So this week I wanted to take a look at some of the slow shutter pictures I took down in Queenstown. I really enjoy this type of photography. I love how an everyday scene can take on an almost other worldly feel and the effects created really enhance the images.
The day that I took to drive out to Wanka and get some pictures in the better weather (like the church in the last post) saw me coming back to Queenstown via Cromwell. Now a stretch of this road takes you past the Roaring Meg lookout point. Here a waterfall joins the Kawarau River so I figured it was definitely worth stopping and investigating the possibilities here.
Looking back upstream I could see the waterfall/stream looked more dramatic up there and cascaded over a couple of short but steepish drops that would potentially make a better photo.
With that in mind I decided to head further up the waterfall. By climbing up some rocks and ducking in and around fallen trees I was able to gain a vantage point above the main flow of the waterfall and it was definitely worth the effort.
(click to enlarge)
By getting higher up I was able to see more of the waterfall and take a variety of shots. The one above I was able to get in tight on a group of rocks with water tumbling every which way over them. I think this is already a much stronger shot than the first and appears to be more dynamic to me.
What really helped this set up was the fact that the sun had already started to dip away behind the hill so the entire waterfall was thrown into a muted light and this allowed me to stretch out shutter speeds quite easily. The only problem was in these darker areas the mosquito population was pretty healthy!! I was being eaten alive while getting these shots but thankfully they are not as deadly as their African cousins I grew up with.
As you can tell this post is all about manipulating water with the shutter speed and there is a shot I have dreamed about getting for a long time. I have seen many superb images involving a pier or boardwalk going out into the sea or a lake and the water smoothed out around it, really dreamy shots. This trip gave me the opportunity to give my own take on this type of photography.
This picture is probably one of my favourites. Driving out to Glenorchy to see where all the movies are made I noticed a decaying jetty, I assume it must have been a jetty at one point. I made a mental note of where it was and planned to stop there on the way back to town. It could not have worked out better! We reached the spot as dusk was well and truly settling in and I knew this would really help me achieve the slow shutter speed I desired to really smooth out the water and give it that silk-like feel.
(click to enlarge)
I used a Neutral density filter to assist in getting the slow speed and coupled with and aperture of f/25 I was able to keep the shutter open for five seconds. There was a chilly wind whipping up some solid wave action so the five second shutter really did the job in smoothing out the water. My major problem was actually getting low enough to get the composition I wanted. The tripod I currently have is adequate but it doesn't let me get really low to the ground and that was the view I needed here. Thank goodness for rocky beaches!! I was able to cobble (pun not intended) together a makeshift tripod using my camera bag and various rocks and drift wood and it served my purposes really well I think.
I really enjoy this type of photography. By using the tools in the camera I am able to imply movement and really add a new dynamic to a picture and I believe this helps in conveying the story the picture is trying to tell
Thanks for stopping by I hope you enjoyed!
The day that I took to drive out to Wanka and get some pictures in the better weather (like the church in the last post) saw me coming back to Queenstown via Cromwell. Now a stretch of this road takes you past the Roaring Meg lookout point. Here a waterfall joins the Kawarau River so I figured it was definitely worth stopping and investigating the possibilities here.
There is a short path that takes you to a spot by the edge of the waterfall and it’s not too bad a view, I took a couple of shots there. Below is the best angle I could get from the end of the path and it is a fairly pleasing picture.
(click to enlarge) |
| First waterfall picture - shot at 18mm, f/8, ISO 400, 1/10 sec |
Looking back upstream I could see the waterfall/stream looked more dramatic up there and cascaded over a couple of short but steepish drops that would potentially make a better photo.
With that in mind I decided to head further up the waterfall. By climbing up some rocks and ducking in and around fallen trees I was able to gain a vantage point above the main flow of the waterfall and it was definitely worth the effort.
(click to enlarge)
 |
| Shot at 46mm, f/16, ISO 100, 1/5 sec. |
By getting higher up I was able to see more of the waterfall and take a variety of shots. The one above I was able to get in tight on a group of rocks with water tumbling every which way over them. I think this is already a much stronger shot than the first and appears to be more dynamic to me.
What really helped this set up was the fact that the sun had already started to dip away behind the hill so the entire waterfall was thrown into a muted light and this allowed me to stretch out shutter speeds quite easily. The only problem was in these darker areas the mosquito population was pretty healthy!! I was being eaten alive while getting these shots but thankfully they are not as deadly as their African cousins I grew up with.
As you can tell this post is all about manipulating water with the shutter speed and there is a shot I have dreamed about getting for a long time. I have seen many superb images involving a pier or boardwalk going out into the sea or a lake and the water smoothed out around it, really dreamy shots. This trip gave me the opportunity to give my own take on this type of photography.
This picture is probably one of my favourites. Driving out to Glenorchy to see where all the movies are made I noticed a decaying jetty, I assume it must have been a jetty at one point. I made a mental note of where it was and planned to stop there on the way back to town. It could not have worked out better! We reached the spot as dusk was well and truly settling in and I knew this would really help me achieve the slow shutter speed I desired to really smooth out the water and give it that silk-like feel.
(click to enlarge)
 |
| Decaying jetty on the way to Glenorchy - shot at 28mm, f/25, ISO 100, 5 seconds |
I used a Neutral density filter to assist in getting the slow speed and coupled with and aperture of f/25 I was able to keep the shutter open for five seconds. There was a chilly wind whipping up some solid wave action so the five second shutter really did the job in smoothing out the water. My major problem was actually getting low enough to get the composition I wanted. The tripod I currently have is adequate but it doesn't let me get really low to the ground and that was the view I needed here. Thank goodness for rocky beaches!! I was able to cobble (pun not intended) together a makeshift tripod using my camera bag and various rocks and drift wood and it served my purposes really well I think.
I really enjoy this type of photography. By using the tools in the camera I am able to imply movement and really add a new dynamic to a picture and I believe this helps in conveying the story the picture is trying to tell
Thanks for stopping by I hope you enjoyed!
That decaying jetty is totally boss.
ReplyDeleteThanks DK! Super stoked with that photo, best I've taken so far
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