How To Photograph Water
Repetition of abstract patterns on Expeditions Pass Reservoir near Chewton, Australia.g
Here’s how to photograph water in ways that create visually dynamic and emotionally compelling images.
The secret is for the image to move beyond that which you’ve photographed. In the case of water that means making images that explore themes including the following:
Scarcity
Impermanence
Power
How To Approach Your Photos Of Water
As to how you’d go about creating dynamic and compelling images of water some good starting points would include the following:
As a canvas for abstraction
As an important visual element in a story
By freezing action
By exploring creative movement
Patterns and Repetition - A Canvas For Abstraction
I think it’s worthwhile thinking about water as a canvas for abstraction. That’s exactly how I approached the making of this photo of patterns forming on the surface of a reservoir.
As a case in point I was in Central Victoria in the old gold mining town of Chewton (formerly known as Forest Creek) on assignment.
An otherwise dreary afternoon was punctuated with a splash of light breaking through the brooding clouds and onto the water below.
It was a simple matter of changing my lens to a more powerful focal length which allowed me to concentrate attention on the lovely play of light on the water's surface.
I needed a reasonably fast shutter speed to freeze the patterns of light and dark swirls created by the breeze.
All that was left was timing the release of the shutter so that it corresponded with the fantastic swirling patterns unfolding in front of me.
I think it’s the repetition of those patterns, with variations on the theme, that make the image so mesmerizing.
By keeping your camera ready and staying aware of changes in the environment you can actually create your own luck.
I can tell you that this photo came into existance through my determination to stay alert and look for changes in light and, in this case, wind.
The photo was very much of the moment and the scene turned to muck almost immediately after I’d released my camera’s shutter.
I hope you like it.
About To Travel?
Preparation Underpins Great Timing
When you're out and about sometimes the weather's not ideal for making photos. As a consequence the images you make are less than pleasing and your enthusiasm for creative photography may decline.
If only the goddess of photography would shine her light your way.
I’ve found that, almost always, it pays to just stick it out a little longer. More often that not luck comes about through persistence and grim determination.
I can’t overstate the advantages of staying alert and keeping your camera settings updated in response to changes in light and environment.
By doing so you’ll be better able to respond to fleeting moments and, as a consequence, ensure you come home with a higher percentage of successful photos.
When I'm out and about photographing I often have the camera in hand and I’m continually adjusting my camera’s settings, according to changes in the light and what depth of field I think would be appropriate for particular kinds of images.
Likewise, I’m repositioning my zoom lens to the focal length that I feel would be best suited to the situation in which I currently find myself.
Should the need to make a photo quickly arise, I’m ready and can respond without too much messing around.
Frankly if you can’t lift your camera to your eye, make any necessary adjustments and release the shutter within three seconds you’re going to miss a lot of opportunities to record great candid moments.
I hope that doesn’t put you off.
It's just a matter of getting organized; staying ready and attuned to what's going on around you; and being able to respond quickly and efficient when an opportunity for a great photo arises.
That process is at the heart of candid photography.
Water is an important visual element in this story of tourists, Bruges.
Water: An Important Visual Element Within A Story
While water can be the dominant element in your photo it can also be used as a more subtle visual element that helps you tell a story.
Take a look at this documentary photo of a group of tourists taking a small boat tour on the canal in Bruges, Belgium.
I was in another boat, because I wanted to photograph the city from the waterline, and was ready to make an image that spoke to the experience that many tourists would have when visiting this beautiful medieval city.
I chose a black and white rendering to further emphasize the nostalgic feel of this most beautiful place and I’m really happy with the story this photo tells.
Fast shutter speed freezes water and ice on Diamond Beach, Iceland.
Photographing Water By Freezing Action
It was fun making this photo as the incoming tide washed the remains of an iceberg onto Diamond Beach, Iceland.
I used a relatively fast 1/800 second shutter speed to freeze those creamy finger shapes in the water.
This kind of action happens so quickly that it can be hard to even see it with the human eye as the moment unfolds.
One of the great things about photography is how it allows us to record movement in a variety of ways, from sharp to blurred, and show vignettes of world in ways we’d otherwise be unable to perceive.
Creative blur used to explore the expressive nature of a waterfall, Iceland.
The Expressive Nature Of Water Through Creative Blur
It’s amazing how using a slow shutter speed when photographing water can produce such a mysterious and ethereal result.
I made this photo of a rock suspended at the bottom of a waterfall in rural Iceland.
The ¼ second exposure time was slow enough to record movement in the fast flowing waterfall, though the amount of movement is actually dependant upon two things.
The camera’s shutter speed
The amount of movement in the water
If you’re having trouble working out this image it’s because I’ve flipped it vertically. In words I’ve turned it upside down.
It might be a little unsettling, but I’ve done it to create the illusion that the rock in the centre of the image is falling.
Creative Photography For The Soul
Do you like photographing water? You might want to take a look at some of your best photos that feature water and ask yourself the following question.
Are these simply documentary pictures of rivers, lakes and oceans?
It might be that the very best of them are more than photos of water. Perhaps they’re jumping off points for exploration of the known and, on occasions, of the unknown.
It’s the space between what we know and what lies beyond where the art of photography can take you. It’s a journey that has no end, which is kind of the point I suppose.
