A few weeks ago I was doing a hike in the Val d’Areuse near Boudry in the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel. It is the home of the Gorges de l’Areuse. The Gorges de l’Areuse is a narrow gorge through the limestones of the Jura, shaped by the Areuse river. One of the things I wanted to do was to shoot long exposures of the flowing water and nature’s details in it.
It is always a bit hard to predict how a long exposure image of a mountain river rapid will look. I tend to be on the look-out for stones or wood with a bit of character or a unique colour. Besides that, I tend to look for light patches. These can give a long exposure photograph a distinctive look and feel. I think that in this case, I found an excellent combination. Hope you like this long exposure of a mountain river rapid!
I used my Nikon D3x with a 24-70 f/2.8 lens and combined a Lee 10-stop and a Lee 3-stop ND filter to push the exposure to about 2 minutes.
Cheers, Johan 🙂
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This long exposure photograph is part of our Waterfalls & River Rapids photography theme, which also includes:
Please visit our Minimalist Photography theme to see more minimalist fine art photographs like this one.
Jolie photographie
Merci Ric 🙂
Splendide
Merci beaucoup Paul !
Many thanks Scott and Jon !
I love this scene!
elegant shot
indrukwekende fotos maak je!
Dank je Encarnaciòn :)
excellent work, Johan!
Thank you very much Fabio !!
@Ben: sorry missed your comment earlier! Yes, I agree. That is also what makes this type of photography hard. I find it quite difficult to foresee what the result will look like. I knwo what ingredients to look for, but the end result can always be a bit fo a surprise 🙂
@Shane: thanks Shane! Interesting comparison. I know what you mean 🙂
I soooo love this one Johan! Feels so other-worldly. Like something from the movie Avatar : )
Cool little detail Johan, have you noticed that the colours are so much better with a long exposure like this, they are more saturated and smoother, the short test shots before putting on the 10 stop always seem flat to me when compared.
Wow! You have beautiful collections of photos!
It’s a work in progress Aileen :)
Ethereal
Thanks Hengki !
So very beautiful!
Thanks you very much Simply and thanks for visiting 🙂
This one I like a lot. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Rikard !
this is fantastic, I think the exposure is perfect and the blue tones are great
Thank you Jorunn. Much appreciated :)
wonderful light and fantastic fine details….. fantastic work
Thank you Peter Paul! Unfortunately not in black and white this time :)
Superb! It’s almost as if the river resembles a mountain range.
Thank you Frederico! Yep, had that feedback earlier :)
Quite amazing LE Johan
Quite amazing works for me Eric! Merci beaucoup :)
It’s so incredibly gorgeous! I love the awesome colour and textures! Those wispy clouds make it so dream like! It’s wonderful! Is this where you hiked? It looks rugged!
I think the thumbnail has fooled you 🙂 View it large and you’ll know what I mean …
Hi Johan , I did view it large! You’ve got me thinking. Is this a close-up or macro? To me it looks like miles of tundra that could be very difficult to travel. Did I get it wrong?
It is a close-up of a mountain river bed, shot as a long exposure Margaret 🙂 The “clouds” is water flowing …
Awesome!! I’ve been fooled! The clouds are really water with long exposure and the epic vista that I “saw” is somewhat smaller. My brain definitely saw one of your magnificent mountain vistas! I hope I haven’t offended you! Now that I know what I’m looking at, I like it even more!! Many thanks!!
Lol, no worries Margaret. I don’t get offended that easily. Thanks for the feedback :)
Thanks so much Johan !!!
Hi Johan! I saw this browsing on google currents from the train this morning 🙂
Wonderful shot! I tried some long exposure too, but I need to practice more 🙂
Thanks Diego! Glad you like it. I have been doing a lot of long exposure photography lately. It’s fun. You should try it 🙂
Check my Brittany and Normandy photos on G+ 😉
Hah, will do Diego!!
Nice dreamy photograph, Johan , love the cold tones fog like affect of the flowing water.
Thanks Don !
@Scott: the thumbnail indeed can throw you off 🙂 Glad you like it!
@Francis: thanks! Glad to see you around again Francis 🙂
@Lisa: thanks for the wow. I always love that! Glad to see you around again as well 😀
wow. This is gorgeous
Splendid image, Johan !
I like the abstract nature of this, in that it is hard to tell exactly what you are seeing (which is part of what makes it interesting.) About how far is between the lens and the middle portion of the image. To me, it looks to be about 1.5 feet/.5 metres, but I’m not sure as there isn’t and identifiable reference for scale.
thank you! I think I was about half a metre to a metre from the middle stone … but not 100% sure anymore :)
Very nice Johan! The thumbnail almost looks like a moonlit scenic.
Another stunning of an image Johan ! Beautiful rock colours, smooth silky waters. It’s magical!
Another stunning of an image Johan ! Beautiful rock colours, smooth silky waters. It’s magical!
This looks great and very abstract Johan – and I do like the colours for a change:)
Thanks Joel! Was starting to get hooked on B&W, so had to do something else this time :-)
This image has a quiet, otherworldly quality – colour is simply gorgeous as is the sheen on the rocks. Depending on how one views it, the image could almost be interpreted as an aerial landscape with fog. Lovely work.
Thanks for the kind words Suzanne and for stopping by!
@John: thank you John!
@Sarah: glad you like it Sarah!
@Gérald: merci 🙂
@Candace: thanks for the compliment Candace!
Great moody atmosphere! Awesome shot.
Especially like the texture contrast and the mood it creates. Excellent work.
This is awesome Johan . I love the detail and the misty steam, gorgeous image
Very lovely abstract Johan
Francesco: thanks for the kind words!!
Wilfried: thank you! Yes, the 126 was crucial obviously :D
A good photo, I like the dof and the smoothness created by the flow… You perfectly chose those 126 seconds. Thank god you didn’t set 125 or 127 😉 Thank you, my friend!
Awesome my friend! It looks from another planet! Great shot Johan!!
this is so Wow Johan. I love everything : the post processing, the tonality, the framing… Everything. Well done.
Hey thank you Patrice! Glad you like it. Thanks for the compliment :-)
Sinead: glad you like it 🙂 Thanks!
Yasmin: still here? :D
Woww Johan. Sure is a breathtaking piece of art, very well done!. I can watch at it for hours.
Absolutely gorgeous. I love this type of shot and you have really created a true beauty.
Mystical and surreal! You always amaze me
with your photos Johan, great work!
hope I will be able to keep on doing that in the future 🙂 Thanks Emanuele!
oh i love your photos thank you for sharing karol sheffield
thank you!
Tremendous!! You certainly captured the details of nature in this outstanding long exposure image!
thanks! I really like this stuff and usually prefer it over doing the wider views of mountain rivers and waterfalls like you do. Need to practice more on the latter :-)
Johan – I love detail and stream isolation images such as this, and I used to do more of them, but now my wide angle lens rarely leaves the camera – you’ve inspired me to start doing this type of image again!
was using my 24-70 this time. Great to zoom in a little like this! Looking forward to seeing yours soon.
Lovely image Johan! I’ve seen it yesterday but I’m very short of commenting these days (time issues) and meant to come back to it later. So here I am telling you that you made a perfect choice of the place and light here, everything turned out just great: textures, colours and this ethereal water flowing among the rocks… beautiful!
glad you found the time. I always enjoy your kind comments 🙂
Laurent and Paul: thank you!
Geat Work Johan. Like the detail and the LE effect.
Wonderful image Johan! One can almost imagine looking at a tilt shift image of some older mountains with clouds 🙂
Great combination of colour/texture and light. Well spotted and executed :-)
Wowww, what an amazing image, Johan!!! Like from another planet. Love it!!
thanks a bunch Maggy! very kind!
wow strong strong image!!! i like it very much!!
glad you do Markus! Thanks you!
Quite mystical Johan :)
yes, very! Hope you like it 🙂
Awesome Johan ! :)
thanks Christophe!!
Wow This is a wonderful shot Johan. I love it :)
thanks a bunch 🙂 Hope all’s well.
Your welcome & I hope all is well with you too. Have a great day!
this is so dreamy Johan , wonderful tones
hey Gemma! Thanks for stopping by again and the kind words!
wow, so beautiful!
thanks E 🙂 Glad you like it!
Beautiful, creative work here Johan! It’s always a pleasure coming across dedicated artists such as yourself. I look forward to seeing more more of your portfolio as the journey unfolds!
thanks for the compliment! And likewise 🙂
Very beautiful … I love this soft water look.
Danke Carsten!
beautiful image Johan !!
Merci David!
Yeah yeah yeah! Great shot Johan
Lol Radek. Am I boring you?
Johan, you never bore me 🙂 ! It’s a great shot. I was just implying something like – yeah, he’s done it again, keep them coming!! Beautiful work!
I know you were kidding. I was as well 🙂
Me like 🙂 or should I say, me + ? Anyway next time i will be joining you when you return!
Thanks Deb! Would love that :D
Nice shot. I am suprising by the quality of this capture. With a 126s capture the noise seems null. Great job.
Thanks! It’s shot at ISO100 with long exposure NR turned on. I didn’t apply any noise-reduction in post. So it’s the camera I need to thank :-)
Thank you for the info Johan. I have made few long exposures for night shots, but I have always turned off the NR of the camera. I’ll reconsider this option in the future ;-)
I do turn it off when I shoot a sunset for instance, as time is vital then. For shots like these, I tend to leave it on because I like the result and usually don’t mind the extra wait time. I’ll be setting up for the next shot or moving on again whilst it does its thing.
Great effect Johan, the combination of textures and silky, smooth water created a wonderful abstract image from nature:) That is what I love !
thank you Joanna. Though you would like this 🙂
Thanks a lot for the compliments Kurt and Javier!
Wow! I love the bit of water between the foreground rocks and mid-ground rocks. The result to me is a dof that is a bit disorienting! Very nice, Johan.
Yes Kerry. It is a bit of a “complex” image in that sense. Glad you like the effect. It wasn’t me … it was the crystal clear icy mountain water :-)
lovely contrast in textures. Great work Johan
thanks for the compliment Ben. Really appreciated!
Oh, I could just immerse myself in that! Beautiful, Johan!
thanks! You sure? This water was very very cold 🙂
Johan — sure, I’m sure … it’s rather warm here right now … ;oD
grrr, you’re making me jealous 🙂 How warm?
We’re going through a week between high 70ºs and low 80ºs (25º-28ºC).
My apologies .. ;o)
grrrrr …. still under 10c here …
Beautiful image Johan.
Amazing colours and details Johan. Very beautiful and calming.
Super shot Johan – wonderful atmosphere!
thanks! Hope all’s well with you!
Beautiful, and a bit (pleasantly) disorienting (alternating areas of focus and blur – I get confused easily:-)
Lol thanks Peter! Glad you still like it 🙂 Hope all is well on the other side of the globe!
Nice!
thank you and nice to meet you!
absolultey amazing shot Johan! so beautiful and still mysterious full of live and magical! Fabulous!
Like a painting Mikko 😀 Thanks for the visit!
Whether it’s a majestic mountain or a gentle flow of water, your photos always portray your dedication to excellence. Thank you for the background information, as always, that makes your photos ALL the more special to behold. :-)
Thanks for the very kind words Jerry! You should consider doing poetry ;-)
First from where did you purchase the Lee filters here in Swissyland ??? ( I am after those, but quite costy ) Second wonderful image. I love the colours, light, rocks and the flow of the water. Wonderful :-))
first thank you !!! Second … not from Swissyland. Couldn’t find any dealer that had them (excepts for circular one’s). I got the 3-stop Lee from B&H a couple of years ago. Got two 10-stop Lee’s from speedgraphic.co.uk recently. Waited for about 4 months.
4 months !!! geeeeez :-)) I have the circulars from B&H too, 103 & 106. In Africa I used a “tissue trick” :-))) You can find that here : http://icelandaurora.com/blog/2010/07/20/tonys-magic-cloth-technique/ I used my grey card, worked well, after I got the counting with the seconds synchrone with the camera !!!! :-))) But would love to get some Lee filters, makes life easier. Will check your website, thanks Johan
the alternative would be is to use magnet rings in combination with the circular one’s. I’ll check out that link!
Outstanding!
Thank you Sumit !!!
This is a very cool shot Johan, i love the colours in it!
Thank you Nikola!!!
The result is outstanding and very special. Dreamlike with lovely control of the tones. Art for sure. Congratulations – it is so rewarding when everything comes together like this!
thank you Johan! Really glad you like it. It is a bit different then the other one with stones and water, but I did think this was nice as well 🙂
Splendid LE Johan!! love the DOF where it is perfectly sharp in the center!
Thank you or the nice compliment Stefanie. Part of the DOF is caused by mother nature through flowing water :-)
Ahhh…I see it has been a good “away” time, Johan. 🙂
What a great image. I like the sharp details of the rock and the contrasting flow of the water.
yes, this is one of the results 😀
Beautifully done!!!!
Thank you Milena!!!
This is very beautiful. At the beginning I thought that this image macro,is tilt-shift effect. Excellent work my friend. Have a nice day :)
Thank you! Interesting analogy. Understand what you mean and glad you like it!
It’s beautiful Johan !
The textures are an amazing contrast to the soft water.
glad you like it Paul!
I’d say it worked out really well this time. The foreground rock is so sharp and prominent that it holds the eye back from the bright horizon… until it’s time to go there. Wonderful!
thank you. It is hard to see what isn’t visible yet, but with a bit of practice … 🙂
Great image Johan ! Very abstract and mysterious.
Thanks Dominique! We could go and practice together on shots like these. Do you know any mountain rivers with interesting rocks in our area?
Les Gorges de la Jogne could be an interesting place to go Johan. It is a walk along the river up to the Montsalvens lake. We could have a try?
yes! Thanks for reminding me of that one. Totally forgot about it. That’s just before the corner when you drive from Broc to Charmey no?
Right! Down on the right side of the road there is a parking.
did you ever try the trail towards the lake from there as well? Now the only thing we need is a date and some nice weather :-)
Johan I have hiked the trail up to the lake.
I agree about the weather! This week-end is no good…
I propose to wait for a nice day during the next weekends (except the next one beacause of the weather). I will also need to check my schedule because of the family…
I am pretty flexible, so just let me know when is convenient for you! Been down to Lac Gruyère last weekend by the way for the first time … cold and windy, but now I know what it looks like close by :)
Ok Johan let’s keep in touch to go there soon :-)
Beautiful image Johan. I think you deserve a place in any list of “Top Gun” Long Exposure photographers.
thank you! Think I will need to practice a bit more to get into those … this is from the hike we did together btw :-)
I’ve been looking at some of the “best LE photographers” lists and I truly believe that you’re better than quite a few of them. If I build such a list, I’d have no problem with adding you to it; no special treated for people I know.
BTW: I figured it was from our walk and I’m jealous.
…. I’ll keep practising anyway Charles 😀
Did you order your filters already?
Never stop practicing. That’s when you start to lose the edge.
No, I haven’t ordered the filters because the total for everything I wanted was 1000 francs. I was thinking about asking if you still have the extra Lee holder and what I would need to use it. What lens do you recommend for LE ?
I would like to go with you to practice but it would be a bit foolish without a holder, adapter and filter :-))
Charles, why don’t you just order a 10 stop circular one from B+W? It’s more hassle but you can start for a few 100 francs. Yes, I still have the spare holder and actually also a spare 10-stop Lee filter, but I decided that I want to keep both for myself. These things break easily and given the waiting period … think the holder are in stock again however!
very smooth .. very nice Johan
thank you 🙂 Glad you like it!
Johan, this is one of my favourites from your portfolio. Dreamy and beautiful image!
that is very nice to here Daniel. It’s a bit different from what I usually post.
Lovely work Johan!
thank you!
Beautiful natural rhythms Johan and in some ways looks like an aerial image.
Thanks Andrew!
Thanks Vishnu and Heather :-)
I love the transitions between smooth and sharp. The colours simply glow – wonderful! :)
Great textures and love the silky feel …
Love the colours and the textures!!!!
Thanks Dave!