Hello everyone

Hi everyone, a very new member here. I have an older pentax dslr ist and was wondering would be able to explain to me in general terms how to use the exposure that that takes photos of water going over waves and stuff to get those pretty pictures. I have read the manual and am better if things are explained to me.
Thanks
Nerida.

A dense filter would help in these situations as it would lead to the slowing all types of movement including traffic from a distance.
Hope that helps
You can always research dense filters

Neutral Density filters come in different strengths, the brighter the day, the stronger the filter you'll need and a tripod as the exposure will run into several seconds at least.

You can purchase a variable strength filter as well as a fixed density ones, I'd suggest you buy for the largest diameter lens you have and then use reducing rungs to get down to your smaller diameter lenses, reduces the outlay as ND filters aren't cheap.

Have a look here, just one of many suppliers

To get the right effect on moving water, the most important element is the camera's shutter speed. Different people like different effects when it comes to moving water, my personal preference is to choose a speed that shows the movement, but doesn't blur out all of the details, I'm not a fan of 'milky water' and prefer to give the viewer a sense that the water is moving. I think this adds drama and realism to images.

As a general rule of thumb, the faster the water is moving, the faster the shutter speed needs to be. I can give some general guidelines, but these are subjective:

1. Waves moving slowly into the shore or away from the shore - between 0.5 seconds and 2 seconds exposure
2. Slow moving river - between 0.25 seconds and 2 seconds
3. Fast moving river or stream, e.g. over rapids - between 1/4 of a second and 1/25 of a second
4 Waterfall - same as water over rapids

To get the right shutter speed, you will need to make adjustments to other settings, i.e. a combination of the ISO and the aperture setting. Usually I will adjust the ISO because I will set the aperture for the effect I want in the image (wider aperture = shallower depth of field) and for optimal image quality for the lens I'm using.

Also, as Chrism8 says you may need to use a neutral density filter to block out some light, if you cannot get your shutter speed low enough to get the effect you want. You will also need to use a tripod, as you will most likely not be able to hand-hold your camera to get a sharp picture at such a low shutter speed. The tripod should be as sturdy as possible, as any slight movement will blur the image and ruin it.

I would recommend that if you are new to all of this, the best way to learn is to go out with an experienced photographer who can guide you there and then and help you to get the type of shots that you're aiming for.

I hope this is helpful.

Kind Regards
David

I would also suggest reading Bill Ward's article 'Shooting Water With Bill Ward'
You can find this on this website under the Articles tab.

Good luck and just keep experimenting for yourself as well - that's half the fun of it !
It's also one of the advantages of digital photography - you simply delete shots you don't like !

Best regards
Peter

Welcome aboard!