Long Exposures 101 (Pt2) ND Filters and Landscapes
The second in my two part (at the moment) series about Long Exposure photography, technique and tips. The first part is here - https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@skiesandsports/long-exposure-101-pt1-a-few-shots-from-10-years-ago-and-a-few-more-recent
Welcome to the second part of Long Exposures 101. Hopefully this, along with the first post, will offer a few bits of useful advice regardless of budget or experience. Long Exposure was one of the first techniques that really got me excited about photography. As a student on a limited budget buying my first DSLR and kit lens left me with no extra money for fancy filters or lenses. Night time long exposures were the first shots that I felt stood out from my early photography work. They got me through the door so to speak with various managers and publications that got me into live music photography as an amateur - with just a few portfolio shots!
This was always the kind of shot I really wanted to make. Stunning landscapes with a dreamlike look that only a true long exposure can give. I've always been drawn to water, and to me it never looks better than when it's been rendered creamy by a good ND filter. In the shot above I've used a Hoya Pro ND 1000 (10 Stop ND Filter)
ND Filters
To me, ND filters are the best filters in the world. Yep, I know you love your polarizing filter, but NDs do things that post processing just can't match. If you're just getting the one filter, try to get the darkest ND filter you can, a ten stop ND will give incredible results. Remember one stop = double the exposure time.
Working on a 1 second exposure, a One stop filter will double your exposure to 2 seconds. A two stop will double that to 4 and so on. A Ten Stop filter will take that one second exposure to OVER 17 minutes! I'd also advice grabbing a Graduated ND filter if you're using a slide system.
I used to own a BW 10 stop filter, but when I sold my Fuji X Pro 1 and wide angle lens I also sold the filter. I'd enjoyed using the camera for personal work but the focus just didn't work for me. Instead I now put up with the extra weight of my Canon gear (the same camera I use for weddings) along with a 17-40mm wide. It was a different filter size to the Fuji lens anyway and the Hoya filter comes in much more reasonably priced than the BW. That said there are a few things to consider with ND filters -
Cheaper ones often have a poorer covering, resulting in an uneven light distribution - effectively some parts of the image will be under a 10 stop ND while some could be under a 5. Even a good filter like a Hoya isn't a SILLY amount of money, so I'd really advise going for the best you can afford - just like with lenses! I do wish I'd gone for the LEE system, just because it's so easy to use with different lenses, and to stack filters, for instance a 10 stop with a graduated ND for the kind of Landscapes I love to shoot. I've always been reluctant to go for a slide filter for NDs as I've been a bit afraid of light leaks but everything I've seen of the LEE system has been fantastic.
This shot was taken on the same morning as the first in the Lake district.
When it comes to landscape shots I'm a sucker for foreground interest. Whether that's landscape lines leading you into a shot, or a fortunate object that you notice like the log in the first image. That's really a personal preference thing, I've seen incredible shots with no foreground interest, so please don't take that as gospel!
Either way I honestly believe that when it comes to landscapes there are only two times of day worth shooting - Sunrise and Sunset. So you better make the most of them!
Be Prepared
For me, that means arriving at a location 45-60 minutes before sunrise to scout for the best spot. Even if I've been there before I try to get there as early as I can. Things change, especially with water present. Whether that's washing something up on the beach, or the water level rising or falling drastically. Getting into position, figuring out the best angle, and setting yourself up for that perfect shot takes time. Arriving at a location in a rush to beat the sun is always a more stressful experience!
Work for the shot
Dress for the occasion
Your Tripod is [Probably] Waterproof
Wow, incredible photography. I love it :)
Thanks @askaran, much appreciated!
This is just amazing!
Thanks!
Great post and lovely results. Thanks for sharing.
You have made 5 comments today in one of my 52 photography hashtags and received a 1 percent upvote for your effort!
>Learn more here<
Beautiful photographic's! Thank you SO much for sharing your information on how you did them also!!
Thank you @snook! You're most welcome :) I'm really glad you found it useful!
Yes, Informative post. The best landscape photo that I ever seen. All photos looking amazing.
Wow, that's quite a compliment, thank you @tusharasave!
welcome.
Breathtaking shots & great documentary!! Thank you @skiesandsports
Thanks @d-vine! Really appreciate that :)
My pleasure! I really appreciate your work & dedication! ✌️❤️✊️
Very informative post!
Thanks @vtravels, I hope so!
Real good stuff here. Good to see a tog putting the effort into steemit and writing about their techniques and what they are up to . That's a sure fire way to make an impact here . Looking forward to seeing more from you.
Thanks @Markangeltrueman, that's awesome to hear! I'm still new but would love to make an impact here if I can. I'm not normally a fan of social media but I'm totally addicted to Steem! Not a bad time to get addicted either, just shot my last wedding of 2017 with a little break before the 2018 season kicks off!
Yeah, there's a level of addiction in actually getting financial reward for your efforts. With content like this im sure it wont be long before you attract some hard hitters to your work.
Definitely, I have no idea how you attract hard hitters but it's really good to hear I'm on the right track!! I have some ideas for this weeks posts already :) Hopefully they will be genuinely useful to new photographers out there!
Nice work on those upvotes ;)
Thanks @Markangeltrueman! Woke up this morning and checked my feed, couldn't quite believe the number! Good job I've got another post lined up for this evening!!
I wouldn’t expect the same again. Looks like you got an upvote by curie which is a one off. Keep at it though, hopefully it gained you some followers.
this is amazing!
Thanks @beatdragon!
Your images are etherial <3... Thanks for detailing what you went through to get that perfect shot! People don't always realize how much goes into preparation.
Thank you so much @cristinamuah! Verity much appreciated! I'll be doing plenty more informative posts :) Hopefully they will inspire one or two people at least!
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STOPWow! Awesome. Welcome to Steemit. Just looking at the photos I can feel my blood pressure going down. You have talent!!!
Thanks so much @Tesscooks4u! It really does mean a lot to hear such lovely feedback :)
You are making me want to go out and take some pics!
Great to hear @zoomtruth! That's all I can possibly ask!
Great post and the photos are great. The long exposure is just incredible.
Thanks @randypike! Really appreciate that :) I was super happy with the first image, it's definitely one of my favourites that I've taken
Amazing results!
That inspire me good things when I see photos with this skills.
Congratulations!
Thanks @jamesmorais! I feel honored that the photos have inspired you!
Congratulations @skiesandsports!
Your post was mentioned in the hit parade in the following category:
Thanks @arcange! That's awesome!
Fantastic photography! It's very beautiful.
Thanks @firepower!
You are welcome. :)
Great post, thanks for sharing.
Thanks @Scottdphoto, much appreciated!
Fine
Awsomee
Amazing work! You'reso lucky to be there & get the chance of seeing these views 👌🏻
Thanks @Jakyyou23!
Thanks :) İt is very helpful
Amazing work @skisandsports have you thought about putting a watermark on your images if you are concerned about someone using your image without permission? Or I heard something about metadata. Not a photographer but I though these might help :)
Thanks @mysevenworlds, it's an interesting point. Honestly it's all pretty difficult to stop and trace, we know from our main website how hard it can be. None of the images are full res though so there's only so much anyone could do with them. It's more just a gentle reminder!
soooo beautiful! what kind of camera?
Thanks @Cureforthesane, various cameras, mostly canon, 6D, 350D and 5DMK 2!
Welcome to Steemit, Fellow Steemian. 😃😃
"May the Steem force be with you"
Do look into my account too @ashishgj-agj.inc
Nicely done! I've been debating getting ND for my DJI drone.. What're your thoughts? They're only about $50 for a set..
Thanks @incomecoach, well worth getting for a drone as you'll want to be matching your shutterspeed to your framerate for video, which is almost impossible to do without the ND filters. As for photography, honestly drones aren't great for long exposures, the P4Pro and up (Inspire, Matrice etc) can about manage it but they aren't great at 100%!
Nice mate. Love the detail in this blog.
Thanks @intredpidphotos, much appreciated!
beautiful work
Such a peaceful place. Great image!
Hey guys I'm new to steemit follow me Ill follow everyone back :)
I appreciate you're now here @Affiliate, I'm still fairly new myself. But if you're not prepared to put in the effort and contribute informative, friendly or helpful comments then why would we follow back? I put in a lot of effort to this post and you felt the need to use it as a billboard to pimp out your own account with no reference to anything I've done?