The Landscape Photography Book

Creeks with Silky Water

Characteristics of this type of shot: Creek with smooth, silky water.

Ingredients: It’s harder to make a solid creek shot than you’d think, mostly because they’re so messy. There are often all kinds of sticks and leaves and distracting stuff in the shot, so what I try to do is find an area of the stream where it’s as clean as possible, and then I zoom in tight on that area (the scene I’m standing in front of is much larger than you see here—this is one small area). If there’s a small stick or two I can remove easily in Photoshop, I’m fine with that, but starting with as clean a scene as possible is key. Also, this is a ...