11 replies to this topic

[strax]

The lack of cloud in the sky for the sunset meant that I had to search for an alternative image. I captured the rays of the setting sun illuminating the lighthouse and rocks with a golden glow. I used a Lee 'Big Stopper' filter to lengthen the exposure to 2 minutes to blur the incoming waves.

 

Nikon D700, Nikon 16-35, 120seconds @ F13

 

 

[Thumper]

Nice shot!

[Tony892]

Cracking photograph, did you do any post production work on the image? Was that taken today or in the last week or so?

[alden]

Very nice.

 

I've noticed a trend recently of long exposures to blur water movement and make it appear as fog. 

[Tony892]

The lack of cloud in the sky for the sunset meant that I had to search for an alternative image. I captured the rays of the setting sun illuminating the lighthouse and rocks with a golden glow. I used a Lee 'Big Stopper' filter to lengthen the exposure to 2 minutes to blur the incoming waves.
 

Nikon D700, Nikon 16-35, 120seconds @ F13

Did you use any ND fiters?

[alden]

Did you use any ND fiters?

 

I used a Lee 'Big Stopper' filter to lengthen the exposure to 2 minutes to blur the incoming waves.

 

Read more: Turnberry Lighthouse sunset - Seascapes - NikonForums.com

[Tony892]

Read more: Turnberry Lighthouse sunset - Seascapes - NikonForums.com[/size]

Sorry guys, loosing the plot and thanks Alden for gently pointing out the obvious to me. I have just had a quick look at Lee filter, not come across this before, similar to much that I have picked up on this forum. It looks like the Lee filters are quite expensive, can you give me any background or tips please?

[strax]

This shot was taken a couple of weeks ago.

The lee filter system is quite expensive, but my wife taught me an old adage 'buy cheap, buy twice'. Unfortunately she likes to stick to that!

Seriously though, the lee system is very good quality. I have a few of their filters. Some of which I have had for years.

[Tony892]

This shot was taken a couple of weeks ago.The lee filter system is quite expensive, but my wife taught me an old adage 'buy cheap, buy twice'. Unfortunately she likes to stick to that!Seriously though, the lee system is very good quality. I have a few of their filters. Some of which I have had for years.

What do you advise as a starter? Must say I also agree with your wife.

[strax]

For a long time I only had the one filter, which was a 3 stop soft ND grad.  I used this for most of my landscape shots and I still do.  The bare minimum you need is the filter holder, the filter adaptor for your lenses and a filter.

[Tony892]

For a long time I only had the one filter, which was a 3 stop soft ND grad.  I used this for most of my landscape shots and I still do.  The bare minimum you need is the filter holder, the filter adaptor for your lenses and a filter.

Thanks for the info Strax, but in terms of 'a filter' that you recomend as a starter, would you suggest the 3 stop soft ND grad, presume that is what it is advertised as?

Thanks for the info Strax, but in terms of 'a filter' that you recomend as a starter, would you suggest the 3 stop soft ND grad, presume that is what it is advertised as?

Good Light
Tony

[strax]

The 3 stop soft ND filter will as the name suggests filter out 3 stops of light.  The soft means that the gradation from light to dark is gradual.  You can get a hard filter as well which means the gradation is sharp.  This can be useful for seascapes but I think the soft option is better as it is more forgiving when there are mountains in the scene or anything else whih encroaches on the sky.

 

The reason I chose the 3 stop is that I like dramatic skies and my reasoning was I could always tone it down in post processing rather than try to enhance something that was hardly there.  You have to remember also that I bought this filter about 5 years ago when the dynamic range of the sensors wasn't as good as today.  It might be the case today that a 2 stop soft ND grad might be the best option if you have a more modern camera than me, ie anything from a D7000 onwards.