4-11 Garvan Gardens in Hot Springs

This week, I took the whole family to Garvan Gardens in Hot Springs.  This is a neat little place on a peninsula in Lake Hamilton.  There is a man-made waterfall that is easy to move around, so I figured that would be a good place to practice.

Using the "rule of thirds" I placed the waterfall in the right third of the scene.  I also put the top of the waterfall on the top third line, but I cropped it down some.  My camera has grid lines on the live view screen that I set up in thirds.  That helps me to frame each shot.(1/2 sec, f-22, ISO100)

I framed this one in much the same way as the last one.  This time I am looking towards the sun, which causes much higher contrast.(0.8 sec, f-22, ISO100)

Looking towards the sun again.  Most of the experts will tell you not to shoot towards the sun.  I remembered reading something Tim Ernst wrote about not being afraid to do that, so I did.  (0.8 sec, f-22, ISO100)
 

Just a different framing of the previous shot.  (1 sec, f-22, ISO100)

One of the composition rules is to include foreground elements, which is what I was aiming for here. (8 sec, f-22, ISO100)

 I converted this one to black and white.  I am not sure if it works well, though.  (8 sec, f-22, ISO100)

Mostly I was playing with the exposure settings.  I was shooting in aperture dependent mode and varying the exposure time.  I only had a circular polarizer in these pictures.

The flowers were mostly already past their peak, so I didn't spend much time shooting them.  Garvan Woodland Gardens is a beautiful botanical garden right on Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs. Go here to see their website: Garvan Gardens

At Christmas time they have an awesome Christmas light display, and I highly recommend going to see it.