Sri Lanka – Waterfalls
Before going to Sri Lanka, I researched the work of local photographers, to explore locations and understand what styles worked best. Without doubt the best I found was Amila Hewagama, whose amazing Lankascape web site showcases his impressive artistry and some amazing Sri lankan scenery.
I made contact with Amila before setting off, and he very kindly gave me some excellent advice about where to go, and the practicalities of shooting waterfalls in Sri Lanka, I didn’t cover the wide range of falls that Amila has shot, but I photographed six in total and they are shown in this album.
One of the features of Amila’s shots is that he gets quite close to the falls, and in a series of moderately risky manoeuvres, I got into the waterfall in several of them, enabling close up shots with some drama and intensity. Shooting this close was a challenge to the camera system (and the photographer), as to put it mildly as it was pretty wet in there, but the OM-3 and my non-waterproofed lenses worked magnificently. I am also indebted to the wonderful Ranil for helping me and guiding me so well – I would not have wanted to be this adventurous on my own.
All these shots were taken at longish exposure times (around 1/5s), hand-held, with a variable ND filter to get the correct exposure. In the most intense situations, in Bombaru Ella, and Diyaluma falls the spray was so intense I could not see the camera settings or much of the scene, a situation that presented unique challenges.
I used the tiny Olympus 9-18mm (18-36mm FFE) wide angle zoom with the Panasonic 14-140mm (28-280mm FFE) travel zoom for these shots. Neither are classed as pro lenses, neither are waterproofed, and most Olympus/OM photographers disregard them for serious work. However, they continue to perform for me, and generate images as crisp and true as my pro lenses.
Photographs in this album include: Hunnas upper waterfall, Ramboda falls, Bomburu Ella waterfall, Lahshapana waterfall, and Diyaluma falls.
For camera settings, techniques and equipment used in shoots like this, see the Technique posts on mcaughtry.photo.