Part of the reason I love landscape photography is actually not about getting images but being there; enjoying the scenery. It just seems to recharge me. It is so peaceful and often very quiet. At other times I love shooting forest streams because of the pleasant noise the streaming water makes. As still (versus video) photographers we do not capture sound, but it still energizes me just to be there. Having said that, I also want to walk away with a few images. Here are a some tips to getting better forest stream images:

1. Go in the wet season. We want the greenery to be green. We want to find vibrant green moss. We want a stream rather than a trickle.

2. Go when it is overcast. Overcast weather diffuses the light and gives you soft light, devoid of harsh shadows. When the sun shines brightly you often get bright patches of light in a forest which makes the situation very difficult to deal with.

3. Just like footpaths (discussed last week), winding streams are better than straight running streams.

4. Find something different, perhaps in the foreground.

5. Show water movement by using a slow shutter speed.

6. Use a tripod (slow shutter speeds).

7. Get some waders. For some reason the best composition is always where you can't get to unless you want to get wet or have waders.

Lastly, use a polarizer filter to remove reflections from both the water and the leaves.

          Enjoy those streams