water shots

[scootergirl2005]

I've seen pictures taken by other people of waterfalls and the water looks really smooth and soft... I know its something to do with tripods and exposure...

can you help me ???

Thanks
scooter

[Taallyn]

You use a long shutter speed like 1 second or so to get the water to blur. Because the shutter is open for that long of a time, the moving water will record as a blur. Anything that isn't moving like the background, rocks, etc. will be sharp. Of course, any strong wind will cause motion in the trees and they will blur along with the water. Using long shutter speeds means you need to use a tripod so that the camera is still while the shutter is open. Otherwise, everything will be blurry and nothing will be sharp.

[bradzo66]

In addition to the above for daytime shots the use of a neutral density filter will allow you to leave the shutter open for a little longer than normal , these are just tinted plastic that fit to the front of yr camera and filter some of the light , they come in varying grades of darkness and can make the difference between soft water and an overexposed image . All the best

[OsmosisStudios]

I did one a few months ago of a small waterfall nearby in the early evening. It's sheltered in a little forest, so it was quite dark. Camera on tripod, lens stopped down to f/22 and was able to get a 20s and 30s shutter speeds.

At those speeds, the water is pretty smooth, but Im still gonna try again at some point with my ND-8 filter and see if I can get it down to 60-90s.

[whiggy]

Can blurred water movement be captured in bright sunlight without using an ND filter? I tried every which way I could think of but every time got either overexposed images or not enough blur (D40 kit lens).
Thanks.

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by whiggy

Can blurred water movement be captured in bright sunlight without using an ND filter? I tried every which way I could think of but every time got either overexposed images or not enough blur (D40 kit lens).
Thanks.

You can try stopping down to the extremes: you'll likely only get to about a second or so, though.

[porkchop_express]

I am the very definition of a newbie, and maybe some of the more experienced photographers can shed some light (or less light, considering the nature of the question) on this, but would adjusting the exposure compensation down a bit allow for a longer exposure?

[whiggy]

Thank you for the suggestions... the D40 has an exposure compensation capability of +- 5.0 EV but that, along with the smallest aperture I could set (f/36) and the lowest ISO, did not help. The problem is that the water fountain I was trying to capture has the water flowing slowly over a glass panel, so it requires a really slow shutter speed to blur the movement nicely. I guess without an ND filter I am S.O.L.

[manostb]

Originally Posted by whiggy

the D40 has an exposure compensation capability of +- 5.0 EV but without an ND filter I am S.O.L.

Set exposure compensation to -5V - small aperture

If you have polarizer filter use it to reduce light)

another is a kinda cheap idea though
Try using some light blockers (like sunglasses) or tinted glasses (like in car)
or try to capture the reflection of the falls on a mirror / tinted glass

Upload some of the best try on this falls
give wts the exposure composition / shutter and aperture