When I went photographing and swimming yesterday, it was high noon.
The place is under the bridge across a creek that I cross pretty often. It’s not the direct way to the lake, but it is a way that I like for its photo opportunities.
The water runs cold and clear, directly from the mountains. Here, under the bridge, it cascades down over some rocks.
I made all the images here with the Olympus 45/1.8 (though I used the 40-150 for some others that didn’t make it into the post), and for its 37 mm filter thread I don’t have an ND filter, and if I had had one, I wouldn’t have had it with me.
In situations like this, you basically have two options: either to use a strong ND filter (remember, it was noon on a sunny day!), or to completely freeze the action. I had no choice, thus I froze it.
It’s pretty much impossible to pre-visualize the result of such an image. Even a tenth of a second between two images makes all the difference in the world. It’s totally chaotic and your only chance is to make lots of images and hope for the best. That’s what I did 🙂
This won’t be my last visit there. I suppose I’ll buy a 58 mm Heliopan Vari-ND filter on Monday, and if the weather is fine next week, I’ll try the silky variant next.
The Song of the Day is “Wild Water Blues” by Kokomo Arnold. Hear it on YouTube.