My new photography love must be photographing flowing water.
Maybe from a recent trip to the Blue Mountains , or Fitzroy falls in Robertson , or just because I love the silky smooth flowing images .
So that’s what we hope to achieve , the milky dancing water as it glides and weaves around the landscape and cascades into open pools, or simply vanishes below .
I thought Id add my waterfall tips and a few images , here goes .
1/Good walking shoes , and an idea of how hard the track down will be , sometimes its quiet exhausting.
2/A TRIPOD -Don’t leave home without one . I know its a hassle to carry but a flimsy one in the water probably isn’t ideal either.
3/ Once you’ve determined your composition , set up using a wide angle lens and shoot portrait and landscape mode .
4/ Most waterfalls are acessible during the daylight hours and we really need to let less light into the camera so we can slow down that shutter speed .
So the smallest aperture is the best 16fg and smaller, like 22 or even 32 .
5/ Lowest ISO , 100 is ideal.
6/ SHUTTER SPEED the vital ingredient. As slow as you can with the available light , and then add filters to slow down the shutter speed even more .Don’t forget to use a 2-3 second timer whenever you use a tripod.
7/ THE FILTERS – A neutral density filter will decrease the amount and intensity of light that enters the camera .
Its just like sunglasses for your camera .
They come in different densities or you can get one that comes in several densities , (thats a variable neutral density filter) .They can also be packed on top of each other to loose even more light.
My advise is to buy a few different densities to match your favourite landscape lens and then experiment with slower and slower shutter speed .
You may have to focus the camera before you put the filters on.
8/ And just a few more tips , clean your lens , the droplets often end up on your lens.
Take some fast shutter speeds as well , 1/1000 seconds to freeze droplets of water .
If there is a slight breeze the slow shutter speeds will blur the surrounding foliage , so the sharper shutter speed images can be photoshopped into the beautiful blurred water.
- Stop , enjoy and have a swim while your there , its an amazing place to be.
