Beginner Long Exposure

RADDERS76

RADDERS76

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PAUL
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Hi, I'm off to the Peak District this weekend and would like to take some long exposure shots of some waterfalls. I don't think I'm going to be able to get a ND Filter in time so is it possible to replicate the smooth water effect just using standard setup?

Paul
 
Probably not.

You know the Sunny 16 rule? In full sunshine, at f/16, your exposure time is the reciprocal of your ISO setting. So assuming the latest ISO you can set is 100, the slowest shutter speed you could use - at f/16, in full sun, is 1/100th.

Use f/22 and you gain a stop, so you can use 1/50th. If it's really heavily overcast or shaded, you might gain another 3-4 stops which gets you to 1/6th or 1/3rd.

You *might* get some decent effects at 1/3rd of a second, but personally I think even that's too fast, and somewhere around 1 second is better.
 
You can but it all depends on light levels, water volume, water speed, distance, effect that you want etc. It helps if you have a tripod or some other support, even holding the camera against a tree trunk helps with long exposures. There are some articles here http://ronbigelow.com/articles/waterfalls-1/waterfalls-1.htm , they may be a bit too detailed but you can pick just the bits you want, having said that there is a lot of good info. there. Some of the better pics in the 2nd article were taken at 1/4 & 1/8 secs.
 
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Brill, thanks for the replies. I do have a tripod and shutter release cable. I think the weather forecast is for cloud.

Paul
 
^^^
Also increase the possibility for more water!
 
image.jpeg I was in the same boat last week, never tried it before and it is impossible in sunshine without filters! I took this and was fairly pleased! No filters what so ever and no sunshine!
Plenty to improve on, will have to invest in some filters..
 
Maybe a polariser? They come with a fairy hefty exposure factor!
 
Hi, had a fantastic time in the Peak District. I did manage to get a filter in the end, it was a 9 stop ND filter. I watched all the You Tube videos on how to use one. This aftenoon we went to Padley Gorge and I was eager to try out the filter. I framed up the shot, selected Av Mode, got a metered reading, autofocused and fliiped it into Manual Mode and Manual Focus, blocked the light coming into the viewfinder. Checked my app to see how long a 9 stop filter would be and fired off the shutter release for given time but some of the 1, 2 minute ones are overexposed. A 40 second looked great. Any ideas why this is?

Thanks
 
A 9 stop ND filter won't be exactly 9 stops, every filter manufacturer is slightly different, it could be anywhere between 8 and 10 stops!!! I would suggest that it is erring to the lower value since longer exposures were overexposed (or the light was changing see below)

The best way to sort out is:-

1) always shoot these type of shots a a certain aperture. I usually use f8, as this is typically in the lens sweetspot, and avoids getting any odd filter effects in focus!
2) Take a shot without filter, note exposure time eg 1/250 note the histogram
3) then take a series of shots with your 9 stop filter, check the histogram on each and hopefully you will have one that is close to the unfiltered shot.

Now you have a relationship between shutter speed and your filter

1/250 might be equivalent to 1.8 seconds with your 9 stop filter

then 1/125 = 3.6 seconds, 1/60 = 7.2 seconds, etc etc

Once your into really long exposures, you need to be adaptable as the light will be constantly changing, if it gets brighter, then you will have to shorten your exposure and vice versa. Its a bit of a black art, but practice makes it easier.

Hope that helps
 
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