As the snow begins to melt and the creeks and rivers start to flow over Algoma Country’s rugged topography, the wise photographer looks for moving water.

Whether it’s tiny rivulets, thundering falls or even the lapping of waves on the lake shore, the movement of water can be used to create intriguing images.

Shutter speed is the prime variable that controls how moving water will look. We have a choice of freezing the action with a fast shutter speed, blurring movement with a slow shutter speed or using a shutter speed somewhere in the middle for less pronounced blur.

For instance, the image of water flowing into a water bottle is frozen with a 1/750 of a second exposure.

At the other extreme, the image of water wrapping around mossy rocks, was shot with a 2 second exposure that gives the water a blurred and silky look.

Somewhere in the middle is the waterfall image, shot with a 1/5 second exposure which gives enough blur to hint at movement but still leaves some sharpness to the long tendrils of flowing water.

The effect of shutter speed on moving water is a fascinating aspect of photography. Yet another theme to be explored in depth at the Superior Woods and Waters Photography Workshop.

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