Down at the creek
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In this weeks post I wanted to share with you more creative ways to take pictures in your own backyard. This time its about long exposure.
A few days ago I decided to brave the cold weather we’ve been enjoying in the south and take some pictures. I like taking pictures in my yard, its a place I’m familiar with, never fill rushed to get through and leave and its (of course) close to home.
I’ve been very fortunate to live with a stream nearby, and I like to walk down to it to clear my thoughts or look for interesting photos. We’ve also been having a lot of rain lately which has widened the stream and increased the water flow. I walked down along the stream below some of the larger rocks and spied a great place to try.
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- scroll to the end for a video about this shoot -
I’m sure a lot of you aren’t going to have a creek or stream handy so you can also try out a local park. Here is one I visit all the time.
Because I’m photographing water, long exposure makes sense for this shot. If you don’t know what that is, you basically leave the shutter open longer which causes moving parts of the image to blur and become softer. This how you get that silky look in a lot of water-centric photographs.
Here is one picture from the shoot
Things you would like to have with you for that type of shot are:
- Tripod
- Shutter release or a camera with a timer
- Neutral density filter
Check out my latest Photobook – “Parts” – see preview >
You’re going to need the tripod to have a steady shot. This is because the shutter is going to stay open longer than you can hold the camera still. The shutter release/timer is to also help keep the camera steady. Believe it or not, just pressing the shutter release can shake the camera enough to blur the image. The last thing, the neutral density filter works a lot like a set of sunglasses for your camera. It lets you keep the shutter open longer for a more dramatic effect.
Here is an exposure I took early in the afternoon. Notice there are some more harsh highlights, and the water isn’t quite as silky due to a shorter exposure.
Creek at 3:00 PM
And this is an exposure around 5:00 PM. Notice there are fewer hotspots. Also, the water is more silky.
Creek at home 5:00 PM
Another tip for landscape photos, look around from inside the viewfinder for things that can make your image cluttered or “trashy.” I sometime will drag wads of leaves, sticks or actual trash out of the frame if I see it. This can save you a lot of time in post cleaning up the shot.
I’d love to hear from you about your creative backyard ideas too! Leave a comment with your thoughts.
The shoot – videoblog