Canon EOS Digital SLR Product Range - Eos40D, Eos400D

What you need to get started:

1. A digital camera with a wide range of shutter speed adjustments.
2. A tripod is essential for shots in which the water will be blurred.
3. A neutral density filter can be handy to reduce the light entering the camera in bright conditions for shots where you want the water to be blurred.

Have you ever wondered how photographers take shots of waterfalls in which the moving water takes on a fluid, almost creamy appearance? It's easy to do and can be done with just a digital camera and a tripod.

Consider the direction you are facing: is it toward the sun, the sky, a shaded area? What volume of water is passing - and how much of your shot do you want it to occupy? Decide whether you want to take a picture of the entire cascade and its surroundings or focus on just a part of it. Take a couple of preliminary shots to find out the best shooting angle before setting up your camera, making sure you avoid pointing the camera directly at the sun. (With a digital camera, these are easily deleted before you take the 'real' pictures.)

Decide whether you you want to take a picture of the entire cascade and its surroundings or focus on just a part of it.

Mount your camera on the tripod and set it up to take the shot. It doesn’t matter whether you use a wide or tele lens, as long as you can compose the shot to suit your requirements. Set the camera to manual (M) or shutter-priority AE (S or Tv) and the ISO to 100 (or less). Select small lens aperture (f/11 to f/22) and a slow shutter speed. Exposures of at least five seconds are required to achieve a reasonable amount of blurring. The longer the exposure the more creamy the flowing water will look!

	The longer the exposure, the more blurred the water will look. This was a five second exposure, which is relatively short for this type of shot.

Use the self-timer to trigger the shutter, making sure the camera does not move while the shutter is open. Check the shot. If it's too dark, try opening the lens aperture by at least two stops and/or increasing the exposure time. If it's too bright, close the lens aperture down even further. If it's still too bright when the lens aperture is closed right down, fit a neutral density (ND) filter on the lens. A 4x ND filter will cut the light entering the camera back by four times. This should be enough for most situations.

Taking pictures in which each droplet of water appears clear and sharp requires bright conditions, a fast shutter speed (1/500 second or higher) and, usually, quick reaction times. Subjects may include waves breaking over a beach, spray created by cascades or human activities – or even rainwater pouring down from a spout!

A fast shutter speed (1/200 second) was needed to record this wave breaking over a rock pool.		Shooting with a fast shutter speed (1/500 second in this case) and wide lens aperture (f/2.8) lets you 'freeze' both the waterfall and rainwater pouring down from an overhanging roof.

The faster the shutter speed you use, the more likely you will be to capture individual drops of water clearly. In bright conditions, this should be easy – although you may need to shoot at f/5.6 or even f/4. When the light is too dim to shoot at 1/500 second or faster, increase the ISO setting on your camera – or use flash. Flash exposures are extremely brief so this is a great way to make every drop look sharp and clear. However, the light from most flash units cannot illuminate subjects beyond about 2 metres from your camera so this technique can only be used for relatively close subjects. (Make sure your camera doesn’t get splashed!)

1. Water splashing onto the camera or lens. Tiny droplets of water can show up in photos, especially if they are taken with a compact digicams. Water can also disable a digital camera if it reaches the electronic components inside the camera body. Always wipe your camera carefully with a soft, lint-free cloth after taking photos in areas where there is spray or mist. And store the camera in a dry bag with a sachet of silica gel (available from camera shops) to remove any residual moisture.
2. Shallow depth-of-field. The water should be the only thing that is blurred in photographs of this type; everything else should be sharp so it contrasts with the moving water. Using a small lens aperture (f/11 or smaller with a digital SLR or f/8 with a compact digicam) will ensure you obtain a large depth-of-field.

   	The longer the exposure, the more blurred the water will look. This was a five second exposure, which is relatively short for this type of shot.

3. White, bubbling water can fool your camera's exposure meter. Use a spot or partial metering setting and measure the exposure on a mid-tone area in the subject (such as a rock or tree trunk). Alternatively, use the auto bracketing function to take a series of shots with exposures above and below the metered value. Select the shot that looks best from the series and delete the rest.