For my 34th birthday earlier this month, I treated myself to a solo photography road trip/vacation. I picked up a copy of the book “A Guide to Colorado’s Best Photography Locations” by Andy Cook and chose a sightseeing spot to check out, deciding that I would head up Interstate 70 about four hours away from Denver to Rifle Falls State Park. I couldn’t miss the chance to experience a tropical oasis in this otherwise arid state, featuring three waterfalls, lush greenery and moss-covered rocks. While I was there, I took my tripod and experimented with the effects of fast and slow exposures while photographing water.
I was able to hand hold this shot at 1/60th of a second. The faster shutter speed freezes the waterfall.
At 1/13th of a second, the waterfall is in between worlds of being visibly slowed down, but still showing movement. At this point, you would have to have a steady grip to hand-hold this without camera shake.
A tripod is a must trying to capture this image at f/22 and 3.2 seconds. I tend to favor the slower exposure because I love the dreamy, almost otherworldly feel of the water. Which shot works for you?
