A recent trip to the beautiful river side town of Betws-y-Coed in North Wales was the perfect opportunity to try some classic river shots. I think the key to a successful river photograph is to try and create movement through the image and the illusion that the water is flowing on a static image.
To create this effect we need to get motion blur on the water which requires a slow shutter speed on the camera, ideally around 1 second will create a good motion blur effect and give the water a flowing look. A fast shutter speed will freeze the action and the water will look static.
It sounds easy – but the problem is, if we tell the camera to expose for 1 second in daylight – parts of the image will be heavily over exposed. Even using a small aperture and a low ISO – highlights will be blown out to pure white. They key to success is to use a Neutral density filter. These filters are available in different strengths and help to reduce the amount of light hitting the camera sensor – allowing the photographer to ‘trick’ the camera in to thinking there is less light – essentially turning day in to night. Variable ND filters are often useful as the strength can be adjusted to get the ideal shutter speed.
With the three Kowa lenses – round filters can be screwed in to the lens hood of each lens, and I own a ND filter for all three lenses – the 8.5mm, 12mm and the 25mm. Because of how wide the 8.5mm lens is – rather than using a variable filter I use a solid one as a variable can produce patches of darkness rather than total coverage.
Below is a selection of images from the trip:
A beautiful stream in the woodland that flows to the main river – captured with the Kowa 12mm f1.8
A slower shutter speed of around 5 seconds creates an interesting effect at this water break point on the river – Kowa 8.5mm
Using a super wide angle with Kowa 8.5mm creates a striking view up stream with an 86mm ND filter in the lens hood
Beautiful evening light filters through the trees and a slow shutter speed creates an atmospheric image – Kowa 12mm MFT
A shot early afternoon a few miles down the River at the town of Llanrwst with the Kowa 8.5mm MFT