There are two ways that I know of to achieve this misty look to the water flowing down the rocks here: long shutter speed or an ND filter (wonder how they’d work together?) When attempting this type of photography it is best to have a tripod and cable release with you because, well, you need the stability. In a pinch you could set your camera on something stable like a rock or wall but those aren’t always available. And no matter how steady you think your nerves are – they aren’t for really long exposure times.
Now having said all of that, I took this photo without a tripod and standing up as still as I could. Frame, focus, inhale, exhale, shoot. The effect would’ve been better with a tripod and an even longer shutter time but I didn’t want to tempt things past the 1/4 speed here.
Have you ever tried long shutter speeds on anything? How did it turn out?
F11 – 1/4 – ISO100 – 100mm – Canon 5D
Images by T.Dashfield Photography 
Gorgeous. Makes me want to get a book and go sit there and soak in the peacefulness.-Ashley
You would so love this park!!! So much beautiful nature and little benches and spots to sit and take it all in.
Lovely!
I’m usually too lazy to take along a tripod, so I usually don’t shoot slower than about 1/15th of a second. (If I’m shooting a short enough lens, I can handhold down to there–sometimes, at least.) But, as I understand it, one sometimes needs a neutral density filter to get an exposure long enough to create the silky effect, especially if you want to use a wider aperture to achieve a shallow depth of field.
Thanks! I’ve done really long exposures with just shutter speed and the trusty tripod with night time traffic to get those great streaks of light. Haven’t used a ND filter yet but one day perhaps 🙂
Lovely, and it’s great to hear how you went about catching the shot.
Thanks 🙂 You are most welcome!
Wonderful photo!
Thank you!