Feedback please- long exposure shot

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Schloshd1

Senior Member
I messed around a bit this weekend with ND filters for the first time. I took a few shots of moving water , this one of my favorites. Any feedback on how it could have been improved would be great. Better composition maybe? Thanks for looking.

Andrew

_DSC0334e1r.jpg

D90
Nikon AF-S 18-70 f3.5-4.6
f22
30 second exposure
ISO -100
Compatible P Series ND16 filter
Tripod
Self timer shutter release
 
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Don Kuykendall_RIP

RIP :(
Kind of hard to tell where the focus point is. Could be my monitor since I am on my laptop. For me I like to see something sharp and clear so that the moving water really stands in contrast.
 
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Schloshd1

Senior Member
That's a good point, thanks :) Now that you mention it I realize that I am lacking any real focal point/point of interest to contrast against the moving water. Thanks for your comment :encouragement:
 
Horoscope Fish

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Have to agree with Don... Whereas a lot of people don't move in tight enough on their subject, I think maybe you've gone a tad overboard here. Is this shot cropped, or is this how you framed the shot? Just curious on that point.

Amplifying what Don said, I too would really like to see some visual cues in the shot to help give my brain some sense of reference. For instance, I can't tell how *large* this water feature is because the water feature is all I can see.

All that being said, I think you have a gorgeous capture there; superb execution, I'd say!

The EXIF data is appearing when I hover but the shutter speed is showing up as "30/1"; I'm assuming you use a 30 second exposure?

....
 
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co2jae

Senior Member
I actually like that a major focal point doesn't exist (yea I know, but different is who I am). I looked at the photo and found myself exploring all the areas equally and trying to figure out the scope of the shot. Very interesting photo to me and thanks for posting it, I enjoyed imagining different scales and concepts of the water flowing. Beautiful! Sorry I can't offer much technical feedback, you're a better shot than I am.....
 
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Schloshd1

Senior Member
blacktop said:
Good shot, but 30 second shutter speed might be a bit much.
This is a great tutorial about shooting moving water.
4 Tips for Shooting Drop Dead Gorgeous Waterfalls - Digital Photography School
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link, there's some great info there.

Horoscope Fish said:
Have to agree with Don... Whereas a lot of people don't move in tight enough on their subject, I think maybe you've gone a tad overboard here. Is this shot cropped, or is this how you framed the shot? Just curious on that point.

Amplifying what Don said, I too would really like to see some visual cues in the shot to help give my brain some sense of reference. For instance, I can't tell how *large* this water feature is because the water feature is all I can see.

All that being said, I think you have a gorgeous capture there; superb execution, I'd say!

The EXIF data is appearing when I hover but the shutter speed is showing up as "30/1"; I'm assuming you use a 30 second exposure?

....
Click to expand...

Thanks for the comments :) I don't think I cropped that shot at all. I have posted a wider shot of the scene to my gallery (titled Treeferns Weir) if you are interested.

WRT to the EXIF data, yes, it's a 30 second exposure :)

RON said:
Why not post this to the abstract contest? I think it would qualify.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll do that :encouragement:
 
Vixen

Vixen

Senior Member
Schloshd1 said:
I messed around a bit this weekend with ND filters for the first time. I took a few shots of moving water , this one of my favorites. Any feedback on how it could have been improved would be great. Better composition maybe? Thanks for looking.

Andrew

View attachment 78310

D90
Nikon AF-S 18-70 f3.5-4.6
f22
30 second exposure
ISO -100
Compatible P Series ND16 filter
Tripod
Self timer shutter release
Click to expand...

If you are in shade, or it's a dull day, try ditching the ND filter and using your polariser. You get to see more detail in rocks below the surface this way (in any still water areas especially). You may need to have a faster shutter speed but you get really nice water movement with 1/5 shutter speed. Not dreamy but you can SEE all the movement which is also nice
 
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adox66

Senior Member
Nice shot. Id work on the composition a bit. No real focal point, the composition seems to tight to me as there isnt much detail to focus on.

30 seconds seems a bit of overkill on the subject too(Looks like a waterfall or certainly fast moving water). I would use a 30 second exposure for clouds or sea, or even sometimes a river, but for the above subject a couple of seconds would probably have given a better feeling of moving water, which I presume you wanted, given the subject matter.

Nice job though. The exposure looks spot on, which isnt always easy to get right on long exposures.
 
S

Schloshd1

Senior Member
Vixen said:
If you are in shade, or it's a dull day, try ditching the ND filter and using your polariser. You get to see more detail in rocks below the surface this way (in any still water areas especially). You may need to have a faster shutter speed but you get really nice water movement with 1/5 shutter speed. Not dreamy but you can SEE all the movement which is also nice
Click to expand...

adox66 said:
Nice shot. Id work on the composition a bit. No real focal point, the composition seems to tight to me as there isnt much detail to focus on.

30 seconds seems a bit of overkill on the subject too(Looks like a waterfall or certainly fast moving water). I would use a 30 second exposure for clouds or sea, or even sometimes a river, but for the above subject a couple of seconds would probably have given a better feeling of moving water, which I presume you wanted, given the subject matter.

Nice job though. The exposure looks spot on, which isnt always easy to get right on long exposures.
Click to expand...


Thanks both you for your comments and some great advice to take into account next t
 
S

Schloshd1

Senior Member
Vixen said:
If you are in shade, or it's a dull day, try ditching the ND filter and using your polariser. You get to see more detail in rocks below the surface this way (in any still water areas especially). You may need to have a faster shutter speed but you get really nice water movement with 1/5 shutter speed. Not dreamy but you can SEE all the movement which is also nice
Click to expand...

adox66 said:
Nice shot. Id work on the composition a bit. No real focal point, the composition seems to tight to me as there isnt much detail to focus on.

30 seconds seems a bit of overkill on the subject too(Looks like a waterfall or certainly fast moving water). I would use a 30 second exposure for clouds or sea, or even sometimes a river, but for the above subject a couple of seconds would probably have given a better feeling of moving water, which I presume you wanted, given the subject matter.

Nice job though. The exposure looks spot on, which isnt always easy to get right on long exposures.
Click to expand...


Thanks both of you for your comments and some great advice to take into account next time I try shoot moving water :)
 
Vixen

Vixen

Senior Member
Don't just confine long shutter speed to rapidly moving water. Seemingly long still pools of water come up great with long shutter speed too. It deepens the colours and adds just a subtle dreamy effect, and the longer the better. Consider getting an ND400. In full sunlight you can get 15secs shutter speed with an ND400 :D
 
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