Making Water Look Silky

Silky-looking streams, waterfalls, and even waves add a beautiful touch to any landscape photo (Figure 6.13). Capturing this look is simple—it is just a matter of using a very slow shutter speed to blur the movement of the water. A slow shutter speed means that you will need to use a tripod, and a shutter release cable will come in handy to prevent further camera shake. You will need to use a shutter speed of at least 1/15 of a second to begin to see the silky look.

Figure 6.13. By using a shutter speed of 6 seconds, I was able to slow the motion of this waterfall for a nice effect.

Setting Up for a Flowing Water Shot

1. Attach the camera to your tripod, and then compose and focus your shot.

2. Make sure the ISO is set to 100.

3. Using Av mode, set your aperture to the smallest opening (such as f/22 or f/32).

4. Press the shutter button halfway so the camera takes a light-meter reading.

5. Check to see if the shutter speed is 1/15 of a second or slower.

6. Take a photo and then check the image on the LCD monitor.

There is a possibility that you will not be able to use a shutter speed that is long enough to capture a smooth, silky effect, especially if you are shooting in bright daylight conditions. To overcome this obstacle, you need a filter for your lens—either a polarizing filter or a neutral density filter. The polarizing filter redirects wavelengths of light to create more vibrant and accurate colors, reduce reflections, and darken blue skies. It is a handy filter for landscape work (Figure 6.14). The neutral density filter is typically just a dark piece of glass that serves to darken the scene by one, two, or three stops. This allows you to use slower shutter speeds during bright conditions. Think of it as sunglasses for your camera lens.

Figure 6.14. By using a polarizing filter, I was able to pull out more definition in the clouds and make the blue sky pop.