One Filter At A Time ~ B+W ND110

Ah, the B+W ND110! My powerful 10 stop filter. The filter that started it all! Now, it was not my first filter. I did get for Christmas last year a set of Cokin filters, and I did have fun playing around with them learning about blocking light and all, but that was a gift that was chosen for me where as the ND110 was the first filter where I went online myself, did the research, learned all about ND and found out about ALL the wonderful choices out there! Not a lot of companies, that I know of, make a 10 stop filter like this! Hoya makes a 9 stop and Lee makes the big stopper, which is 10 stops. But Lee is drop in square filters and B+W is the screw on type. Any way, the passion started here! I spent hours of time doing research and I KNEW that I was not going to settle for 6 stops, at this point any way! (I came across a 6 stop at a local photo store and I chose to hold out!)

So, what is so special about this filter? It looks almost as dark as the lens cap! I can shoot a 30 second exposure INTO THE SUN with this baby! YA, its that dark! When I started photography in October of 09, I knew I wanted to do a 365 project starting Jan 1, 2001. About a month before day light savings, I started to really stress, because the theme of my 365 is LONG exposures. The goal being 30 seconds or longer! How in the world was I going to do that during day light savings when it did not get DARK till almost 9pm? I have a family you know! Its just not reasonable to leave the house ever night to find something new to shoot! And sunsets? Forget it! There was no way I was going to make a lot of sunsets at the beach any more. SO, I made it a point to find a way! While surfing flickr one day, I saw a 30 second day time exposure and I just about freaked out! I sent out a flickr mail to the person right away to find out who, what, where, when and why! Because thats EXACTLY what I wanted to do!

With in 2 weeks of finding what I wanted, and ordering on Amazon, BEST price, I had the 10 stops in hand and I was OFF! Of course, I had tech issues with my wide lens, so for the first month and a half, I had to use the B+W ND110 on my zoom lens, I was just forever grateful I also got a step up ring when I ordered the filter! When I finally had my wide lens AND my B+W ND110, I was IN HEAVEN! Such a magic combo and I have been shooting with them ever sense. Now, after about a month of shooting with the 10 stop, I knew I wanted to expand and get some less dark filters to get more details in the water. When all is said and done, between these 3 filters I have now shared with you, I am able to get any where from an quarter of a second to 2 minutes, or more I guess, at just about any f stop I want to! And any time of day or night. Now that's power! One of the things I like most about this filter, is how many things you CAN do with it. For example, if you really push up the ISO, you can get a quarter of a second shot! But if you really play with the aperture and close it way up, a minute exposure is reasonable! Thats a pretty far reach! It just so happens that I prefer ISO 100 and f/11 (ish) so the other filters all have there place! So why 10 stops and 30 seconds? Because the water gets to be OH SO smooth! I mean, LOOK AT IT! :) Others like to call it "misty." Ya! And, another thing you get with this extreme of ND, the clouds move during that time! The moving clouds also adds an awesome detail to the image too.

Now, the picture above is from one of my favorite spots in La Jolla, California. Called Windansea. This was from the other day, and the day was very overcast. Translation, not as colorful as usual! Life goes on! But you get the point. Tomorrow, I will post a more colorful version of the same spot. But its a longer exposure with stacked filters, so that will be another topic! I keep thinking of new topics, YA! :)

One filter at a time ~ B+W ND106

Oh, the B+W ND106, 6 stops, my new most favorite filter! The reason why I jumped forward to get this filter was because the 10 stop was giving me TOO long of exposures and the 3 stop was not giving me enough length of exposures. I NEEDED something in the middle! Something that gave me a couple or a few seconds, not half a minute! I have learned in photography, that if you photograph the waves at the ocean for 4 to 6 seconds, they look like they are moving! But if you slap on the 10 stop, the water goes from waves to misty. Which is a great effect, but MAN, so is the moving waves! I love them both, but I NEED to be able to do both. Thus, the B+W ND106 holds a special place in my heart.

WHat else do I do with it? On my last post, I shared that the Tiffen ND8, 3 stop, is very stackable to add just a bit of extra ND. One of my favorite combos is the Tiffen ND8 with the B+W ND106 to make a total of 9 stops. Believe it or not, there is a difference between 9 and 10 stops. It really is amazing the gaps at this point of the scale. However, the hidden reason why I often prefer the 9 stops with stacking vs. the 10 stops of the ND110. The post processing! I can, under non bright conditions, get a 30 second exposure with the two lighter filters stacked, but they are great together and do not give off a warm hue like the B+W ND110! So, if I want an easer time working with the post processing, I would rather stack the two lighter filters then to use one dark one. Lazy? Not really, just know my limits by the end of the day! :)

The image above is a 4 second exposure, thanks to the B+W ND106. A perfect length of time to gather in the movement of the water over the rocks. The evening at this point was very overcast and I could have pushed the exposure even longer if I wanted to, but I knew that I wanted to keep the 4 to 5 second range for this and I was right! Turned out exactly the way I wanted it to! :)

One filter at a time ~ Tiffen ND8

So, now that I have started the conversation about filters, I realized that I missed SO much information! Because each filter has there own task and talents. And each one has much different results because of it. So, why not! Lets create a blog for each filter, one at a time! I wanted to start off from lightest to darkest. Mainly because the darker the better, for me any way! So, lets save the best for last. :)

Ok, on my last blog, I said that the 3 stop filter had no use! And even though I said NO use, truth is, I always knew it had some use. I just never gave it enough credit in the past. The day after posting that last blog, I found a new use for the poor little 3 stop filter.

For starters, it has a use, in the field, and thats to simply take away the bright from a very bright day. And with that in mind, depending on how bright the day really is, the Tiffen ND8, 3 stop filter, can still be hand held. No tripod required, unless you close up the aperture. For me, I still always use a tripod, my goal with the Tiffen ND8 is not to take away bright! I use it for what I always do with my filters, to slow down water! Or to freeze a nice "splash" at my favorite beach locations. The entire idea around the Tiffen ND8 is to simply slow down the shutter speed, just a bit, to get a more desired of an effect. And, can add a deeper depth of field. The great thing about adding it to my collection, is that I can use it in more ways than any of my other filters. I can use it solo and create a quarter of a second exposure, of course on a very bright day, that quarter of a second turns out to be an eighth of a second real quick! But for the most part, I can really push it to a quarter. I can stack it on top of my 6 stop filter to make 9 stops. I can stack it on top of my 10 stop to make 13 stops! This one is great for creating day time two minute exposures at an f/11! Thats fun! :)

But the newest use, fireworks! I was reading someones post on Flickr, about shooting fireworks. This guy did a little fireworks 101 post at which I was grateful to come across before the 4th because this past 4th of July was my first try at shooting fireworks! The guy suggested using an ND filter, and the moment I read that, I thought TIFFEN! I shot the first 5 or so minutes without the filter, and they turned out OK, but once I put the filter on, I had so much more control! The brighter fireworks, the whites, were not over bright! YA! :) So, I kept the filter on for the rest of the evening. And another thing I loved about the fireworks, is when I went to do the processing on the images, they were all so sharp! So sharp, that I could do just about any crop. Any zoom, anything! I like that!

So, the above image, is of this years fireworks from our little town in California. With the Tiffen ND8 filter, I was able to get a full 22 seconds on this exposure with out over exposing any one area. I was really able to PUSH the night time exposure just a little bit more so that the light trail of the fireworks would be longer and better. Which, in my book, MONEY! :)

I hope you enjoy, and feel free to add any comments or suggestions. Most of all, I hope that my blog is of use to you and any one who reads this. I just might become an instructor instead of a photographer! And feel free to visit me on Flickr any time!

www.flickr.com/photos/cuteasabugonarug/

The filters in my gear bag!

So, when I started this blog, I was thinking that I would use it to sell work! Ya, lofty goals! I really would like to eventually sell work, but I guess being out there a little longer will be a good thing for that goal. So, lately I have noticed that I have been leaning towards "teaching" some of my techniques. For example, my last post was about star trails and stacking them. And with that one single post, I got more followers then any other time! And I have to admit something, I think I am a better teacher then a photographer, but do not tell any one that! Often times, when I teach something, that someone goes out and shoots better then I! UGH! :)

So, today, I wanted to share with you a topic that I get asked about a lot. And that way, I can send others here instead of typing out the information over and over and over again!

Today I want to share with you my most favorite gear in my camera bag, my filters. I will share with you what filters I have and what the function is for each one of them. Now, one thing I have noticed about ND (neutral density) filters while going out and shopping for them, they are hard to find exactly what you want and when you find it, it might not be exactly what you want. For example, I purchased the Tiffen ND8 thinking it was an 8 stop filter. I was very disappointed when I received it and it was quite light. Ended up being a 3 stop filter.

Tiffen ND8 (3 stop filter). A useless filter for the most part for what I enjoy shooting. It really is meant to take the edge off of a bright day. I have found that with this filter, I can still, depending on light, hand hold the camera. What I use it for the most, is I stack it with other filters to add to the strength of already strong filters. The ability to stack gives me more stops when I need them the most.

B+W ND106 (6 stops). I love this filter. I started off with a very strong filter, and I got this one because the 10 stop is too dark to do a lot of things to maintain details. This filter is going to get you any where from a quarter of a second to 6 seconds. Depending on light and on your aperture. With this filter, you can freeze a wave in motion, giving it a great splash effect. With this filter you can make the water look like its actually moving! Even though you have pushed the length of time, to about 5 seconds. The versatility of this filter is amazing! And when stacked with the Tiffen ND8, creating 9 stops, you can push the exposure to 20 to 30 seconds, making the waves look more misty. (I say waves because 90% of the time, I am shooting the ocean)

B+W ND110 (10 stops). Probably my most prized ND filter in my bag. Why? Because its almost as dark as the lens cap! Its tough to work with. Its so dark, that unless you are shooting in the sun, you have to focus your camera, with out the filter on. Then lock the exposure by putting the focus on manual. Then put the filter on and shoot! This filter is great for 30 to 60 seconds depending on where the sun is and what aperture you use. On an over cast day, you really can push that so much longer. And, to really push a day time exposure to 120 seconds, I stack the Tiffen ND8 on there to make a total blockage of 13 stops of light! Some day, if I really need big time blocking, I will be brave enough to stack the 10 stop with the 6 stop, but that really is far more extreme then I chose to go! :)

And last but not least, my set of Cokin grad filters. Grad just means dark on top and light on bottom. The usefulness of these is to make it a more correct exposure when you have a bright sky and a less then bright foreground. I have two of them. A hard grad, which has a line in the middle, where the darkness stars in the middle. The soft grad, it starts off dark and slowly graduates to light on the bottom. No point of starting or stoping with the strength of the ND.

So, that in a nut shell is what I own and what the use of each one is. I love to push my exposure. Wether I want a quarter of a second exposure or a couple of minutes worth of exposures, I have it all covered here. The reason I went with the ND filters is because I LOVE long exposures and when day light savings hit, I knew it was the only way I was going to get TIME out of my shots during the day. At which is now the only time I am able to get to the beach for shooting! There is no way I can hang out till 9PM just for a beach long exposure! I have a family! :)

I hope this is helpful to you and I sure will let you all know when I get a new filter. As of right now, I am totally happy with the filters I have in my bag! :)

For this image, I used the B+W ND106 and YES, I got VERY wet from this one!

Why stack?

My main recourse for showing off my photos is Flickr. For the most part, it it the only place where I receive feedback and well, I receive praise for my work! WHO does not love that? But once in a while I get questions and once in a while, I missed the chance to answer that question! What is it that I am asked the most about? My star trails! The one question that was asked and I never got a chance to ask, because it was deleted or I just cannot find it, why do I stack my star trails and not take one long one?

The image above is 3.5 hours worth of exposures. Each and every exposure being 30 seconds long and then I stack them together to make one image. Now, imagine if I would have taken a single exposure even half that amount of time! Not only is it tough to post process to make it look like a night time image, but that would be if it was not totally washed out! :) SO, thats why. Why 30 seconds for the stacking time? Because my camera only goes to 30 seconds with out help and I am not willing to sit by my camera for 3+ hours to turn on and off the shutter every 2 to 5 minutes! However, I am working on getting some new gear for my bag that will do that for me! Stay tuned for the new timer remote! (Soon, I hope)

The next thing I hear all the time, "Such a long process, so much involved!" Yes, there are many steps involved! But each and every one is easy! And if you are stacking, you defiantly can play around with ISO, if your camera can handle it, go for ISO 500! Or higher. But ISO 400 is quite comfortable for just about any camera.

1) Go wide! Wide aperture and wide lens. F/3.5 or F/4 is great! But makes a difference, so the best way to know what works for you is to play around. Set your camera for a 30 second exposure then change the aperture for another 30 second exposure to see what you get! Time is what is needed to make it perfect for you! It took me months of doing star trails before I realized I love to keep it at f/3.5. And the wide lens, when you are doing star trails, the more wide, the less gaps between images. Gaps happen. But going wide will make a huge difference. My choice of lens is my Tamron 10-24mm. And I set to 10mm.

2) Set your camera to Continuous shooting mode which will keep your camera shooting when you walk away. That with the help of a shutter lock. Which is a cable that locks the exposure so that, once again, when you walk away, the camera keeps clicking.

3) Set your camera up to your composition, take a few test shots and make sure that your settings are going to work for how dark it is. A full moon will make a difference on the final outcome!

4) jPeg VS. RAW! Well, any one who is any one shoots RAW, right? Well, I am not saying I am any one, but I shot raw! Except for these star trails! Because when you take 300+ images, there is NO chance I am going into all the images to do the extra sharpening that is automatic with jPeg! Now, I have done both ways, but when you do RAW, you need to batch process the images, and make them jPeg to work the stacking software. Well, at least the only software I know! To convert from RAW to jPeg is a LONG but painless process! So shoot which ever way you want to! It will work.

5) Once you have all of your images that you want to stack together, you can stack them together using any of the many programs out there to do the trick. I hear that Photo Shop does stacking, so if you have it, use it! I heard its a little cumbersome, but I have no idea, I have never played with Photo Shop! The software I use is free and easy, however, only useable on PC. Because I am a MAC user, I have to dust off the PC for this. But I do so many star trails now, there is no more dust left!

www.startrails.de/html/software.html

There is the link for what I use. I sure do hope you take some time to try this your self!

Then, last but not least, a LOT of people tell me, "Oh, I want to try this!" GO FOR IT! Thats what I say. Get out of the city and shoot! Instead of shoot for the stars, go and shoot the stars!

The image above:

421 exposures, 30 seconds each

ISO 400

f/3.5

10mm

OH, and I forgot to say, this was on the evening where we got a 5.7 earthquake that was 54 miles from our home. The shift in the composition is from the quake, so there is not 2 north stars! :)

A beautiful sunset!

So, it has been a little longer then normal sense I have done anything here on my blog. Partly due to pain. Been dealing with pain in both arms, which means less typing. Have I been on the computer any less? No, but I have been limiting my activity. So perhaps a little less. Any way, I thought sense I went out earlier this week and got some pretty cool image, I wanted to share one with any one who came across this and wanted to see it. I am still not sure any one is even reading my blog, and I hope people are. Perhaps I need to promote myself? :) I will have to think about that one. Any way, here is one sunset that I really enjoyed, and even though I came home with a broken DS light, took a swim at the hands of my 5 year old, I was still happy with the actual sunset. Please enjoy!

Why do I care?

Oh, I have to say, I Like attention. I like it a lot! You might even call me a ham. I love attention wether it be at work, or online with flickr. Even facebook, bring it on! I have to admit, facebook has not seem much of me. And Flickr has, but much to my pain. Typing is not easy these days with my pain level, but I still love attention.

As of late, I have not been getting noticed much on Flickr. And I know why. When I show off my art work at my store or out and about with my iPad, I get noticed. But in the wonderful community of Flickr, my work is OK compared to the pros! And there is a good chance that my work is the same day after day after day! The point is, I need to do better. I need to get better. Otherwise I will get lost in the shuffle.

So, here is what I want to show, even though it is just more of the same, I cannot help but like it. This particular evening, my husband and I met up with a flickr friend and just enjoyed the beautiful sunset and evening. What I found is that his few images he posted on flickr were much better then mine! What? :) But thats ok, because I have a lot to learn still and he had been shooting for years. I will get better! And I will learn to step out of the box I am in!

Please enjoy!