Flowing water: Soft Blur vrs Sharp defenition.

[david_henderson]

<blockquote>

<p>on a very very dull and overcast (and wet) Scottish autumn day (the best kind of day!).</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>John. You say that as if there was some other sort of day!</p>

[john_macpherson]

<p>Well David there's the VERY very wet ones. The days when the rain is not coming at you vertically but horizontally!</p>

[david_shepherd1]

<p>Balance in all things. I think the motion conveyed by blur is excellent. With cascades that may be what you want to remember, and it can give that magical feel to a scene. Like many things it has been done before, but each photographer can put their own slant on the image.<br>

Freezing the action is just as valid as a technique. All depends on what you are trying to achieve. If the picture turns out as you have previsualised it and composed it then its a success in my book.<br>

No right. No wrong. Opinions are subjective. When you look at the picture do you 'get it'?<br>

David</p>

[g dan mitchell]

<p>To try to illustrate my point about neither being intrinsically better than the other (as David also just posted), here are two seascape photographs that use the alternative extremes:</p>

<p><img src="http://gdanmitchell.com/gallery/d/619-2/SurfWavePtLobosBW20080209.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p><img src="http://gdanmitchell.com/gallery/d/2406-3/FogSurfPointLobos20081130.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>Dan</p>

[Glenn McCreery]

<p>Here is an example of what water flow looks like when the intent is to stop motion completely; it looks nothing like what human perception has evolved to see with the unaided eye and brain. The photo was taken on 4x5 Tri-X film with a very short duration flash (4 microsecond) with the objective of studying drop formation in spray nozzles. At the other extreme, I am reminded of the extremely long duration photos of surf by Wynn Bullock that look more like fog enshrouding rocks and piers than liquid water.</p><div></div>

[kerry_grim]

<p>So what if long exposure of water is cliche'?</p>

<p>When I was in Glacier N.P. I took many mountain goat photos. Being a flatlander from Pennsylvania, this was a thrill. It was the first mountain goats I have seen. I could describe those photos as cliche' and maybe passed them up because of that. But now I have photos that will bring back memories, cliche' or not!</p>

<p>Sure, a publisher would say they are cliche' and maybe then it would matter. They would not buy them. My enjoyment was first seeing the goat, second photographing them. My goal was fulfilled, cliche' or not!</p>

<p> </p>

[steve_levine]

<p>It is really a matter of choice. Both can be appealing to my eye.</p><div></div>