How to blur moving water

gunsmoke357 · 08-31-2011, 10:03 AM

Novice needing a little help here!! Im trying to get that painted look on moving water. I'm shooting a fountain and taken long exposures but the pics are coming out white. The longer the exposure time the brighter the pic and you can't see the fountain. I'm using a K-r.

Semper Fi

dragonfly · 08-31-2011, 10:06 AM

You're letting too much light in.

JinDesu · 08-31-2011, 10:11 AM

What mode are you shooting in, manual? AV?

JenniferLeigh · 08-31-2011, 10:13 AM

Originally posted by dragonfly

You're letting too much light in.

You can remedy this by doing a couple things:
1) Try again either in the morning or evening when there isn't so much light.
2) Look into ND filters. For more info see this article: ND Filter Primer

eddie1960 · 08-31-2011, 10:13 AM

You need to either stop down the lens more without changing your exposure time, lower the iso, or shorten the exposure time.
I'd use iso 100 for this type of thing and probably F5.6-F8 and an ND8 filter

atupdate · 08-31-2011, 10:30 AM

This tutorial has some good information.

How To Shoot Waterfalls - Tutorials

Tim

gunsmoke357 · 08-31-2011, 10:48 AM

I was shooting in Tv mode. Thanks for the tips guys! I will look into them and try again this evening.

Semper Fi!

**NaClH2O** · 08-31-2011, 11:03 AM

Hi GS357 and welcome.
To get the water blur you are talking about you need a slow shutter speed. Unfortunately a slow shutter lets in a LOT of light giving you the white pictures you were talking about. Sooo, you have to cut down on the light. First thing to do is use shutter priority (Tv) on your mode dial. This allows you to manipulate the shutter speed and the camera adjusts the aperture. Also, since the shutter is open for a while you need to make your camera as steady as possible. Optimally that means a tripod, tho you can get decent results with a monopod, or even a flat unmoveable surface like a fence post, car fender or the like. To eliminate the interior shake that the mirror makes when it flips up set the camera to 2 second delay, on the 4way controller hit the ^ arrow and toggle over to 2 sec delay. This also turns off the SR which is a good thing because if the camera is very steady it confuses SR. Set ISO to 100. Finally look thru the viewfinder and gradually reduce shutter speed until the F number in the viewfinder starts to flash. That is the slowest speed you can safely use w/o over exposing. If you have (or can borrow) a ND filter or two that is a big help. ND stands for "neutral density" basically it's like sunglasses for your lens, they cut down on light w/o changing any colors. I also like to use a circular polarizing filter as that both helps cut down on light and cuts glare. You want to get your shutter speed to 1/6 of a second or slower. Of course the slower the shutter the more blur you will achieve.
To recapitulate:
1: set mode dial to Tv
2: set ISO to 100
3: set mirror to 2 sec delay
4: Tripod,(best) monopod (second best) or in emergency fence post or something else sturdy and flat
5: If you have them ND filters CP filters.
6: Looking thru the viewfinder lower shutter speed until the F number starts to flash.
7: Hit the shutter (remember it will take 2 seconds after the mirror flips up before the shutter fires)
NaCl(good luck and let us know how you make out)H2O

**dadipentak** · 08-31-2011, 11:22 AM

Originally posted by gunsmoke357

Im trying to get that painted look on moving water.

Why would you want to do that?! Moving water dances and sparkles--why make it look like phlegm?!

Sorry, I got carried away. Of course this is a matter of personal preference--I just figured I'd put mine on the record.

**TER-OR** · 08-31-2011, 01:10 PM

It's fun to play with longer shutter speeds. Be careful of surrounding light, though, you'll overexpose sections of your image.

Anderson 90 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Overexposed:
Anderson 89 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

not overexposed:
1/8 second exposure, camera on a rock | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

**mattt** · 08-31-2011, 01:44 PM

Everyone has covered it above... Sometimes its hard to find things your looking for because of jargon. The effect you are looking for is often referred to as "silking" or "Silk effect".

Cheers

KSmith · 08-31-2011, 02:17 PM

Not much I can except to cover your viewfinder when shooting long exposures ( with your eye if the exposure is reletively short or a cloth / tape / cover etc.. for very long exposures ). Happy shooting !

Ken

RioRico · 08-31-2011, 04:38 PM

In my eBay-trolling I've accumulated zillions of old B&W and other filters, cheap. IR filters too. So if shooting B&W, you can get a s-l-o-w shutter speed by using IR filters or stacking B&W filters, especially deep Red, Blue and/or Green. Nifty|strange|bizarre contrast effects may result too. As always, use a tripod and cover the viewfinder.

KSmith · 08-31-2011, 04:53 PM

Originally posted by RioRico

In my eBay-trolling I've accumulated zillions of old B&W and other filters, cheap. IR filters too. So if shooting B&W, you can get a s-l-o-w shutter speed by using IR filters or stacking B&W filters, especially deep Red, Blue and/or Green. Nifty|strange|bizarre contrast effects may result too. As always, use a tripod and cover the viewfinder.

I've been into long exposure for a couple of months and just started with IR. You want a long exposure; try a K10D + Hoya R72 IR filter. Now that's a long exposure ! In fact I just bought a K100D to get better IR shots. The difference is remarkable. As a side note ( for those who may be unaware ) a welding glass filter makes a decent poor man's ND filter ( mine adds about 14 stops ). It's not as bad as you might expect if you convert to B&W. The color cast is very green and it's difficult to fix in post. I still need to try a custom WB, but I like the look of B&W anyway.

Ken

noblepa · 08-31-2011, 06:01 PM

Originally posted by gunsmoke357

I was shooting in Tv mode. Thanks for the tips guys! I will look into them and try again this evening.

Semper Fi!

If you are shooting in Tv, or any of the auto modes, your camera should tell you when it cannot achieve a "proper" exposure. On my K10D, in Tv mode, the aperture value flashes if there is too much light. For example, I set the ISO at 1600, Tv mode, and pointed the camera directly at my computer monitor, selecting ever slower shutter speeds. The camera picked an ever smaller aperture, as long as it could. When the kit lens reached f/38 it could go no smaller, so the value began flashing on the top LCD. Check the manual for the K-r to see how it indicates an impossible exposure.

A couple of months ago, I was out shooting and came across a fifty foot waterfall. I set the ISO at 100, put the camera on a tripod, selected Av mode (don't remember why), f/22. I had ND2 and ND4 filters on the lens and the camera picked 3 seconds. I played around with a lot of different settings, but those were typical of the best pictures.

My advice: whichever metering mode you choose, always set the ISO as low as you can. For such long exposures, you're obviously going to have the camea on a tripod or other support, and your goal is long exposures, so why use a higher ISO than that?

08-31-2011, 10:03 AM	#1
gunsmoke357 Inactive Account Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Memphis, TN Photos: Albums Posts: 14	How to blur moving water Novice needing a little help here!! Im trying to get that painted look on moving water. I'm shooting a fountain and taken long exposures but the pics are coming out white. The longer the exposure time the brighter the pic and you can't see the fountain. I'm using a K-r. Semper Fi

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08-31-2011, 10:06 AM	#2
dragonfly Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: on the wall Photos: Gallery Posts: 715	You're letting too much light in.

08-31-2011, 10:11 AM	#3
JinDesu Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: New York City Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,638	What mode are you shooting in, manual? AV?

08-31-2011, 10:13 AM	#4
JenniferLeigh Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Southern Alberta Posts: 281	Originally posted by dragonfly You're letting too much light in. You can remedy this by doing a couple things: 1) Try again either in the morning or evening when there isn't so much light. 2) Look into ND filters. For more info see this article: ND Filter Primer

08-31-2011, 10:13 AM	#5
eddie1960 Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Toronto Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 13,666	You need to either stop down the lens more without changing your exposure time, lower the iso, or shorten the exposure time. I'd use iso 100 for this type of thing and probably F5.6-F8 and an ND8 filter

08-31-2011, 10:30 AM	#6
atupdate Pentaxian Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Dayton, OH Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,724	This tutorial has some good information. How To Shoot Waterfalls - Tutorials Tim

08-31-2011, 10:48 AM	#7
gunsmoke357 Inactive Account Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Memphis, TN Photos: Albums Posts: 14 Original Poster	I was shooting in Tv mode. Thanks for the tips guys! I will look into them and try again this evening. Semper Fi!

08-31-2011, 11:03 AM	#8
NaClH2O Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Bronx NY Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,631	Hi GS357 and welcome. To get the water blur you are talking about you need a slow shutter speed. Unfortunately a slow shutter lets in a LOT of light giving you the white pictures you were talking about. Sooo, you have to cut down on the light. First thing to do is use shutter priority (Tv) on your mode dial. This allows you to manipulate the shutter speed and the camera adjusts the aperture. Also, since the shutter is open for a while you need to make your camera as steady as possible. Optimally that means a tripod, tho you can get decent results with a monopod, or even a flat unmoveable surface like a fence post, car fender or the like. To eliminate the interior shake that the mirror makes when it flips up set the camera to 2 second delay, on the 4way controller hit the ^ arrow and toggle over to 2 sec delay. This also turns off the SR which is a good thing because if the camera is very steady it confuses SR. Set ISO to 100. Finally look thru the viewfinder and gradually reduce shutter speed until the F number in the viewfinder starts to flash. That is the slowest speed you can safely use w/o over exposing. If you have (or can borrow) a ND filter or two that is a big help. ND stands for "neutral density" basically it's like sunglasses for your lens, they cut down on light w/o changing any colors. I also like to use a circular polarizing filter as that both helps cut down on light and cuts glare. You want to get your shutter speed to 1/6 of a second or slower. Of course the slower the shutter the more blur you will achieve. To recapitulate: 1: set mode dial to Tv 2: set ISO to 100 3: set mirror to 2 sec delay 4: Tripod,(best) monopod (second best) or in emergency fence post or something else sturdy and flat 5: If you have them ND filters CP filters. 6: Looking thru the viewfinder lower shutter speed until the F number starts to flash. 7: Hit the shutter (remember it will take 2 seconds after the mirror flips up before the shutter fires) NaCl(good luck and let us know how you make out)H2O

08-31-2011, 11:22 AM	#9
dadipentak Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Baltimore, Maryland Photos: Gallery Posts: 11,590	Originally posted by gunsmoke357 Im trying to get that painted look on moving water. Why would you want to do that?! Moving water dances and sparkles--why make it look like phlegm?! Sorry, I got carried away. Of course this is a matter of personal preference--I just figured I'd put mine on the record.

08-31-2011, 01:10 PM	#10
TER-OR Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Dundee, IL Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,699	It's fun to play with longer shutter speeds. Be careful of surrounding light, though, you'll overexpose sections of your image. Anderson 90 \| Flickr - Photo Sharing! Overexposed: Anderson 89 \| Flickr - Photo Sharing! not overexposed: 1/8 second exposure, camera on a rock \| Flickr - Photo Sharing!

08-31-2011, 01:44 PM	#11
mattt Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Niagara Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,907	Everyone has covered it above... Sometimes its hard to find things your looking for because of jargon. The effect you are looking for is often referred to as "silking" or "Silk effect". Cheers

08-31-2011, 02:17 PM	#12
KSmith Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Montreal Posts: 54	Not much I can except to cover your viewfinder when shooting long exposures ( with your eye if the exposure is reletively short or a cloth / tape / cover etc.. for very long exposures ). Happy shooting ! Ken

08-31-2011, 04:38 PM	#13
RioRico Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Limbo, California Posts: 11,263	In my eBay-trolling I've accumulated zillions of old B&W and other filters, cheap. IR filters too. So if shooting B&W, you can get a s-l-o-w shutter speed by using IR filters or stacking B&W filters, especially deep Red, Blue and/or Green. Nifty\|strange\|bizarre contrast effects may result too. As always, use a tripod and cover the viewfinder.

08-31-2011, 04:53 PM	#14
KSmith Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Montreal Posts: 54	Originally posted by RioRico In my eBay-trolling I've accumulated zillions of old B&W and other filters, cheap. IR filters too. So if shooting B&W, you can get a s-l-o-w shutter speed by using IR filters or stacking B&W filters, especially deep Red, Blue and/or Green. Nifty\|strange\|bizarre contrast effects may result too. As always, use a tripod and cover the viewfinder. I've been into long exposure for a couple of months and just started with IR. You want a long exposure; try a K10D + Hoya R72 IR filter. Now that's a long exposure ! In fact I just bought a K100D to get better IR shots. The difference is remarkable. As a side note ( for those who may be unaware ) a welding glass filter makes a decent poor man's ND filter ( mine adds about 14 stops ). It's not as bad as you might expect if you convert to B&W. The color cast is very green and it's difficult to fix in post. I still need to try a custom WB, but I like the look of B&W anyway. Ken

08-31-2011, 06:01 PM	#15
noblepa Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Bay Village, Ohio USA Posts: 1,142	Originally posted by gunsmoke357 I was shooting in Tv mode. Thanks for the tips guys! I will look into them and try again this evening. Semper Fi! If you are shooting in Tv, or any of the auto modes, your camera should tell you when it cannot achieve a "proper" exposure. On my K10D, in Tv mode, the aperture value flashes if there is too much light. For example, I set the ISO at 1600, Tv mode, and pointed the camera directly at my computer monitor, selecting ever slower shutter speeds. The camera picked an ever smaller aperture, as long as it could. When the kit lens reached f/38 it could go no smaller, so the value began flashing on the top LCD. Check the manual for the K-r to see how it indicates an impossible exposure. A couple of months ago, I was out shooting and came across a fifty foot waterfall. I set the ISO at 100, put the camera on a tripod, selected Av mode (don't remember why), f/22. I had ND2 and ND4 filters on the lens and the camera picked 3 seconds. I played around with a lot of different settings, but those were typical of the best pictures. My advice: whichever metering mode you choose, always set the ISO as low as you can. For such long exposures, you're obviously going to have the camea on a tripod or other support, and your goal is long exposures, so why use a higher ISO than that?