BetterPhoto Instructor Insights

Photographing Water: Getting That Silky Look!

By Kerry Drager

Some beautiful things happen when light and composition come together, especially when it involves water in motion!

Jane, a family friend, has a beautiful waterfall fountain in her back yard. It's an eye-grabbing scene at any time of day, but for photography, the sunny midday is rarely a satisfactory time for shooting moving water ... often too harsh and contrasty, with washed-out colors. (See the vertical "Before" image below.)

For more pleasing light with better color, you need the soft conditions of overcast or shade. Then, with the "right" camera settings - small aperture (high f/number) and low ISO number - it's possible to capture a smooth and flowing look to the water. See my "After" horizontal close-up image, which also shows another fine evening feature: nice colors. The colors were further enhanced by a polarizing filter that reduced the amount of glare.

Technical data for the main close-up image: evening shade, f16 @ 30 seconds, ISO 200, 80-200 zoom @ 200mm. I also used a polarizing filter, which reduced the amount of glare in the scene. In fact, a polarizer can really make the colors come alive in wet rocks, as it did here. This deep-tinted filter also had another benefit: It further extended the exposure time (by about 2 stops). Of course, a tripod and cable shutter release kept the camera steady.

   

Thanks, Kerry Drager

Creative Close-ups

My work in an Italian art mag

By Sean Arbabi

FeFe, an Italian art publication, ran a few of my images for their issue themed "If you don't play, you can't go home" - a mix of my work from the California coast to the Florida Keys, southern Utah to western Wyoming.

To date, my images have run in many countries, on all continents around the globe - with the exception for Antarctica- some day I hope to land the cover of "Freezing to Death" magazine or at least have a fine art print hung in the Port Lockroy Museum on the Antarctic Peninsula.

:)