These are some of my first photos with the Canon 70-200 f/4 IS L lens that I recently picked up. I finally traded in the f/2.8 version to save considerable weight and space in my camera pack. Since I'm almost always shooting on a tripod, the faster f/2.8 lens isn't really necessary. And the f/4 lens is reputedly sharper. Sounds good to me!
It's a breeze to shoot blurred water scenes like this. Compose your scene, use a tripod and slow the shutter speed down to 1/15s or slower. Really simple, eh! There are many ways to achieve a slow shutter speed: use a small aperture (which I like for the depth-of-field anyway), set your ISO speed lower, shoot in low light or use an ND filter (I have the Singh-Ray Vari- N-Duo). Of course, a tripod is needed to keep everything steady during the slow exposure. And be sure to check the histogram to make sure the white water is not blown out.
For this series of photos, all I had to do was use low ISO, dial in a small aperture... and voila, perfect shutter speeds for blurred water. I shot these with a Canon EOS 5D mark II, EF 70-200 f/4 L lens at ISO 100; Exposure was 1/4s at f/32.
Happy spring!
Ethan-
Thanks for the very specific advice on how to photograph waterfalls. I'm trying to absorb this information while drying my eyes after reading the story about your sister.
ReplyDeleteVery timely advice -- I just wish you had posted this on Friday as my wife and I were out shooting waterfalls Saturday. We did manage to get some nice slow shutter speed shots but I can clearly see the need for a neutral density and polarizing filter. I know you use a 17-40 -- when you shoot with it do you use a screw on filter or rectangle filter with a holder? I've been considering the Singh-Ray Duo filter since that one seems to do it all but am worried about vignetting issues with the 17-40. We shot with a 5D classic and 7D of that matters.
ReplyDeleteI really like the Singh-Ray Vari-n-Duo... because it combines an adjustable ND and a polarizer.. which you definitely want for these kind of photos. It does vignette on the wide to mid range of the 17-40 (and full-frame camera), so I just zoom in or use a bigger lens (ie. 24-70). Hope this helps.
ReplyDeleteEthan
I've really struggled with capturing the smooth water effect seen in the images you published above. Hopefully your specific directions will come in handy the next time I'm out shooting. Lovely waterfall shots, and thanks for the well presented informative post on this form of nature photography.
ReplyDeleteThanks John for the following comment. I'm not sure why it didn't come through, but I did get it in an email notice from Blogger!
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I've really struggled with capturing the smooth water effect seen in the images you published above. Hopefully your specific directions will come in handy the next time I'm out shooting. Lovely waterfall shots, and thanks for the well presented informative post on this form of nature photography.
I usually use f/1000 or f/500 for taking pictures of water droplets or smooth water. Last summer, I tried taking pictures of fast moving objects when we went to Whitsundays for diving. These shutter speeds are also good for freezing the object on your images. If you want to make a moving object look blurred, try f/30 or f/60.
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