‘Moving stream’ picture: how?

Blog Forums Photography ‘Moving stream’ picture: how?

Viewing 8 posts - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)
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  • #7120
    Avatar photonone
    Member

    How long do I have to keep the shutter of my digital camera open to get the neat pitcure of a stream that looks like it’s moving? When using the auto settings, a stream picture is always freezed.

    Jay

    #60675
    Eric DeWitt
    Member

    I would start at probably an 1/8 to 1/4 sec, and you can go up past a second or however long you want.

    #60676
    david king
    Member

    It varies according to how fast the water is moving. Bracket your exposure time until you get the effect you like.

    #60677
    Avatar photoSteve K.
    Member

    Good advice from the others. I am partial to about 1/16 on average but can be as slow as 1 1/2 second…. a lot of elements come into play such as lighting conditions, water speed like dmk mentioned….although the water speed should be near constant on a waterfall (32 ft/sec squared if I remember right 🙂 I have my best results in lower light situations such as overcast/rainy days or early and late in the day. To much bright light and the detail in the white water will be blown out.

    Check the Landscape Photography Forum on Fred Miranda’s site. There is always an active waterfall discussion going on.

    Here’s on http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/457806

    #60678
    Zach Matthews
    The Itinerant Angler

    Best bet is to set it to your lowest ISO (usually 200, but pro cameras offer down to 50; a big plus here), then switch to Shutter Speed Priority (“S” Mode) and roll it down as far as it will go, time-wise.

    #60679
    Avatar photonone
    Member

    Well, I’ll have to look up some words!  ;D

    Zach, lower ISO means more light sensitvity right? Doesn’t this mean HIGH ISO numbers rather than LOW (like 50)?

    Thank you everyone for your input. As it seems just slowing down the shutter speed is only half the game. I will try out the suggestions next time I’m out and try to capture movements.

    Jay

    #60680
    Zach Matthews
    The Itinerant Angler

    No, Jay, the opposite; lower ISO is LESS light sensitivity.

    #60681
    Avatar photonone
    Member

    Ah, ok. I also was scratching my head after writing the previous entry. Higher ISO was for more light sensitive. Like taking pictures in low light/dusk.

    Well, it all sounds very technical and kinda too nasty for my ‘use every day’ digital camera (Fuji E550).

    And yeah, go get that 24 inch iMac!

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