Shutter speed and water : Example

[Dylan & Marianne]

I haven't posted in this forum before but as I was going through some more china pictures from last year, I came across these 2 shots which I took in order to capture the same scene in very different ways. I hope these demonstrate the principles of the "exposure triangle" of adjusting shutter speed /aperture and iso.
(The scene itself is from the middle gorge of Yunnan Province's "Tiger Leaping Gorge" )

Both shots were taken with 5dmkII, gitzo tripod, CPL filter

#1 :
ISO 800, F5.0, 1/500 seconds
Adjusted iso and aperture to get the fast shutter speed to demonstrate the power of the water.


#2
ISO 50 , F22, 1 second
Adjusted iso and aperture to get slow shutter speed to demonstrate flow.


I hope that helps someone !

[mikew09]

dtoh, actually yes - interesting post. It is good to see some guidelines on settings to use. Thanx

[ricktas]

I think this is a great example Dylan, and it might come in handy for this month's New To Photography competition where a slow shutter speed is the theme. This might give some guidance to those considering entering. Thank You!

[elGrando]

Thanks dtoh. Very helpful to me as.

[bigdazzler]

Very useful post Dylan. Good work mate.

[Dylan & Marianne]

=0 thanks ! glad its of use

[tanz]

To be able to see the comparison and how much difference the shutter speed can make is great, thanks for posting.

[Tikira]

A great visual example Dylan. Thankyou for taking the time to post it.
Di

[Milbs1]

Thanks Dylan, great examples.
It is really appreciated that you took the time to share this and I note that you also contribute so much to the CC threads too. Its members like yourself that make this such a great forum.

[bigbaz]

thankyou for this, will come in handy for this months competition i imagine

[Dylan & Marianne]

no worries , thanks for the complement too
the more I learn to CC for others, the more I can improve my pics too !

[SnowA]

Great stuff dylan

[sumanjay]

That milky whiteness is incredible. Can't wait to try this out the next time I head down the Dandenong Creek trail.

[Allann]

Great work Dylan.

For those times when it's hard to get the shutter speed slow enough due to bright conditions, ND filters and Circular Polarizers work well. In fact, I use a polarizer on most of my water shots to reduce the reflections.

[bigdazzler]

Polarizers are equal to about 2 stops of light .. so a very handy tool to have in the bag at all times.

For all the new guys reading Dylans post, and admiring that wonderful milky water effect, always remember that the key to getting shots like this is an ABSOLUTELY STILL CAMERA. A good tripod, or at the very least somewhere absolutely still and stable to mount or brace your camera is essential for good results.

[Steve Axford]

Isn't anyone going to comment that this is one case where slow, milky water is probably a mistake. All the power is gone. Milky water is great for many situations, but not this one. No criticism of dtoh is intended as this is still a good example of what happens.

[reaction]

nice colors !

[Bails55]

Thanks Dylan - really helpful stuff to know. I'm looking forward to having a go at something like that. (When I find somewhere decent to go that isn't freezing at the moment!)

[rattle]

Just wanted to say thanks for this thread.
I'm wanting something to experiment with on my days off and this looks like a cracker of a technique to practice with.
Just need to find some locations in my area now.

Regards,
rattle.

[Dylan & Marianne]

Isn't anyone going to comment that this is one case where slow, milky water is probably a mistake. All the power is gone. Milky water is great for many situations, but not this one. No criticism of dtoh is intended as this is still a good example of what happens.

Agreed totally steve - I took the long exposure first then thought otherwise.
Another example of this is some of the icelandic waterfalls I've shot - I ended up taking some at F2.8 ISO800 or so to get a 1/2000 shutter speed to freeze the motion.