via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

This was shot last week, end of April, in the Columbia River gorge area. This is called Lost Lake and it was a half-mile hike to the lake. The mountain in the background is Mt. Hood. The image was shot with a 10-stop ND and I was almost in the water at the lake's edge. I wanted to find an appropriate foreground for the shoot and it was difficult to do as there was a lot of foliage on the shoreline. It was shot at sunset. Settings, on a Nikon Z7 mirrorless, were 35mm on a 16-35mm Nikon lens, ISO 31, aperture priority, 1 1/3 EV, 30 seconds at f/11. This was the first time I have used the mirrorless with the 10-stop and it was nice to be able to actually see the image in the viewfinder.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Retired CPO Loc: Travel full time in an RV

Very nice photo. I don't understand why you wanted a 10-stop ND filter and a 30 second exposure?

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

It is what worked to get the soft water. Most likely other settings would work, too, but this is what I settled on. Long exposure is needed for soft water.

UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

Wonderful capture!

IDguy Loc: Idaho

I was wondering also. Answer makes sense. Thanks!

Retired CPO Loc: Travel full time in an RV

That makes sense. I'm assuming by soft water you are talking about smoothing out ripples on the surface of the lake? If so, that's brilliant! I would have never thought of that. I'm going to try that out next time I have the opportunity. I was wondering why the reflections were so soft on a seemingly flat lake surface.

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

Yes, in order to smooth out water you need to shoot at a long shutter speed. The end result is a mixture of all the variables. A 10-stop ND allows one to shoot at a longer speed and the timing of the shutter speed depends on the effect you want. So, it's all about putting the variables to gather to get the end result you want. A 6-stop ND will also work in some cases. I'm not a technical person, although I'm good at software, so I mostly "shoot from the hip" and experiment as I shoot.

Vince68 Loc: Wappingers Falls, NY

Very nice capture.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

"Very nice photo. I don't understand why you wanted a 10-stop ND filter and a 30 second exposure?"

I cannot either.

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

Who knows what lurks in the mind of a photographer intent on getting the shot...how I come to the shot is less important to me than the end result. I simply do not get hung up on technical details. Could even be I was too lazy to remove the ND, but whatever it was, it worked and that is all that matters to me in the end. I only put the technical details up so someone would not have to ask. You can ponder them as needed.

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

On exposure. When shooting this shot initially the camera gave me a 1/6 of a second exposure at f/11, my choice of aperture for the shot. I needed to create a situation where I could open up my shutter to allow more time to pass in order to get the water at a slow exposure. I chose to use the ND to enable my shutter to move to a different setting; upon putting on the ND the camera exposure read 30 seconds, thus allowing me to get the water not moving at all. I could have chosen to use "bulb" and to shoot longer than 30 seconds to get a more misty feel to the water but I was fine with the 30 seconds. I have included one of the shots prior to the one I got to show the water at 1/6 second, the motion in the water was not the look I wanted. The scene composition did not work for me either so I moved on to find something else for a foreground. I hope this explains the thought process. This scene was a very high contrast scene and I also had to watch out that the highlights did not get blown out, which they just about were in this example image (highlights were at 97.7% in LR). Again, I'm fairly certain that there may have been other ways to accomplish my goal but this is the way I know how to do it.

SuperFly48 Loc: NE ILLINOIS

Nice shot and congrats on trying something different. I like that you put something in the foreground of your image; otherwise the image could be boring??? Way too many "experts" on this site for me, and they are quick to challenge experimenting or contrary opinions. I find too many to be condescending, and watch out of you try to play in "their sandbox"!!! Why I seldom post anything here anymore or even leave comments. The attached shots was taken last Friday along the Illinois River; monochrome image was shot around 5:30 pm, the color image shot almost dark along the river. Took both with a 6 stop ND filter and shot in HDR as well. Color shot had a 25 second exposure at f/2.8. Not sure exactly where Lost Lake is located but have visited Mount Hood and been to Timberline Lodge with my granddaughter in June 2017, her first real vacation and first time out to the Pac NW.

Cwilson341 Loc: Central Florida

Beautiful shot and even more so because you planned for the look you wanted. Long exposure has a very nice affect on water in a scene of this sort.

yssirk123 Loc: New Jersey