Water is an inconceivable thing. Especially running,
flowing water.
It evokes such associations which can hardly be
aroused by a photo. That is why in this article I will give some
examples showing how a shot depends on an exposure. On the photos
of Baksan waters you can see that it turns either into glass pieces
it it becomes soft and tender like down.
Among these shots you can choose those which correspond
to your mood.
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A peculiarity of shooting with digital cameras
lies in the fact that most of them have short-focus lenses, that
is why one can't get a long-time exposure by changing the aperture.
At the aperture equal to 8 and a focal length equal to 7 mm the
aperture's diameter will be less than 1 mm, when diffraction effects
might become noticeable.
In the majority of digital cameras the aperture
can't be closed to less than 8. That is why to obtain soft fuzzy
currents it is necessary to use neutral filters, especially if you
are shooting in a sunny weather. If you don't have any neutral filters,
you may use sun-glasses. The effect is a bit unusual.
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Unlike a usual photo, in case of a digital one
there is a possibility to combine incombinable things. On the photo
above made with the Flash technology, I combined 2 shots of the
same stream captured at different exposure values. One shot is gradually
turning into another. Although the image is changing, it is not
a movie. It is not an object that changes, but a shooting process.
However, considering a human eye as an optical system and a computer
delivering images, I can submit that such an image reflects better
our idea on a water stream.
However, maybe I just can't choose an image that
I would like the best.
In conclusion I should add that an exposure is
just only one of numerous parameters which should be accounted for
when shooting water. However, in chase of a unique picture, a photographer
rarely manages to remember all shooting parameters. A digital photo
has one important advantage - all shooting parameters are recorded
into the header of EXIF files, and you can always analyze all your
misfortunes and victories.