Not too long ago I had a chance to photograph some people having fun in the water. They were tubing down the river where at one point, it got a little too wild for some riders. It was fun to watch who would make it through that little dip, and who would fall off their tube.

No harm is done when they fall, as they quickly grab their tube, get back on, and enjoy the rest of the ride down the river. After seeing a number of people fall off, I decided to take some photos of it to capture that moment when they fall into the water.
These tubers are going somewhat fast down the river, but the water is always moving at a fierce pace. That’s why you need a fast shutter speed to really freeze the moment. I didn’t want any part of my picture to be blurry—not even the water.

Setting my shutter speed to 1/2000 sec., I knew it would be fast enough to capture the moment someone falls into the water, freeze the movement of the water, and capture the splash as he went down.
Looking back at this photo above, I love how I was able to capture the expression of the people surrounding him as well. It captures the essence of the moment.
The takeaway from this post is to always be alert and know what type of photo you’re after. Set you settings quickly and then concentrate on taking your shots. If you stop and think about your settings, you’ll end up missing some choice moments that you may end up regretting afterwards.