How to Photograph Milky Waterfalls

I first tried to photograph milky waterfalls when I got my first professional Nikon F3 SLR. The old school milky waterfall shot that I had seen in many magazines.

I was just a 13 year old boy when I first got into photography. ​Marveling at all the great looking shots in Amateur Photographer and Practical Photography magazines​, I wanted to do likewise.

In my 20's, I bought a Nikon F3, a few filters and a ton of film and headed for the nearest waterfall. I tried and tried but failed pretty miserably then I realised my mistake.

The filters I was using were nowhere near enough to kill the light to enable a slow enough shutter speed. I needed a dark ND filter to allow at least a few seconds exposure to make the water go blurry.​ Today, I use the amazing Breakthrough ND filters...stunning.

I also needed a much better tripod as the one I had was not stable enough. Things have changed with digital and the DSLR.

It ​isn't as difficult as it seems if you have a DSLR, tripod, cable release (or built in self-timer). Perhaps a polarizer or neutral density filter too and then you can do this with no problem.

Check out the video below which is taken from our free extended photography training section: