Running water
Nikon D300, Nikkor 18-200mm, 60mm, f/27, 0.5 sec, ISO100
To me, one of the coolest things in photographs are when there is a sense of movement, there is an energy or a power in the shot. Examples of that could be lightning, storm clouds, streaking cars or trains. Water does the trick for me. I love shooting running water and by playing around with long exposures you get some pretty neat effects. To me, a tag sharp image of water falling or running is less interesting than if there is a blur to the water. Water in rivers and creeks moves, sometimes fast, sometimes slowly usually depending on the time of year and to me that movement needs to be in a shot of, lets say, a waterfall. In order to get the sense of flowing water or that cool silky look, the shutter speed needs to be slowed down – way down.
Here are a few tips on how to achieve that look.
- Use a good solid tripod.
- Use a cable release or use the timer on the camera.
- Keep ISO low.
- Use aperture mode and choose a small aperture like f/16 or f/22
- Shoot at dawn or dusk, or on an over cast day.
- To cut even more light use a polarizer, which not only remove reflections and boost colors, but also eats at least one stop of light – slowing down the shutter speed even more..
- Or you can use a ND filter also called natural density filter. The will usually reduce the light between 1 and 10 stops depending on which one you buy.
- Your goal is to end up with a shutter speed at around 1/10 sec or slower. It depends on how fast the water moves of course, but generally at that shutter speed the magic starts to happen and you get that silky smooth feel of water running.
Try it out next time you are out shooting running water, it’s very rewarding. Btw, the shot above is from Moose Creek, Levack, Ontario.
Wonderful shot Jan and a great write up!
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June 27, 2011 at 7:21 am
Agree with you that slowing the water down, in my mind, always makes the water more interesting. Nice shot Jan.
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June 27, 2011 at 7:56 am
Awesome shot, Jan!
That water is silky smooth, which really makes all the difference in the shot.
I just ordered a ND filter for this very reason.
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June 27, 2011 at 8:27 am
lovely water flow Jan, well shot!
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June 27, 2011 at 10:34 am
This looks incredible Jan, well done!
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June 27, 2011 at 1:54 pm
Wow Jan, that is so powerful! I think the aspect I appreciate the most is the up-close angle you’ve chosen. You can feel and see the motion and back-splash of the water. Love how the roots and rocks peek through the more shallow cascades. I might just have to call you for more tips!
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June 27, 2011 at 3:26 pm
Beautiful capture. All great tips for slowing down the shutter without overexposing!! Great stuff!
June 28, 2011 at 7:24 am
Wow, you have captured the essence of the falls perfectly, the silky rushing water gives such a sense of being there. I can shut me eyes and hear the roar of the water
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July 9, 2011 at 2:52 am