Streams / waterfalls

[dandem]

PLEASE could someone help with a guideline (shutter speed and f-stop) to get results when photographing running

water in order to achieve the soft "cotton wool effect". Thanks so much, Lawrence

[ronald_moravec1]

Depends on how fast the water is moving, 1/30 sec and slower. You need a tripod.

[bobatkins]

Usually somewhere slower than 1/15s. f-stop doesn't matter, it's the shutter speed that controls the blur.

 

If you go here http://www.bobatkins.com/images2/ and click on the "water" gallery you'll find some examples with exposure data. You can see the effect of shutter speeds from 1/15s to 0.8s.

 

Obviously it depends somewhat on how fast the water is moving. And yes, you really do need a tripod!

[dandem]

Thank you both so very much. Appreciate you time and valuable in-put.

[andrew_gale]

It depends how soft, my favorite is around a quarter or an eighth second, and no, if you are careful a tripod is

not essential. I typically dont use one unless im shooting slower than a quarter. Sure, its handy if you dont

have steady hands, but it can also be hard to use a tripod in a stream. For some shots its just not practical.

Depending on time of year, IMHO its easier to wear a swimsuit and lie in the stream for low angles than to try

and set up a tripod.

[James G. Dainis]

The problem is getting that slow whutter speed when shooting outdoors. Even with a small aperture setting, you still may need to use a neutral density filter to get that slow of a shutter speed. A stream in deep dark woods may do it or wait until the sun goes down.

[geoffs]

James advice is spot on.Ive uploaded an example.Like Bob says,I too always use a tripod..I cannot imagine getting cotton wool water ,hand held without blurring the image and getting cotton wool surroundings too ...<div></div>

[sarah_fox]

Here's another example -- 1/10s and 1/4s...

 

http://www.graphic-fusion.com/phwaterfallfantasy.htm

 

You'll find high magnification crops on that page that happen to be of the water. It's not the "cottony" blur of Geoff's 1s exposure. I agree with Galen that you can do some water-blur work handheld (with IS) if you use good form. My waterfall shot was done that way, and it's pretty sharp. If you want cotton-wool water, you probably do need a tripod.

[shots worth sharing]

Although it seems to be popular (and unavoidable at times), I really don't like the effect. I'm not trying to start an argument or anything--just sayin'.

[geoffs]

Dave,I`ve seen other comments about people not liking it...I like to see falling water frozen sometimes, and I know it adds some realism to the image.

I think the soft look adds a surreal feeling,I like to see it within that context.Horses for courses :)

Sarah that photo of yours is gorgeous.