f/1.8 vs f/16

[Chip Chipowski]

I think I prefer 1.8 version.  What do you think?

[Jack Dahlgren]

I agree. I think that blurred out water sometimes makes sense, but for waterfalls I prefer to see the life of the water.

[John Geerts]

I think a comparison in Aperture is fair with identical shutter times.  

In this case f/16 not my preferred image, and agree with Jack, no life in the waterfall.

[Akira]

I like the somewhat dreamlike rendition of the f1.8 image.  But then I might have liked to be the DOF much shallower.

The f16 version looks more of a typical waterfall image, although this particular one looks exemplary.

[armando_m]

Wow, beautiful waterfall and location

With the title mentioning aperture I had the expectation to be comparing DOF
although the two images show a very clear difference in the exposure time,
the difference in DOF is also obvious but the areas in the background are tiny in comparison to the water fall

Anyway .... In this case I prefer the higher shutter speed image
and I think I'll like to see more of the surrounding area, butt since I do not know the circumstances this is just wishful thinking

Thanks for sharing your image

[knb]

A really nice looking waterfall indeed.
I think I prefer f/16 as an aperture here, but with a shutter time closer to the f/1.8 version. In another word, I am not entirely happy with either one. Why not go back and experiment a bit more...?

[Matthew Currie]

I like the first better.  I understand the idea of blurring moving water, and it can be nice at times, but I think it's become something of a cliché when it's overdone.  The first one has plenty of movement showing, in part because of the highlights, but it still looks like water. For my own taste I think I'd rescue a little more of the highlights, so that the edges of the lower fall gain some definition, though it's hard to evaluate a JPG on a laptop here.

Nice waterfall for sure.  It looks a bit like Bittersweet falls here in VT, though it will be a while before we see anything but ice there.

[Chip Chipowski]

Hey thanks for the comments everyone!  I agree, this is not a straight up comparison b/c I could have done a faster shutter speed with f/16.  I tend to be drawn to the long exposures with waterfall shots but I think this is a good reminder to think outside the box more often