pontneddfechan waterfalls, brecon BEACONS

Waterfalls can be tricky to photograph successfully. They can often be too high which makes it awkward to capture their full splendor, lighting conditions can vary over their height, and it may be difficult to capture suitable foreground. Essentially the image, like the adjacent one, can look a bit flat and boring. Not so the waterfalls within a short distance of the village of Pontneddfechan in the Brecon Beacons. Here there are numerous beautiful and dramatic waterfalls crammed into valleys forged by the rivers Mellte, Hepste and Neddfechan. Each waterfall has its unique character, and hence the photographic opportunities are boundless. My favourite time of year to visit is autumn when colourful leaves adorn the waterfalls and produce fantastic swirling patterns in the waters. But late spring draws out the fresh, unblemished greens of young foliage belonging to the woodlands on the steep-sided valley sides. There’s something truly magical about these waterfalls. I am surprised when some seasoned photographers tell me they have never been.

But whats makes them so photogenic?

Although the falls are dramatic, their overall height is not great (an average perhaps of about 5 m) which greatly helps capturing their splendor whilst surrounded by beautiful woodland. The cascading river itself is full interest with twists and breaks in between moss covered boulders. Each shot seems to be naturally framed and the foreground just adds to the complete story that unfolds.

So how do you get to the waterfall country? If you are driving north from Cardiff on the A470 when you reach Merthyr Tydfil take the A465 towards Hirwaun and keep going until you have reached the exit for Glyn Neath and Pontneddfechan. Turn right at the cross-roads drive into the village of Pontneddfechan and turn left just before the Dinas Inn. Drive up onto the common and shortly you have the choice of places to park depending on whether you wish to explore the rivers Nedd Fechan or Mellte and the connecting Hepste. Either way you won’t be disappointed. About 2 miles north of Pontneddfechan is a single track road off to the left that takes you down to Pont Melin Fach on the river Nedd Fechan. Turn left immediately after the bridge into the small car park and from there walk downstream. There are a number of waterfalls here including my favourite Sgwd Ddwli and a bit further on Sgwd Gwladys.

If your preference is the Rivers Mellte and Hepste, then about a mile past the track that would take you to the river Nedd is a car park with a good path down to the riverside with falls such as Sgwd Isaf Clun Gwyn, and the famous one you can walk behind - Sgwd yr Eira on the Hepste. But these are just a few.

A word of caution though. In some locations particularly on the river Nedd Fechan keen photographers will want to scramble down loose earthy banks and walk along the river bed to get closer to the falls. Take great care, the wet rocks are very, very slippery and the banks are quite unstable. Carrying around a tripod with an attached camera is far too risky even over short distances. A good pair of wellington boots and cloths to wipe away the spray are needed for those who want to get in close to the action.

You will be wondering whether to capture the complete scene or perhaps search out abstracts and close-up details. Low elevation shots can work well. I find that you need one whole day on each of the rivers (Nedd Fechan and Mellte/Hepste) to find the best locations, and it certainly isn’t the place to dash about.

As with all wooded locations and part sheltered valleys lighting conditions are so important. Unlike most other shoots a drab, overcast grey day is ideal. Midday sunshine produces extremes of contrast that not even modern day cameras with their improved dynamic range can master. A grey overhead sky can produce even lumination that helps bring out the colours and texture of dripping green moss and foliage.

By nature waterfalls with their white cascading water can be bright, and quite often they will be a small portion of the overall scene. Care must be taken not to over-expose or clip these highlights. Conversely if the white water fills much of the shot, metering will tend to darken the water to grey. I tend to use manual control in these situations and dial-in the some exposure compensation as necessary, and check the histogram of course.

I would rarely use graduated filters here and generally I would look to cut the sky out altogether. If I can’t achieve the exposure I want through an appropriate aperture combined with a polariser I may use a 0.9 (3 stop) neutral density to obtain that slightly silky texture to the water. But in general I will try to keep some texture and structure in the water. Quite often the silkiness can be captured with a shutter speed of a few seconds. I will start at an aperture of f11 and keep the ISO down to about 100 or 200; nothing unusual here. The exception perhaps is where I want a 30 second exposure to capture the twirls in the circulating autumn leaves caught up in an eddy, and this is where a Lee Big Stopper comes in handy.

The polarising filter makes a huge difference in these conditions, where reflections don’t feature. Not only are reflections and glare reduced, but colour becomes more saturated with improved clarity in the details.

Sgwd yr Eira, the famous ‘walk-behind’ waterfall on the river Hepste

Richard NewmanFebruary 22, 2016