There’s a very big one at Balboa Park and I bet it would make for a nice shot.
I hate using a tri pod so I think that is my first hurdle if not my biggest.
I hate it too! And I never have one with me when I need it. But there are definitely some shots where a tripod is very helpful (low shutter speed and zoom).
Yes, you can’t really get those shots you took without a tripod.
Actually I didn’t have a tripod that day. But I sat down and rested my elbows on my knees, so it helped a bit. But I’m shaky enough that a tripod would help most of the time.
Just thinking about having to be that still would make me twitch! lol
🙂
I love any water pictures. The softening you did on the images is super cool.
Thanks, I’m pretty happy with the photos turned out. I just joined the Project 365 – 2013 where you share one photo every day of the year, and this photo got a lot of likes on their Facebook page, so it motivates me to go back to the spot and try to get more shots.
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