The 365 Project: Week 34

Lake superior agates in the water

This week on Picaboo was all about photographing water.  Considering I live right along Lake Michigan's Little Bay de Noc, I'm pretty familiar with photographing the stuff.

Lake Stella in the early evening

The rising sun and thick morning mist made for a dramatic effect

There are of course  a few tips and tricks to keep in mind in order to get great shots of water however.  Many of my water photos are either along the beach or of waterfalls, which are my favorite.  In a general sense, consider your time of day.  The best times for taking gorgeous photos of water is morning and late afternoon though evening.  Cloudy or partly cloudy days are best for reflections and reduces glare off the water, giving you better color representation along with a better photo all around.  Of course if you're taking photos of a shaded water fall or creek for example then a sunny day may give you the best ambient lighting and give you a cool light filtering through the trees look.

Reflections of reeds in the early morning

Wagner Falls near Munising Mi

For capturing waterfalls there are a few ways to go about it.  You can set your camera to landscape and just point a shoot for a general photo or you can freeze the water or speed it up to give that silky water look.  To freeze water you can set your camera to the action setting or if you have a dSLR use a fast shutter speed such as 1/5000th of a second.  You may want to use a tripod to reduce camera shake.  This is also how you can capture those neat shots of dripping water or frozen in time fountains and sprinklers.

Water rushing over the rocks

To give the water a silky appearance as I have, you have to slow your shutter speed down.  Something close to a second should do the trick but play with the speeds till you get a shot you like.  If you don't have a dSLR you can try and use the night or firework setting but be sure to change your light meter (the +/- button) high on the + side to get more light in your picture. 

Water droplet on a coleus leaf