Shooting bodies of water - tips?

[chrisw]

I've noticed quite a few photos where rivers, the sea, lakes etc have an effect that looks like glass almost... whenever I take any shots of water it comes out with every ripple etc shown. Here is an example of the kind of capture I would like to make: December 2006 Winner - Architecture

Can someone tell me how to do this - is it just a case of increasing the exposure time? Or is them some other trickery that's required?

[chrisw]

It won't let me edit the above - so here's the link I was referring to:

December 2006 Winner - Architecture

[Tobers]

You need a long shutter speed which "evens out" the ripples/waves. 1-2 secs or longer if pos.

This is easy at night, but for shots during the day you need to reduce the light coming into the lens with a neutral density (grey) filter. This lets you use a longer shutter speed to smooth the water nicely.

Best to use the camera in manual mode, set your aperture, and then vary the shutter speed. Check your histogram after each shot (assuming you have a histogram) and ensure you haven't "blown" any of teh highlighted areas by overexposing. If so, reduce the shutter speed a tad.

Goes without saying you need to support the camera on a tripod or other very stable thing. Use the self timer to release the shutter to avoid shaking the camera. If you have it, use the mirror lock-up facility to further eliminate vibration.

[chrisw]

Thanks - i was messing around yesterday evening by a lake an never managed a good shot (during daylight) even with a longer exposure time... Will have another go if and when it ever stops raining.