Mid-day Shooting at Great Falls National Park Maryland

Today I conducted another photography workshop as part of my Washington DC photography summer bootcamp, this time at Great Falls Par on the Maryland side. The topic is something that is hard for every photographer: shooting during mid-day sun. We discussed a number of topics, including how to deal with harsh light and shadow, and how to use accessories such as neutral density (ND) filters, polarizing filters, and graduated filters. Though it was hot, it was still a good time! We also conducted an afternoon session where we edited the images from earlier in the day in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. Though many photographers will only shoot during early morning or late evening, I think it’s good to keep sharp and practice tougher scenarios and capture images during mid day. Here are a few I came away with:

I shot this first image using a polarizing filter to bring some more color to the water and separation in the blue sky from the white clouds:

A long exposure at mid-day at Great Falls Park on the Maryland side

A long exposure at mid-day at Great Falls Park on the Maryland side

I used a 10 stop ND filter to achieve this milky look and allow the clouds to streak over. Then, I converted the image to black and white in photoshop to add to the mood:

High clouds pass over the waterfalls during midday at Great Falls National Park on the Maryland side

High clouds pass over the waterfalls during midday at Great Falls National Park on the Maryland side

Thanks for looking, commenting and sharing!

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