Pose time, shutter speed, ISO, diaphragm or tripod. So many questions! Can the photo turn out to be another way to look at the world? Can your camera lens become a third eye for a new look? The huge richness of the ecosystem of Costa Rica deserves to bear another perception. Among these wonderful landscapes, there are so many waterfalls! Ideal for photography, waterfall pictures combine the beauty of movement and the prostration of ancestral stones. How to take photographs of waterfalls in Costa Rica, or the art of becoming one with the elements. When long pose and spun effect are combined with El Toro, Saint Louis or Montezuma, the man and nature communion is total.
Why photograph a waterfall in Costa Rica?
To connect with nature
Frame, filter… As you adjust your camera, your mind is already projected into the image. Your hands hold the goal firmly, but your eyes stare at the target and your brain immerses itself in the flowing water. You soak up the dull sound of the current, breaking down the wall. The comforting freshness of the waterfall invades you, the life of the fauna and flora of Costa Rica resonates in you. You are ready for the shooting. You are reincarnated as a reporter, landscape photographer, and wildlife. You join forces with the elements to better capture not only their image, but their soul. Would you like to visit Costa Rica differently? Here we are! Vara Blanca and Cinchona hold out their arms to you with the Cascade de La Paz. Isn’t it, moreover, an evocative name of an alliance?
We knew that photography was a vector of communication, now it is a vector of communion. The zoom creates the link so that nature and man become one.
Open your eyes to the beauty of Costa Rica on an original hike
To go hiking on the trail of waterfalls, it is better to be accompanied by a guide. What if he was a photography pro? Ah! What a good surprise! Sylvain advises you for your circuit of waterfalls. It combines the discovery of Costa Rica off the beaten track with the best tips for beautiful photos. He reveals the most beautiful spots of stunts still unknown to the general public. His added-value? Makes you meet and love the ecosystem, the fauna, the flora and all the wonders of Guanacaste to Alajuela to San José and to Limon.
Costa Rica is a model for protecting the forest and nature in general. Applying the right techniques to take pictures of the different Fortuna, Nauyaca and Montezuma waterfalls will make your Canon, Nikon or other Pentax click with pleasure. By following the tips of the pro photo, you also follow the guide. What else?
Recall that, according to the Daily of Tourism, the French take about 42 photos a day during the summer holidays. What about American people?
How to take photographs of waterfalls from Guanacaste to Puntarenas ?
The technique of long laying
The technique of long laying consists of using exposure times of several seconds or even tens of seconds. This gives them an unparalleled creative look. This pose is said to show the human eye more than it can see. With this process, we modify the notion of space-time. Our perception of time is based on not just time, but rhythm and chronology. The waterfall, where water takes several minutes to fall and land on the stone, is a concrete example of nature that indicates time, as could be an hourglass or a sunset. Photographing the fall of the water in a long pose, allows awareness of the moment that flows. Looking at the captured image, the brain perceives this duration. With your picture, you will admire the passing time, quite simply! As magical as that sounds.
White balance, noise reduction, dark, ISO sensitivity, adjustment of the aperture, you will manage all this on the spot. You don’t need a professional camera, you just need the eye of the pro, and you’ll get that.
The technique of yarn effect
The yarn effect (or dynamic yarn) suggests movement. The photographer turns to capture the fluidity of the water. It selects the speed, and can link it to the focal length. Most digital cameras offer direct control of the desired result.
This process requires no fine tuning.
Did you know?
- any moving element (birds, people, water) will become blurred;
- The burst mode may be used for animals.
Still image of blurred image for waterfalls?
Would you prefer to photograph the Llanos de Cortés waterfall or the Diamante waterfall in a still or blurred image? Try both facing the 70-meter drop of La Fortuna.
To freeze the movement of the water, open your diaphragm wide, a lot of light then reaches the sensor. You thus capture the image at a defined moment. In a way, you immortalize the cascade in time. You attach it to the paper for the fans of the film or on the screen for those who prefer the digital.
To blur, put the diaphragm closed very small. Just a little clarity creeps in, you then lengthen the exposure time. The stone and the surroundings will be clear while the waterfall will diffuse. Sometimes it will be necessary to add a neutral filter to lower the brightness.
Finally, you may also want to photograph your waterfall wide-angle or by a close-up zoom. The landscapes of Costa Rica are so varied that anything is possible.
The most beautiful photo spots of costarican waterfalls
Let’s play tourists and mention the most famous waterfalls in Costa Rica.
- La Fortuna ;
- Nauyaca ;
- Montezuma waterfalls ;
- La Paz waterfalls ;
- El Toro waterfalls ;
- Diamante waterfalls ;
- Saint Louis waterfalls ;
- Llanos de Cortes ;
- Oropendola waterfalls;
- El Pavon ;
- Sueno Azul ;
- Bijagual waterfalls ;
- Los Chorros waterfalls.
Nevertheless, coming to Costa Rica is an opportunity to travel differently. True reconnection with nature, immersion in the tropical jungle is especially the time to go on an excursion for more intimate waterfalls. Don’t you want to go home with an extraordinary report, a souvenir of an exceptional and unique photo safari?
Learn more about canopy.
I want to experience a photographic road trip, and know how to take photographs of waterfalls so I contact You Come.
Did you like this article? Read how we participate in reforestation in Costa Rica or combine your discovery of waterfalls with that of turtles, whatever the time of year.
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