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I have taken a more serious interest in photography since 2000, after honeymooning in Australia. My main passion is landscape photography. I used to shoot film and have now moved onto digital, although my Xpan and Holga does get used every now and then.
10stop.net covers photographs taken with a 10-stop ND filter. This filter reduces the light so much that all motion becomes a blur. A short exposure of 1/15s suddenly becomes 66 seconds. Clouds are seen to streak across the sky and water turns to milk. It is an ideal companion for those dull and overcast days.
The filters are manufactured by B+W and are only available as a screw on filter. Once fitted it is not possible to see through the viewfinder, so composing a scene can be tricky, as is placing a ND grad for the sky. There are two approaches to this and this will depend on whether your camera has Live View or not.
Compose the scene with no ND10 filter attached. If using a graduated filter, place this at the correct location. You will also need to set the camera up for manual focus as auto focus will not work when the 10-stop filter is attached. Take an appropriate meter reading. Now attach the 10-stop filter, and place the graduated filter over the top. This should be in the correct place in the holder. Take care not to move the lens if you are using a zoom lens. Place the camera in Bulb (B) mode, multiply your meter reading by 1000 (see table below) and take an image at the correct time. I often find an additional 1/2 or 1 stop additional time is required to get the correct exposure.
If like me you have Live View on your camera, life becomes a lot easier as the camera should display an image on the LCD screen with the 10-stop filter is fitted. This is especially true during the day. This will allow you to place the graduated filter in the correct place, compose the scene and manually focus. You will still need to take a meter reading without the filter, but if you are shooting during the day, this should remain fairly consistent. Place the camera in Bulb (B) mode, multiply your meter reading by 1000 (see table below) and take an image at the correct time. I often find an additional 1/2 or 1 stop additional time is required to get the correct exposure.
If you are using the Lee filter system, it is advisable to purchase an additional filter ring, as a number of people I know have got their filter well and truly stuck to their filter ring. The advantage of pairing the two together makes it easier to add and remove the filter.
Don't expect the camera to meter correctly when the 10-stop filter is on the lens. You will sometimes get a meter reading that is below 30secs, but I have found that this will significantly underexpose. You will need to meter first without the filter in place (using Aperture priority). Once you have the meter reading, calculate the exposure time using the table below (basically the metered time multiplied by 1000) and then switch the camera to Build (B). If you own an Apple iPhone or iTouch, then you can download a great little application called NDCalc. This will do the calculations for you and provide you with a count-down timer. Taking into account reciprocity failure (for long shutter speeds), I will often double the time.
| 1/1000 |
1secs |
1/60 |
16secs |
1/4 |
4mins |
| 1/500 |
2secs |
1/30 |
32secs |
1/2 |
8mins |
| 1/250 |
4secs |
1/15 |
64secs |
1 |
16mins |
| 1/125 |
8secs |
1/8 |
2mins |
2 |
32min |
To increase the shutter speed, remember to use a small aperture. Typically I would use f/16. On a cloudy, but bright day, this should give an exposure time of around 2 minutes.
If you are a Canon user, I have found the TC-80N3 remote invaluable as it includes a self timer that can run into hours. Set your camera to Bulb, dial in the time you want and then hit start. Also another great feature on the Canon is that in Bulb, when an image is being taken, a seconds counter is shown in the top right of the top plate LCD display. Otherwise, it is a case of locking the camera in Bulb and taking a timing using a watch. Don't worry if you are a few seconds out.
Oh, and before you start shooting anything, remember to turn off your camera's noise reduction. The noise reduction often takes as long as the original exposure, so your 5 minute exposure has now become 10 minutes. Also, due to the increased exposure times (and possibly use of Live View), batteries drain quickly, so remember to carry spares.
When the image is taken, it is advisable to look at the histogram. You want this as far over to the right as possible without clipping the highlights. You will also notice that the image appears quite warm in appearance. This can be quite pleasing, however, I find that black and white works best for many of these images. The colour cast can be corrected in Camera RAW, if you chose to stay in colour.
I generally use Adobe LightRoom for my image conversion, where the images are relatively simple. This will involve modifying the exposure (Levels) and contrast (Curves). I use Greyscale in LightRoom, which is the same or similar to Channel Mix in Photoshop. This allows me to tweak individual colours, such as boosting the blue in the sky to increase contrast with the clouds. A nice feature of LR2 is the graduated filter. This can be used to bring some additional drama into the sky.
#1: If using a filter system purchase a spare filter ring holder. The ND10 filter will very likely jam. If you are using Lee filters, the wide angle filter ring is best.
#2: If you have Live View, use it.
#3: Use ND grads for the sky to keep definition in the clouds
#4: If you are shooting early morning or evening, remember the light changes very quickly
#5: Turn off your camera's noise reduction (NR)
#6: Carry spare batteries - they will drain more quickly
#7: Experiment and have fun!
Mark Crocker
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