St. Beatus-Höhlen Waterfall, Switzerland
This shot was taken at the St. Beatus-Höhlen cave complex near Interlaken, Switzerland, where a waterfall cascades down the cliff face in front of the historic stone grotto built into the rock. I wanted to capture the silky motion of the water contrasted against the sharp, ancient architecture and rugged cliff behind it.
The image was captured on a Nikon D5600 with an 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens at 31mm, shot at 1/3s, f/22, ISO 100 & no ND filter. Getting a 1/3 second exposure in daylight meant stopping all the way down to f/22 to avoid overexposing the bright water, which was a careful balancing act.
The biggest challenge was stabilization. I was traveling light and didn't expect to find such a perfect shot, so I didn't have a tripod with me. I curled up on the ground to get a low angle that included both the waterfall and the cave buildings above, bracing the camera on my knee and a fence post to minimize shake. Holding perfectly still at 1/3s while contorted into that position took a few attempts, but the result was worth every uncomfortable second.