Sometimes it's worth your while to look again. On the long weekend I was out exploring an area beside the Gull River, taking a few shots and looking for that perfect picture. I'm not sure that I found that perfect image, but I was able to get some interesting shots, maybe even a couple of "keepers". The image above illustrates what you can do when you rethink your image. The first shot (on the left) is a standard exposure taken at 1/125 second, f6.3 using a wide angle lens at 16mm. There's not a lot of contrast in the image and the reflections in the water hide some of the interesting details underneath. The second shot (on the right) was taken at 2 seconds, f22 using a 3 stop ND filter. The second shot has a lot more contrast, the water's been smoothed out and the highlights aren't as fractured. Here's another image, this time taken at 8 seconds using a 10 stop ND. Thought for the Day
“Luck happens when preparation meets opportunity.” Senca
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The Gull River near Minden next to the Wildwater Preserve is one of my favourite places to take sports-action photos of kayakers playing in the water. It requires a considerable amount of skill to navigate the upper rapids and lots of opportunities for a skilled kayaker to show off his or her stuff. The white water course is relatively short, with lots of nice locations to drop your tripod with camera and take part in the action. The first five images were taken at high shutter speed of 1/500 sec or faster. This allows you to freeze motion such as water droplets. For a more interpretive photo I also took a number of shots at slower shutters speeds to show the incredible flow of water and spray. These shots were taken at shutter speeds between 1/10 and 1/20 of a second.
One important thing to remember is that your meter can be easily fooled by the extreme contrasts in the scene. This often results in blown out water highlights and water that lacks texture. I usually underexpose by 1/3 or 1/2 stop (or more) to ensure that I haven't lost the details in the water. Thought for the Day “Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” Pablo Picasso |
Eric David
Eric David is a visual artist / fine art photographer that lives and works in Toronto. Archives
March 2020
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