Robusto

So, I was messing around with the Tv Setting this AM with my XSi

A couple of shots:




Tv setting at 1/200 sec








Tv setting at 1/8 sec










Tv setting at 1/1600 sec










Tv setting at 1/4 sec


I really like the way the slower shutter speed 'softens' the water, and found after reviewing many pics (I took about 10-15 per 'view' at multiple different shutter speeds), that I needed to get down to 1/8 sec to start getting that effect.


The other thing I noticed is that earlier in the photo session, the clouds were out and it was much less bright, and even on th Tv setting, the XSi would 'limit' me to 1/200 sec. However when the clouds moved and it was quite sunny, I could go way up to 1/1600 (or higher, if I remember right).


Finally, a tripod is key for such long exposures and also using the 2 second delay is nearly mandatory as well (or way too much camera shake).

matty

Yeah, it just really depends on the specific 'look' you want. I personally would shoot at either super slow (1+ secs) or super fast speeds (1/800+). The in-the-middle speeds, like 1/8 - 1/200, will give you a half way blurry shot, like the camera is trying to capture still motion, but can't.

Robusto

cool, I will try a couple 'super slow' shots. thanks for the tip!

matty

If you look at the waterfall shots I posted a few days ago, those were taken with a one second shutter. I didn't fool around with any shutter speeds longer than that yet, as far as shooting water in motion, so play and learn, have fun.

jezterr

1 = bad
2 = okay
3 = nice for that suspended look.
4 = nice for that misty water look.

try even faster or slower shutter speeds to exaggerate the looks. that's also another benefit of a polarizer, as it gives you ~2 stops down, allowing for longer shutter speeds. another method is using an nd filter, which essentially does the same thing, but they have different options for how many stops you want.

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MichelinMan

I actually have both of these pictures framed and up on the wall in my living room:

Robusto

very nice, I really like the color of the rocks in 2, and the laminar flow of the water.

Mike Reyna

+1

Nacho

Robusto, good exploration of water flowing. It is one of the coolest subjects to photograph. I posted this in another thread before I read this one, but here it goes again: here's a link to a basic guide I put together precisely on Photographing Water Flows. It is a .pdf document with images, so a bit large. Let me know if you find it useful.

Best,

N

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Nacho
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"The temple bell stops, but the sound keeps coming out of the flowers." -- Basho

Killermondodude

Excellent write up Nacho with some straight up amazing shots