Filters????

photographyman

photographyman

Messages
298
Name
Alan
Edit My Images
No
Hi Guys,

Apologises firstly if this question is asked a million times. I have looked through the forum first...

I have just bought myself the Lee 100mm foundation kit, I will be using my 50mm lens for the time being as I am new to landscape photos. I have got the 58 mm standard adapter.

My question is; which 2 filters should I start out with, I hope to shoot some waterfalls, seascapes and general landscapes, also I am off to scotland in August( kintyre). I cant afford the big stopper yet, I have been looking at Hitech 0.9 Nd filter and Grad, would this be a good start? Or maybe the 1.2 ND Filter?

I dont want to buy allsorts just yet, just the defo must have for now...:/

Thanks for your help.


P.s im not new to photography but I am new to landscapes...
 
Welcome to our landscape corner Alan!

A couple of blog posts I wrote might help you;

http://www.markmullenphotography.co.uk/blog/2013/3/filters-for-landscape-photography - ND Grads

http://www.markmullenphotography.co.uk/blog/2012/8/long-exposure-photography---my-tips - Long exposures.


If I was going to buy two filters for a trip to Scotland I'd take a 3 stop hard edged grad, and a 3 stop solid ND. With that you can reduce skies blowing out and also slow down water in seascapes and waterfalls. If you go for 150mm long filters you can also, if necessary, use the 3 stop hard edged grad pulled down over the whole lens to give you 6 stops of filtration, ideal for silky water seascapes etc.
 
Thanks for the welcome mark, and thanks for all your info. I will read your blog later.

I will go and place an order now.

I am after some really long exposures of waterfalls and seascapes, some black and white conversions as well. I thought i may of needed a big stopper, bit expensive just yet.
 
To get the silky water look you might not need a 10 stop, it depends on the ambient light, and the flow of the water.

Shoot a slowly running stream at midday in bright sun and you may well need a 10 stop to get the effect, shoot a raging waterfall at dusk and you might not need any filters at all, just low ISO and a small aperture should be sufficient to give you a long enough shutter speed to blur the water.

If you're wanting to keep the cost down, and are looking to shoot in B&W then look into using welding glass for really long exposures, I've never used it myself but the major issue is colour casts, which is minimised if you're shooting for B&W.
 
Thanks again for that Mark, it makes perfect sense. I am familiar with lighting as I have been studying light to help with some portraits.
Just need to go and practice.

Thanks for the welding glass tip, my dads a welder.....
 
photographyman said:
Thanks again for that Mark, it makes perfect sense. I am familiar with lighting as I have been studying light to help with some portraits.
Just need to go and practice.
Click to expand...



Glad to help.

From Manchester you're only just up the road to the lakes if you want to practice ahead of your trip.


photographyman said:
Thanks for the welding glass tip, my dads a welder.....
Click to expand...

Bonanza, just remember to leave him some to weld with :LOL:
 
If you use the Lee or Hitech 100 x 150mm hard grads they can be pulled down to cover the lens and used as a standard grad.
If you were to buy a 0.9 and 0.6 hard grad which are a very useful combination anyway they can be stacked and used as standards.
If you have a polariser (well worth having for water shots anyway) this can be used in conjunction with the grads to further reduce the light and are often enough to lengthen the exposure sufficient to introduce trhe effects you are looking for, particularly if the ambient light is not too great anyway.
 
Thanks guys for all your comments, much appreciate the help.

Ive been shooting sports for the past 18 months, I fancied a change. I have a 70 - 200mm and have been debating whether to sell it to fund some landscape equipment. :/
 
I've had a look at your site mark, must say I'm very impressed and inspired. The 0.9 hitech is hard to get hold of, what do you think of the 1.2 ND grad?
 
photographyman said:
I've had a look at your site mark, must say I'm very impressed and inspired. The 0.9 hitech is hard to get hold of, what do you think of the 1.2 ND grad?
Click to expand...

Thanks for your kind words.

A 4 stop would be a bit much for me, I tend to use a 3 stop for most of my shots.

Teamwork are usually good for stock, if you've not tried them.
 
I know you said you're after Hitech, however if you wanted to spend a bit more and get LEE filters Robert White are great retailers, and no, I don't work for them :LOL:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top