Awhile back I talked about how to create silky water effects using multiple exposure. This is very handy when you forget your ND filter. The basic technique involves shooting from a tripod, using a three frame multiple exposure, and photographing a moving subject. For example, if you photograph a stream, then the banks will be sharp (they are not moving), but the water will be silky due to three frames of movement sandwiched together. Very handy.,
But there is more to explore using this technique. I was recently in Glacier NP, and tried this technique but used different shutter speeds for the three frame multiple exposure. The image at the top of this blog is what three frames at 1/3 of a second look like. Similar to using a ND filter.
But then I tried a faster shutter speed, 1/160, for the three frames. Since each frame was stopping much of the water motion, when they were combined in multiple exposure the final shot had a very different effect (see the frame above). Shutter speed does matter if you want silky multiple exposures;’ shoot as slow as you can. But shooting fast creates a very unique look, and is something I am going to experiment with further. I wonder what 9 frames sandwiched together at fast shutter speeds would look like? You never stop learning…