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?