Picture This

Our Picture This! assignment this month was “Water Flow,” and we probably received as many, if not more, entries than any number we’ve had for any topic thus far. This makes it clear that all of us are entranced by the magic of water as it moves and changes, and that we know that the magic of photography is a perfect way to capture our fascination with it. The general technique was slow shutter speed, low ISO, and a firm, steadying mount for the camera, namely a tripod or other device. In some instances the power of water’s motion was caught by a faster shutter speed, but all shared a wonder and awe at water’s power and beauty. Our only problem with this month’s assignment is that we had so many great shots it was difficult to choose among them.

Pine Meadow

New York’s Harriman State Park is ablaze in the autumn, and Barbara Socor caught the perfect balance of moving water and colorful trees. She photographed with a Nikon D80 and an 18-200mm VR lens with an exposure of f/14 at 5 seconds at ISO 100. © 2009, Barbara Socor, All Rights Reserved

Bond Falls, MI

Dave Kionka’s image is as much about rhythm, color, and light as it is a photo of a waterfall. He photographed with a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi and a Canon 70-200mm IS lens; exposure was f/32 at 0.4 seconds. © 2009, Dave Kionka, All Rights Reserved

Exploding Surf

Richard W. Zigler caught the pounding surf off Lake Superior onto the Michigan shore. He photographed with a Canon AT-1 and a Canon FL 135mm lens on Kodachrome 25. Exposure was f/5.6 at 1⁄125 sec. © 2009, Richard W. Zigler, All Rights Reserved

Sebastian Beach, BC

Dan Fauarger caught the swirling waves and tide with a Canon EOS 20D and a Canon 17-85mm lens with an exposure of f/22 at 0.5 seconds at ISO 100. He noted that he added gradient color in the sky in processing. © 2009, Dan Fauarger, All Rights Reserved

Zion National Park, UT

The Red Rock reflections give this moving set of rapids a special glow. Fred Fisher made the shot with a Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III and a Canon EF 100-400mm lens with an exposure of f/32 at 2 seconds. © 2009, Fred Fisher, All Rights Reserved

Tiger Point, HI

Leon Palmer worked with a split ND, a circular polarizer, and a Canon EOS 5D Mark II and a Canon 24-105mm lens to capture a moment between land, water, and sky. Exposure was f/22 at 4 seconds. © 2009, Leon Palmer, All Rights Reserved

Pillsbury Crossing, KS

Scott Bean focused in on a small portion of the falls to make this elegant shot. Exposure with a Canon EOS 20D and a Canon 100-400mm lens was f/22 at 1.3 seconds at ISO 100. © 2009, Scott Bean, All Rights Reserved

Backyard Rill, KY

Gary Yeast wrote, “The rill runs its entire length from the Muldraugh Escarpment to the Rolling Fork River on our property.” This must give photographer Yeast time to contemplate its many moods, here with sparkling highlights photographed with a Canon PowerShot G10 with an exposure of f/5 at 1⁄400 sec. © 2009, Gary Yeast, All Rights Reserved

Delray Beach, FL

Tim Starr mounted his Sony A100 on a tripod and photographed just before the sun rose over the horizon with an exposure of f/22 at 0.8 seconds. © 2009, Tim Starr, All Rights Reserved

Olympic National Park, WA

Ross Kaplan caught all the character of the deep forest and stream with a Nikon F100 on Fujichrome Velvia film. © 2009, Ross Kaplan, All Rights Reserved

Philadelphia, PA

Benjamin Zuckerman caught the energy and motion in Swann Fountain with an iconic Philadelphia building in the background. He worked with a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 with an exposure of f/4.7 at 1⁄800 sec. © 2009, Benjamin Zuckerman, All Rights Reserved

Big Sur Coast, CA

Waterfall and surf meet in this photo by Jeff Dye made with a Nikon D200 and a Nikon 80-200mm lens. Exposure was f/22 at 8 seconds. Photographer Dye used a Heliopan circular polarizer and mounted his camera on a Gitzo tripod with an ARCA-SWISS ball head. © 2009, Jeff Dye, All Rights Reserved

Porcupine Mountains, MI

This cascade is topped with red and yellow foliage trees in Bryan Wagner’s photo, made with a Nikon D70 and an 18-70mm lens with an exposure of f/22 at 1⁄3 sec. © 2009, Bryan Wagner, All Rights Reserved

Gatlinburg, TN

This photo was made in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park by Ray Baker with a Nikon D2X and a Nikon 17-55mm lens. Exposure was f/22 at 1⁄6 sec and processing included use of Adobe’s Photoshop and Nik Software’s Color Efex Pro. © 2009, Ray Baker, All Rights Reserved