Like color photos, are sunrise and sunset also the best times to shoot b&w photos? How do you go about achieving that soft, almost blurred water effect when photographing running water like waterfalls and streams? Can anyone give me any thoughts on the New York Institute of Photography's home study course?

-- Pat Patterson (pjpatterson&kalama.com), September 10, 1997

Answers

There's no such thing as "best". Oops, that's a familiar answer. At sunrise/set, you get low light, with long shadows. The light is also redder, so the colour->tone translation will be different.

Soft, blurred moving water? With long exposures, such as, say, one second. Put the camera on a tripod to keep the surroundings non-blurred.

NYI? Sorry, I'm a Brit.

-- Alan Gibson (gibson.al@mail.dec.com), September 11, 1997.

Questions from a Beginner

Pat Patterson wrote:

"Like color photos, are sunrise and sunset also the best times to shoot b&w photos?

The best time to shoot B&W photos, IMHO, is whenever there is light. :-)

How do you go about achieving that soft, almost blurred water effect when photographing running water like waterfalls and streams?

Put your camera on a tripod and shoot a long exposure (at least 1/15 sec; probably longer. Experiment and see the different effects)

Can anyone give me any thoughts on the New York Institute of Photography's home study course?

It has had good reviews in Pop Photo (biased) and in rec.photo.misc (unbiased).

~mason

-- Mason Resnick (mresnick@idt.net), September 11, 1997.

Questions from a beginner.

Over the years I have seen many photos of water in motion and have always been horrified at seeing waterfalls looking like running milk. Waterfalls dance, bounce, spatter and reflect light beautifully if shot at 1/250 or faster shutter speeds. The fall from the mountains in splashes and cascades and I LOVE seeing them in my photos bouncing through the rocks and air. Why milk? O.K. Artistic pleasure. I agree. However, having lived at Lake Tahoe for a total time of 3.5 yrs, I have spent much time shooting pix of Eagle Falls in Emerald Bay and revel at all the splashing, bouncing and reflections, as well as the light play on the water. Sorry if my opinion bores anyone.

-- H. David Huffman (craptalk@ix.netcom.com), May 12, 1999.

RE; Questions

Pat - try photographing after sunset and before sunrise I think you might like what you make. Come armed with reciprocity adjustments, a tripod and lots of film. Have fun and Email me if you need some reciprocity info. -Doug

-- Doug McSpadden (mcspadden@mcn.net), September 14, 1997.

I agree with ~mason. You can take great B+W photos in any light. I especialy like the strong contrast of a mostly cloudy sky before a storm, the clouds are darkened, but the foreground tends to be a few stops lighter than the sky. It makes for a great, contrasty shot. As for the blurred water, use a tripod and a long exposure. Good luck and have fun.

-- Ken Powers (kpowers3@hotmail.com), January 26, 1998.