Wet and Wild

Last weeks Depth of Field challenge turned out to be purely amazing with several pictures being true wall hangers. Tracy Balcius topped us out with her shallow depth of field image above. Congrats Tracy, this image really portrays a mood that puts a smile on my face and makes me feel happy.


This weeks challenge is one that really opens up the mind for creating beautiful works of art. The subject is easy enough - Water...
But how do we photograph water? And why?
First off lets talk about my favorite water subject, the waterfall. Whether you like to freeze water or like the smooth flowing action that a long exposure creates, a waterfall is amazing.

I am a big fan of nice flowing waterfall pictures and this image shows very well the effect of a slower shutter speed. Now to get an image to do this there are some things that make life easier, ND filters are priceless for being able to slow down your shutter speed, I almost always have an ND4 with me and have even been known to use both an ND4 and a polarizing filter together. Remember even though many image editing software have "filters" to show the ND effect there is no real effective way to simulate an ND for waterfalls. Get it right in camera and you cant go wrong.
Another important piece of equipment is your tripod. Like any long exposure shot a tripod is a key piece so tote it with you!

Also remember that water as the feature opens up possibilities for reflections, water drops, snow, ice, motion freeze, splashes... the list goes on and on. I hope this has been helpful and look forward to seeing every one's pictures this week. Don't for get to get you pictures in by Tuesday at midnight so that we can all vote on Wednesday. Thank you all so much!