SteveC_ wrote:
ok here it is:
Initial thoughts - you do have too much light as you suspected. You've lost detail in the brightest parts of the water. Worse, it has gone gray on you. Not sure if this is capture or processing.
1. The day is way too bright - sunny cloudless summer day, mid morning. Should have tried just before sunrise, just after sunset, or on a gloomy heavily clouded day. At mid morning on a day like this you have many enemies: too bright, white water, too much reflectivity, harsh shadows, color casts.
2. Need better camera control of light: ISO at 100 or camera's lowest, stronger ND filter.
3. Shutter speed might have worked. My wild guess is that 1/2 second would be better.
4. Tripod is a necessity, but be sure to turn off stabilization while on tripod.
5. Shoot in raw. You will have more leeway to regain some lost detail in the highlights. In jpeg, it is just gone.
6. Try using a lens hood or shade the lens. Take off any excess glass such as a UV filter.
7. Though an aperture of 22 is not ideal, that is not the cause of this problem. If you have to go to 22 to get the effect you want, do it. Worry about diffraction later.
8. I do not think HDR will help.
9. Checking the histogram and blinkies after each shot will tell you a lot. I usually don't use spot metering on waterfalls unless there is a part in bright sun that I'm trying to protect, kind of like I do with a white bird, but it might have helped you here.
The good news is that this fountain can give you many chances to reshoot and try different things. When I planned my first trip to a waterfall-laden area, I made frequent trips to the local zoo which has a few ugly fake waterfalls in exhibits. I know people thought I was nuts shooting those hideous things with no animals around, with a tripod, but it helped me figure some things out before I headed out on my trip.