It was a beautiful day in the Pacific Northwest today. The photo was taken just after the sun had set at Wildcat Cove in Larrabee State Park, Washington.
I used a circular polariser, 10-stop ND filter and 3-stop graduated ND filter for this photo, giving an exposure time of seven and a half minutes.
I'm a British software developer and photographer living in Vancouver, BC. I mainly photograph landscapes, cityscapes, night scenes, and water.
If you're interested in any...
Wow - absolutely gorgeous colour - and that horizon is bliss. My question is - why so many filters? Is it just so you could make the exposure extra extra long? Pardon my ignorance - still learning my ND filter:)
The three filters in this photo are all doing different things.
The circular polariser is controlling the reflections off the wet foreground rocks, to reduce the 'glare' and give more detail and texture. It also cuts reflections in the water, allowing you to see the underwater bits of the part-submerged small rocks at the left of the photo.
The graduated ND filter is being used to reduce the dynamic range of the photo, by controlling the balance between the much brighter sky and the darker foreground, allowing me to take this photo as a single exposure (rather than using HDR or blending exposures).
These two filters have also had the effect of reducing the light reaching the camera -- the circular polariser has blocked 1.5 stops of light, and the graduated filter has blocked 3 stops of light in the sky (but nothing in the rocks and foreground water, as the graduated filter is clear at the bottom half). However, with only 1.5 stops of light blocked in the foreground water, it's not possible to smooth out the water like this (even at f/22 and ISO 100, the exposure would be too short). The 10-stop filter is therefore added -- this doesn't alter the balance of the photo, as the filter isn't graduated, but it significantly extends the duration of the exposure.
This combination of polariser, solid ND filter, and some form of graduated or reverse-graduated ND filter is a common setup for shots like these, and allows you to get 99% of the way there in-camera without having to do HDR or blending.
Hope that helps, let me know if you have any questions!
Constantly faving your shots Alexis, which I find amazing. I am not a great lover of HDR and this is the perfect alternative in my opinion. But what I appreciate most is your generosity with your time and sharing your knowledge. Thank you!
Awesome photo. Its so nice of you to explain a dabbler like me the the use of filters, exposure time and so on, so I can at least comprehend how you do it
June 20th, 2013
Leave a Comment
Sign up for a free account or Sign in to post a comment.
The three filters in this photo are all doing different things.
The circular polariser is controlling the reflections off the wet foreground rocks, to reduce the 'glare' and give more detail and texture. It also cuts reflections in the water, allowing you to see the underwater bits of the part-submerged small rocks at the left of the photo.
The graduated ND filter is being used to reduce the dynamic range of the photo, by controlling the balance between the much brighter sky and the darker foreground, allowing me to take this photo as a single exposure (rather than using HDR or blending exposures).
These two filters have also had the effect of reducing the light reaching the camera -- the circular polariser has blocked 1.5 stops of light, and the graduated filter has blocked 3 stops of light in the sky (but nothing in the rocks and foreground water, as the graduated filter is clear at the bottom half). However, with only 1.5 stops of light blocked in the foreground water, it's not possible to smooth out the water like this (even at f/22 and ISO 100, the exposure would be too short). The 10-stop filter is therefore added -- this doesn't alter the balance of the photo, as the filter isn't graduated, but it significantly extends the duration of the exposure.
This combination of polariser, solid ND filter, and some form of graduated or reverse-graduated ND filter is a common setup for shots like these, and allows you to get 99% of the way there in-camera without having to do HDR or blending.
Hope that helps, let me know if you have any questions!