BLURRING THE WATER

Middle Fork Little Maquoketa River, Bankston County Park, Iowa

No landscape or people photographer likes dappled light for the most part. But if the dappled light hits the right spots, a photo can be created. Back to the river valley in Bankston County Park today I tried to get some birds in front of the lens. The feathered friends had other plans and after spending over an hour along the Middle Fork Little Maquoketa River without any good results, I decided to change lenses and dedicate some time to the river itself. We had some rain lately and the water had good speed around the cascades.

I used the technology in the camera to produce some blurred water in the bright light of this afternoon. The Nikon D750 allows multiple exposures for one frame, although its only three at a time. Newer cameras may allow more shots in multiple exposure mode. The camera is on a tripod and first a test shot is made to see where to start. Use aperture priority mode, between f/22 and f/32 (depending on your lens) and ISO100. Autofocus on a fixed point, like a stone, and then turn the autofocus mode carefully off. I set the shutter to continuous high speed but low speed may work as well. Fire all three (or more) shots and look for the results on your screen. Make any corrections you want with your exposure compensation dial and do it again, and again, and again. No two shots are exactly alike, due to the fact that the water looks always different. Back at home, in front of your computer screen, it is time to make the difficult decision which photo to use for telling your story…

Why do I like this way so much? During bright day light you need a very dark filter and may still not have a slow enough shutter speed to blur the water. If you have ever worked with neutral density filters (6 stop or 10 stop) you know that the slightest vibration can ruin your shot and focus has to be on spot before the filter is in front of the lens. The method as described makes you very fast and allows to try out many different shooting angles or zoom settings within a short period of time, giving you a lot more space for creativity while working along a creek or river.

AFTER THE RAIN

Blackwater Falls, Blackwater Falls State Park, West Virginia -------

19 meters tall Blackwater Falls in the Allegheny Mountains is named for the amber waters of the falls. The water is tinted by the tannic acid of fallen hemlock and red spruce needles. Here is another photo of the same waterfall I showed you already twice this weekend. After a night of heavy rain it was expected that things had changed down in the Canyon of the Blackwater River. Working three days in a row with the same waterfall from different vantage points, with different light, and the subject itself changing dramatically was a lot of photography fun. For shots like this I employ the polarizer for having the glare on the rocks under control. I use the multiple exposure mode in the D750, which can combine up to three shots into one image right in camera. Using a stabile tripod is an absolute must for this technique and a remote shutter release helps to keep the surroundings of the waterfall sharp.

Nikon D750, Nikkor 16-35mm / f4, @ 26 mm, 1/5s, f/6.3, ISO200, B+W F-PRO Kaesemann High Transmission Circular Polarizer MRC filter, Induro GIT 404XL tripod, KIRK BH-3 ball head, VELLO wired remote switch,

ROUGHLOCK FALLS

Roughlock Falls is in the Little Spear Fish Creek Valley in the Black Hills. It is one of the places that are liked by tourists and you can get close safely to the waterfalls on well built boardwalks and bridges.

A few days ago I posted an article called “Communicating Motion”. Today’s image was made with the same technique, a combination of multiple shots into one image. The camera can do this automatically and the Nikon D750 is able to combine up to three shots. Other, more expensive models, are able to work with up to ten shots. To be honest, I’m very happy with the results. It takes some test shots to find the best exposure compensation. The interesting thing is that no two pictures look alike and that leaves you some room for your creative process. I have photographed waterfalls before, mostly with a neutral density filter in front of the lens for a long exposure time, which creates the silky look of the water. The goal with both techniques is to tell your own story about motion of the water and to reveal the beauty of a waterfall or creek. The advantages of the new way are that you don’t need any filter, the colors seem to look better, and most important you can shoot these kind of pictures even in bright daylight.

COMMUNICATING MOTION

Our next campsite was in the Little Spearfish Creek Valley, which is located in the northern part of the Black Hills. The forest is denser than in Custer State Park and we were higher up in the mountains.

This arm of the creek was running not far from our small camp site and it was the right subject for trying out a new technique I recently learned from an article by Moose Peterson. It is about creating a long exposure look for moving water in order to communicate its motion. Without attaching a neutral density filter or very long exposure times we can achieve this look even in daylight under relative bright light conditions. The trick is to use the multiple-exposure function that is built into some cameras. If this triggers your interest, click on the link for the whole article. http://www.imagechaser.com/creating-long-exposure-look-without-wait-nd-filter/

The interesting thing is that not two pictures look alike and at home, in front of our computer screens, we can choose the pattern of blur that we like the best. After reading Moose Peterson’s article, about a month before our trip, I really was eager to try this new technique and finally along the Little Spearfish Creek, with its waterfalls and cascades, I found the perfect “testing ground”…