What are Neutral Density Filters?

Most photographers (myself included) use neutral density filters when shooting seascapes. These filters normally come in a rectangle size with black/dark at the top and clear at the bottom. Photographers use these filters when there is different levels of brightness in a scene. This is common when photographing seascapes on sunset where the sky can appear slightly brighter than the surrounding foreground. If photographed without filters this can result in the sky being over exposed as the camera attempts to compensate the darker foreground. We use neutral density filters to avoid this problem by placing the darker part of the filter at the top of the frame to capture a more even and natural exposure. Most neutral density filters are expensive with a Cokin set costing roughly $150-300 and a Lee kit around $300. I was curious to how the magic cloth technique would compare to these more expensive neutral density filters.

Fast forward to December this year when I was visiting family and friends in my home town of Hobart, I gave the technique a try at Park Beach with some long exposures.

Magic Cloth Technique

The technique is appealing as it’s so simple and costs nothing. No surprises that the technique is based on using a cloth or even as Tony suggests, you can also use a sock, wallet, or cap. Really the possibilities are endless but the most important thing is finding an object which you can easily hold over the front over the camera to cover a certain part of the image. Once you’ve found a suitable object to use for the magic cloth technique, you’re now ready. The technique is best used for long exposures as this gives you greater control and flexibility over the image.

It is suggested to meter the image in your camera around 2 stops over exposed when using the technique to get the best possible exposure. Begin by starting the exposure and covering the lens with the object. Over time, gradually move the object up (towards the sky or the top of the frame). The slower you raise the cloth results in a darker grad. In simple terms this means your sky will receive less exposure and be considerably darker. If instead you raise the magic cloth faster, this will result in a less darker grad and brighter sky.

And really that’s all there is to the magic cloth technique. Experiment with the technique and you will slowly get a feel for how it works and how it might be beneficial for certain scenes. Now that I’ve tried the technique with seascapes I’d love to try with photographing waterfalls up close to avoid sea spray going all over my lens and to capture greater detail of the surrounding foliage areas.

You might also be interested in my waterfall photography guide. A thorough guide that covers waterfall photography, the ideal weather, equipment you’ll need, visual examples of how shutter speed works and other bits.

If you’re new to long exposures, my guide on daytime long exposures might also be of interest.

Hopefully this was helpful!

A photograph from my recent trip home to Tasmania for Christmas. This long exposure photograph was captured at Park Beach, Tasmania just after sunset. This is one of my favourite coastlines to photograph in the Hobart area even if it is quite limited on sunset. Unfortunately you’re limited to shooting in this direction if you wish to capture any colour in the sky, ignoring all the interesting rock formation that faces the opposite direction.

This is a 10 minute long exposure that was captured with a Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 17-40, B+W 110 and tripod.

Before and After

And for something different, this is the before and after images from Lightroom. The image is around a stop over exposed which was both good and bad. The reason for it being good is that it brought out a lot of detail in the dark area of the rocks which can easily be lost in a regular exposure due to the area having strong shadows. But on the other hand, I also lost a lot of sky straight out of camera. Fortunately the Canon 5D Mark II retains a lot of detail and I was able to save the sky.

The edit was actually quick and probably only took around 2 minutes. In Lightroom I dropped the exposure considerably which brought back the sky but darkened the rocks. Rather than keep the rocks under exposed, I used the adjustment brush with a +1.00 exposure to bring the rocks back out.  After that I adjusted the temperature of the image (cooling it) and selectively adjusting the saturation points of parts of the image until happy. Finally sharpening the image in Photoshop with the unsharpen mask.
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I’m enjoying a couple of weeks home in Hobart visiting family and friends escaping the 40 degree heat of Melbourne. Over the last few days I’ve been spending some time in St Helens, a beautiful coastal town and also my favourite part of Tasmania. This is a series of photographs captured last night around the Bay of Fires area on a lovely warm summer evening.

All images were captured with a Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 17-40, Cokin Z-Pro .9 graduated neutral density filter and a tripod.

Hope you like!

One from earlier this evening at Park Beach Tasmania on sunset.

Fingers crossed the colours are okay with this. I’m in Hobart for a few weeks and only have a laptop to edit on. How I miss my 27″ screen right now… Editing in Photoshop on a 13″ is interesting

This is a 10 minute long exposure captured with a Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 17-40 and B+W 110. Rather than use graduated neutral density filters I opted to use the ‘magic cloth technique’. I keep meaning to make a post on this soon but it’s a neat little technique that is cost effective and useful when you wish to only limit the exposure of part of the image for a small period (rather than the whole 10 minute long exposure like with actual graduated filters).  More on this soon though

Hobart

Earlier in the year (note – 3am on New Years Day) I thought it would be a great idea to apply for a job in Melbourne and move away from Hobart for a bit. I applied for a job later that day without actually thinking I’d get an interview but soon found out they wanted to hire me and I had 10 days to move over.  Find somewhere to live, move all my belongings over, no biggy? It was a rush and a mad fortnight of trying to spend time with everyone before I went. These images are all captured during this time.

Star trails – New years day

It was the first time I’d been to Mona Foma since it started a few years ago. Friends and I made an effort to get along to as much as possible which was a blast. I’m disappointed I’ll be missing it next year especially with word Girl Talk is playing.

All man on my pink chair…

I started a little project called The Travelling Camera. I’ve been lazy with it this year but it’s a project where an Olympus OM-2n film camera sent with a list of things to photograph to friends. So far three people have done the project and just waiting on a fourth. If you’re interested in participating in it next year, be sure to contact me.

Before I left I was rather keen to tag along on a trip up to the Great Lakes with Sam Shelley. It’s an amazing place and somewhere I hope to explore more when I one day move back to Tasmania.

During the 10 days, I had to quickly find somewhere to live in Melbourne. I flew over to Melbourne for the day to look at four places, all of which offering me leases. It worked out well and I was able to pick the unit I wanted most.

But it was soon time to pack up and move away.

Leaving Devonport on the Spirit of Tasmania

Melbourne

Arriving into Melbourne at 6am and being greeted by 30 degree heat.

The first few months of moving over I was rather lazy and went into tourist mode.

AFL – Watching Carlton draw against Essendon. I ended up going to 7 games throughout the year which is odd as I don’t actually have a team.

Albert Park - Where I sometimes like to go running.

Drinking possibly a little too much coffees.

Discovering a new found love in ph?.

Working those star jumps…

Long exposure of traffic entering Exhibition Street (near work).

Throughout the year I had a play with some timelapse. I’m lazy and never got around to finishing the clip but here is a selection of clips captured throughout the Melbourne CBD.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Oh… And of course a yoyo clip (much to the amusement of the guys I work with who randomly came across my Youtube channel).

Click here to view the embedded video.

Shrine of Remembrance

Living reasonably close to the city, I sometimes like to run or walk home. Taken during winter as I was leaving work.

Another photo as I made my way home from work.

Back to Hobart Briefly…

I went back to Hobart for my birthday to catch up with friends and family. Having not been taking many photographs since moving to Melbourne, I was pretty keen to have some early mornings and shoot some sunrises.

Mt Wellington from the Hobart Eastern Shore.

Overcast sunrise at South Arm, Tasmania

Playing around with reflections at Eaglehawk Neck on sunrise

Back to Melbourne

When I got back to Melbourne I was asked to photograph our IT staff for the staff intranet and phone book. It was different but fun.

A friend - I like this one.

It took me a while to start leaving the city and taking photographs. I was lucky to meet some guys who shared the same interest as me so we made a few trips throughout the year.  This series is from Marysville.

Playing around at Docklands on sunset

Cape Woolamai – I took a trip down to Cape Woolamai, Phillip Island with some friends who I also went to Marysville with. It was probably my favourite place I’ve taken photos all year.

Clouds passing above during a 13 minute exposure at Elwood Beach.

And finally, another trip back to Marysville on a cold and wet morning. Probably my second favourite set from this year and a nice set to close with.

I hope you enjoyed these photographs and thank you for all the support from people who have commented and emailed throughout the year.

- Alex

Click here to view my 2010 Retrospective.

13.30 minute exposure at f.8 - Canon 5D Mark II - Canon 17-40 - tripod - remote - Cokin Z-Pro .9 neutral density grad, B+W 110 neutral density filter

Last night I took a trip down to Elwood in hope of taking some long exposures of the already overshot old jetty. Unfortunately it was gone and replaced with an eye sore square of concrete. Where had it gone? Eroded by too many photographers digging their tripod legs into the aged wood? I kid I kid. A little disappointed I took a stroll up the beach in the 30 degree heat looking for an alternative and came across these interesting rocks. I’m not overly fond of the images but it’s always nice to explore new locations even if slightly disappointing.

One from a few months back from Marysville, Victoria.

I’ve made a few trips out to Marysville since moving over earlier this year as it’s a beautiful place especially during miserable weather. The waterfalls come alive and the hills are surrounded by fog. Perfect conditions for landscape photography.

This photograph is actually a two shot stitch as I wanted to capture the beauty of the surrounding trees while leaving some space around the foreground rocks. It leaves a lot of empty space but hopefully works okay. While I also used a Canon 5D Mark Ii, Canon 17-40 lens, circular polariser filter and tripod to capture the image.

You might be interested in a recent waterfall photography guide I published on my blog which explores the equipment needed for waterfall photography, compares shutter speeds and how these can affect your image and other bits.

Camera Size – Compare the difference in size between cameras.

Stunning timelapse of star trails in the making.

Night vision lens used by the US military.

The most powerful photos of 2011.

DIY low cost setup for making your own high speed flash trigger.

Interesting portraits of people lit by their mobile phones.

Details of strangers captured in three frames.

Using a midi controller for adjustments in Lightroom.

This fashion photography dvd looks great.

Stunning photographs captured from… Google Streetview.

The beauty of a second. Participants were asked to include footage that could only be a second long. This is the finished product. Beautiful stuff.

A glimpse into the post processing of the talented Peter Eastway.

X-Ray image of a Nikon photographer.

Using lasers to take incredible 3D macro photographs.

Rhein II by Andreas Gursky is the $4.3 million dollar photograph. Interesting.

Earth timelapse from space as captured from the NASA, ISS. Beautiful.

Rather interesting article on how Steve Jobs wanted to change the nature of photography.

You might be interested in a previous weekly digest which includes a mint tin pinhole camera, more beautiful timelapses and post processing videos.

A photo taken a couple of months ago at Cape Woolamai, Victoria. I’ve been sitting on this for a while, slightly unhappy with the processing and not completely sold by the composition. After 4 processing attempts later, here it is.

Technical Details

This is a X exposure captured at F. with a Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 17-40, remote and Manfrotto tripod.

For this shot I used the magic cloth technique (more on this in a future post). But in short, it’s a technique where you place a cloth over the top half of the frame during long exposures to act as a graduated neutral density filter. I used this technique for the first time as my filters and been packed away and were slightly dirty from sea spray. Surprisingly it worked quite well.

Post Processing

This photograph consists of two exposures with one for the sky and another for the rest of the image.

Blending exposures is helpful when you don’t nail the initial in-camera exposure. Fortunately I captured two images with one quite over exposed and suited well for the rocks as part of the foreground and another under exposed which captured the sky perfectly. Rather than attempt to use either the over or under exposed image, I combined the two elements from both shots to maximise dynamic range. Confused? You can see two images to the side which demonstrate which parts from the over exposed image were combined with the under exposed shot. I find gradually painting the over exposed with a low opacity allows for the blend to be more seamless and less obvious to the viewer which in my opinion, is the most important thing.

• What camera settings to use for waterfall photography
• Explain and show how shutter speed can affect your photo through visual examples of different long exposures
• What equipment to use
• My personal step by step process of setting up a photograph and the things I consider in terms of composing the photograph and how I decide on what camera settings to use
• Working out ideal weather conditions for waterfall photography

Equipment

Camera

An obvious one but you will need a camera that is cable of capturing shutter speeds longer than one second and preferably upwards of 15-30 seconds. All digital SLR cameras come with this functionality and most point and shoots also now provides some longer shutter speed functionality.

Circular Polariser

The circular polariser (not to be confused with the linear polariser) is a screw on filter that reduces glare and provides deeper and appealing colour tones

This isn’t crucial for waterfall photography but I personally like the effect which the filter provides and wouldn’t leave the house without it when shooting waterfalls. Whilst using a circular polariser also means you lose 2 stops (or 1-1/2 stops with some brands) which is beneficial as it allows for a longer exposure.

Below are examples of images captured with and without the circular polariser. It’s not the best example but the big difference where the glare is reduced around the key rock to the right of the frame.

Circular Polariser – No Filter

Neutral Density Filter

Using a neutral density filter is a useful tool for obtaining a longer exposure time. This is possible by placing a dark element filter over the front of the camera lens which allows you to capture an exposure time longer than if shooting without a filter.

To put this into perspective, if you were shooting without a filter and the camera gave you a base reading of 1/15 of a second, attaching a 4 stop neutral density filter would change this reading to 1 second. Again if you had a base reading of 1 second without a filter applied, attaching the 4 stop neutral density filter would result in a reading of 15 seconds. Make sense? Not really? This neutral density calculation cheat sheet might help give you an understanding of how different strength neutral density filters can affect shutter speed.

Neutral density filters aren’t crucial for waterfall photography because you will be shooting in diffused light which means you are able to easily achieve desirable exposure times without the need of filters.

Tripod

Get your feet wet

Using a tripod is essential for waterfall photography as it allows you to capture water movement whilst retaining a sharp image. Attempting to take waterfall photographs without a tripod results in blurred images. This is easily avoided by using a tripod to steady your camera and provide a sharp image.

Most tripods on the market extend to around 140-150cm which provides you with the opportunity to get a little wet (and possibly cold)

I’d suggest positioning yourself ankle to waist deep in the water to get a different angle. Most photographers are quite content on shooting from the water’s edge so this is an easy way to get something different from the norm. A word of warning – take it slow. A recent trip photographing waterfalls I was ankle-deep in water and took one step and was suddenly waist deep in water. Sometimes your tripod is a handy tool to test the depth before making an unfortunate step.

The Importance of Shutter Speed

Shutter speed is the time which the shutter within the camera remains open to capture an image.

Effectively this is the amount of light that hits the camera sensor or film which is anywhere from 1/16000 of a second or as some have demonstrated, years. Longer shutter speeds can be achieved by using a low ISO setting, shooting at a relatively high f-stop (f.16-32) or by introducing filters such as neutral density filters or circular polarisers (as soon discussed).

So what impact does shutter speed have when taking photographs of waterfalls? Quite a lot actually. To help you understand how shutter speed is helpful for waterfall photography, I’ve created a gif of three scenes that run through the various shutter speeds. The images all have one thing in common in which the water gradually moves from a rough texture to a nice smooth effect.

1/50 sec- 1/10 sec – 0.3 sec – 2.5 sec – 10 sec – 30 sec

1/25 sec- 1/10 sec – 1/4 sec – 0.6 sec – 2 sec – 10 sec – 30 sec

1/50 sec – 1/25 sec – 1/10 sec  - 1/4 sec – 0.6 sec - 1.3 sec – 5 sec – 30 sec

What shutter speed to use?

Enabling the AV mode on your camera

So what is the ideal shutter speed for shooting waterfalls? It really depends on various factors and how you want your final image to look. I’m quite fond of the shutter speed effect that is evident around the 2-5 second mark of smooth water to provide a calm image.

The shutter speed effect around the 0.3″ mark retains the roughness of the water while avoiding the smooth effect that can be seen around the 5 second and beyond exposure.

Although sometimes retaining a rough texture to the water can work well especially when the river is rough and you wish to capture this mood in your image. Personally I try to hover around the 2-10 second mark.

Why?

Any longer and you begin to introduce blur around the foliage area if there is a slight breeze on the day. For this reason I find 2-10 seconds ideal for capturing a nice smooth texture to the water while retaining sharpness to the surrounding foliage.

Camera exposure reading of 0.8" seconds at f.13

Generally my process of taking a waterfall photograph is as follows:

• Set the camera up for the photo, composing with an interesting foreground element at the front of the frame. Normally I look for a mossy rock and focus the camera on that feature while retaining the background in focus also. You can see what I’m referring to by looking at the above shutter speed comparison clips. Each image I frame the photo centering a rock towards the front of the frame. This technique is heavily inspired by the late (and amazing) landscape photographer Peter Dombrovskis. This is how I like to compose my landscape photography but don’t feel constrained to this technique. Explore different ways of composing the frame and capture something that makes you happy.
• Put the camera into Aperture Priority mode (AV)
• Set the camera to a relatively high f-stop (around f11-22)
• Fire a test shot/reading to get a base feel of what exposure times you will be working with.  For example, I dial f.13 into the camera and set the ISO to 100. This gives me an exposure time of 0.8 seconds.
• This sounds corny but I like to take in the scene and get a feel for things. Why? If there is a breeze this will affect the sharpness of surrounding foliage.If there is a slight breeze then it’s best to opt for a shutter speed that isn’t too slow (i.e. 30 seconds) but more around the 1-2 second mark.
• At this point I want to increase the shutter speed for a longer exposure. I do this by increasing the f-stop to f.16 and decreasing the ISO from 100 to 50 which now gives me a more ideal exposure time.

Why do I shoot in aperture priority and not manual after taking a base reading? Convenience. Some people almost have an arrogance about shooting in manual mode as if it’s some prerequisite to being a ‘professional’. Aperture priority works for me so why change? It’s only when I’m not happy with the test image (whether it be over or under exposed) that I sometimes change to manual and making slight changes until happy. |

But use whatever works best for you whether it be manual, shutter or aperture priority mode

Ideal Weather Conditions

Miserable weather is a great time to pick up the camera and go take some waterfall photographs.

Two images - Left is in harsh sunlight while the right is in overcast conditions (Click to enlarge)

Overcast skies offer a lovely diffused light and the rain increases the flow of water (especially after a few days of rain). For this reason winter is my favourite season for waterfall photography.

Investing in a camera coat or even taking a plastic bag to protect your camera from rain and spray isn’t such a bad idea if shooting in miserable conditions.

And that’s it!

If you found this article helpful I’d be extremely grateful if you could share the post with your friends via the available tools below or consider linking to it on your blog.Also be sure to check out my Photoshop and Lightroom tutorial videos. I’m constantly updating this page with new tutorials as I make them and taking requests.

PS. Don’t be afraid to contact me if you’re confused about any parts of the article. It’s always nice to hear from people and I’m more than happy to explain things in more detail. I’d also love to hear any feedback you might have on how to improve this article. Sometimes it’s easy to skim over things  so if you think this could benefit by adding things then I’d love to hear.

Oh and be sure to check your leg for leeches

- Alex

Fascinating self study exploring the norms of different cultures by Natalie Abbassi

35mm pinhole camera made from a mint tin

Stunning photograph of lightning erupting under stars

Beautiful star trail photography by Lincoln Harrison

A look at what the most popular editing programs are for photographers

Stunning animated photographs

Stu Maschwitz provides an interesting look at the new Canon C300 

The Edit - A video exploring the feeling of getting a film back from being developed. I’ve always thought this is like being a kid on Christmas day all over. Such a fun feeling.

Beautiful car series by Atelier Olschinsky titled 1000KM

DIY article on how to build your own monitor hood

7 easy tips to improve your coastal photography

Guy paints his Canon 50 1.8 (nifty fifty) to look like a white L series lens

Behind the scenes on a wedding photography shoot 20m under the water. Keen…

Arriving a few hours before the sunset gave me plenty of opportunity to find a nice vantage point and setup my gear and wait… Unfortuntely there wasn’t as much swell as I’d had liked but it was enough.

This is an 8 second exposure and is shot with a Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 17-40 and Cokin Z-Pro Neutral Density filters. In case you’re wondering, the B+W 110 neutral density filter very much goes back into the bag at this point of the sunset due to limited available light rendering the filter almost useless.

Timelapse – Where are we going?

A Step-by-Step Guide to Developing B&W Film with Coffee and Vitamin C

D300s Launched To Space In A Beer Cooler

Interesting  high speed camera setup

Camera Therapy – How Photography Gave Me Hope Again

Beautiful Mini Landscapes Captured Inside a 200 Gallon Tank

Another week of links. This week my favourite being the above landscapes captured in a 200 gallon tank. The behind the scenes shot at the end of the series is so fascinating.

On a recent trip photographing waterfalls and streams in the Yarra Valley I couldn’t resist a quick stop to capture the fog surrounding along the windy road as we made our way home. It was beautiful.

Captured with a Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 17-40 and a tripod.

The Meeting of the Waters is a beautiful short walk in the Yarra Valley, Victoria and not a corny photography title I just came up with (honest…!). This waterfall photograph is a two image stitch captured with the Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 17-40 and Hoya Circular Polariser. I was quite impressed by the stunning tree but unfortunately it didn’t fit the frame right. Instead two images were captured and later stitched in PTGui to better capture it.

Normally I loathe heavy vignette but this seems to work okay and not make me want to stab myself in the eyes.

This is a 15 second long exposure captured on ‘golden hour’ just a bit before sunset. The day time long exposure was made possible by using a B+W 110 10 stop neutral density filter which allows the camera to be stopped down significantly.  Minimal processing including a slight desaturation of the sky, curves and obviously the vignette.

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How gross is the Sigma special edition?!

Ever since moving over to Victoria in January I’ve been meaning to get out and shoot some new coastline. On Saturday I finally got around to it with a trip down to Cape Woolamai off the south eastern tip of Phillip Island.  Weather conditions were ideal with some lovely light peaking through the pinnacles lighting the scene nicely. It was a fun outing with quite a few seascape and long exposure photographs captured which I hope to share with you over the coming weeks.

This photograph was shot with a Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 17-40 and Cokin Z-Pro .9 neutral density filter.

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 How amazing is the timelapse?! Inspiring stuff.

Spent the morning scanning film for a little project I have on the go called The Travelling Camera. Admittedly it’s nothing special but it goes to show what can be obtained with a $50 camera (Olympus OM-2N).

This was captured at the delicious Market Lane Coffee not far from me.

Instagram is a neat iPhone photography application developed by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger that imitates the Kodak Instamatic and Polaroid cameras. The free app offers various filters (post processing effects), tilt shift and borders to customise your photography.  No longer are you constrained by a bulky camera and are now able to quickly take photos on the fly. I’ve been using the app for some time now and have been impressed with the continual introduction of new features and filters and the ever increasing community. The growth of the app has even seen local photography groups popping up purely dedicated to celebrating instagram and iPhone photography. A favourite of mine is the igersmelbourne group who meet up frequently and really push the capabilities of iPhone photography. Did I mention it’s free?

Follow me – alexwise 

An old favourite of mine captured in April 2008 of a small stream inland from St Helens at St Columbia Falls. As this was taken a few years ago, it was shot with my previous setup of a Canon 350D, Canon 10-22 and a tripod.  I didn’t get many keepers that day as the sun was patchy and my kit lacked a circular polariser.  But fortunately I caught a moment where the sun was diffused and created a nice evenly lit scene.

Oh the difference 30 minutes can have on a scene. Both images were captured tonight with one mid sunset and another just after sunset as ‘blue hour’ set in. I actually prefer the second myself… How about you?

Something a little different…