I was able to try long exposure photography again a few weeks ago. This year for Christmas I got a new monopod that I got to use for this. I set my camera up on the monopod, attached a variable neutral density filter to my lenses and used my remote shutter.
What that all means:
The monopod keeps the camera stable so I can use longer shutter speeds. That is a way of saying the camera leaves the lens open longer while taking the photo. Neutral density filters have a dial that you can turn to increase or decrease the amount of light entering the lens. Since I was leaving the shutter open longer, I was letting in more light. I turned the dial to the darker settings to keep the pictures from being too bright. The remote shutter keeps me from accidentally moving the camera when I take the picture. Moving the camera with a longer shutter speed would make everything blurry.
This took a lot of trail and error, but once I figured it out I got some good shots of the James. Doing long exposure shots gives the water a softer look which made the pictures seem more dramatic (in my opinion). I hope you enjoy them!
