The team at Dreamscapes just released another ebook, The Advanced Guide to Photographing Waterfalls and Streams by
I love photographing waterfalls and bodies of water and when I’d heard about this ebook I was ready to dig in but honestly I hadn’t heard of Justin Reznick before. Let me introduce you to this talented photographer and author first before I dive into the ebook.
Reznick is a full-time nature photographer who travels the globe in search for the perfect landscape. He’s been published in such magazines as Backpacker Magazine, the Audubon Society, Nature’s Best, Outdoor Photographer and Photography Monthly (UK).
Justin has a real easy-going way about him when he writes and it felt as if he was directing his instructions directly to me as I was reading the book. At a high level the book contains the following:
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Eighteen water photography tips for how to get that best shot—including fashion tips for water wading (how to stay warm and dry), how to maximize your chances of getting the image you want (don’t leave too early), and how to protect your gear in damp conditions.
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Post-processing tips for making the image—including advice on analyzing and choosing images in Lightroom, and practical how-to instruction on blending multiple exposures in Photoshop to showcase the best of the light.
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Some of Justin’s favorite water images with extensive discussion of how he made them.
What I really loved about the ebook was his in-depth explanations about in-field techniques. He doesn’t just focus on the type of gear you should be using (which he does cover off very well) but what to look out for when photographing waterfalls. How to keep your scene clean, how to fight off water spray, what you need to do to get the best compositions. Within each section he provides a breakdown of the image that’s on the page so that the reader knows exactly how it was taken and under what conditions.
The section on post-processing was excellent as well. Justin goes through various techniques focusing primarily on Lightroom. Once again he provides tips (what looks like notes in the margin) based on the content of the section) which you can refer back too long after you’ve finished the book. As an aside this is actually a great follow-up to the last Dreamscapes release Master The Digital Darkroom (Lightroom) by Michael Frye.