I want to create amazing Landscapes, what do I need? Quick test added- post 78

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lukewoodford

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OK I know its all about Light, compostion etc but I want to know exactly what I need. The type of this I want to aim for with practise is this http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=98332&highlight=torridon

I dont know much about filters and stuff so please help me. I have the sigma 50mm 1.4 which takes 77mm filters and at some point ill be getting the 24-70 which also takes 77mm filters. Any tips on exposure and equipment would be great. Thank you :)

EDIT: I do have the tamron 17-50 aswell but will be selling at some point.

Another EDIT: What to I exposure for? Do I expose for the lightest part of the image to get best results? And use spot metering?
 
Luke the first thing you will need is a decent set of ND grads,Lee filters are about one of the best but there are cheaper options around a filter holder,adapter ring to attach holder to your lens and a polarizer filter
A good heavy tripod also as it can get wild and windy along shorelines
A decent alarm clock to get you up also.......

Cathal
 
Cathald said:
Luke the first thing you will need is a decent set of ND grads,Lee filters are about one of the best but there are cheaper options around a filter holder,adapter ring to attach holder to your lens and a polarizer filter
A good heavy tripod also as it can get wild and windy along shorelines
A decent alarm clock to get you up also.......

Cathal
Click to expand...


Thanks for the reply. I have a good tripod which is good. Is there a set I can buy to get all of this filter stuff together that you know of or do I have to buy it all seperatly?
 
There are lots of places that do the lee system but they are all around the one price
here is a kit set-up but remember you have to get the adapter ring that suits your lens seperate 77mm in your case.http://www.morco.uk.com/latest/leedigital.html
Some places you can ring up and ask them to change the filters that come with the kit
I would go for a 2 stop and 3 stop ND Grad
 
This is what I started with...

Lee Foundation Kit
Lee 105mm screw-on filter adapter ring
Lee 82mm wide angle adapter ring
HiTech soft edged GND set of 3 x 100mm filters

Just purchased...

Lee 77mm wide angle adapter ring
Heliopan 105mm circular polarizer
HiTech 3.0 ND (10 stop) 100mm filter

You could probably get away with blu-tac and a pair of tinted spectacles or some other money saving device as many seem to keep saying. But if you want decent gear to do the job properly and reliably, then this works well for me.
 
Cathald said:
There are lots of places that do the lee system but they are all around the one price
here is a kit set-up but remember you have to get the adapter ring that suits your lens seperate 77mm in your case.http://www.morco.uk.com/latest/leedigital.html
Some places you can ring up and ask them to change the filters that come with the kit
I would go for a 2 stop and 3 stop ND Grad
Click to expand...

Thanks for that, I think I need to do some research on these filters because I dont get stuff like why it comes with 2 0.6 ND Grads, I dont get the difference. Research time.
 
68lbs said:
This is what I started with...

Lee Foundation Kit
Lee 105mm screw-on filter adapter ring
Lee 82mm wide angle adapter ring
HiTech soft edged GND set of 3 x 100mm filters

Just purchased...

Lee 77mm wide angle adapter ring
Heliopan 105mm circular polarizer
HiTech 3.0 ND (10 stop) 100mm filter

You could probably get away with blu-tac and a pair of tinted spectacles or some other money saving device as many seem to keep saying. But if you want decent gear to do the job properly and reliably, then this works well for me.
Click to expand...


Yes id rather invest in decent gear.
 
lukewoodford said:
Thanks for that, I think I need to do some research on these filters because I dont get stuff like why it comes with 2 0.6 ND Grads, I dont get the difference. Research time.
Click to expand...

One of them is the full ND filter and the other is the graduated ND
 
Light and composition is all you really need, get that nailed first and then move on to gear. Having a quick look at your website I don't think you'll have a problem :)

Landscapes is ALL about light. I bet Simon revisited those locations quite a few times, I know he did for the Snowdon sets he produces.
You will need a wide lens though, so selling the Tamron, unles you have a replacement lined up may be bets put on hold.
 
Is it not possible to mimic the effect of the filters during your post processing like in Photoshop? I've always wondered this.
 
I agree, I'd like to learn how to use filters properly to reduce the amount of processing I do.
 
KayJay said:
I agree, I'd like to learn how to use filters properly to reduce the amount of processing I do.
Click to expand...

Yeah I like processing to some extent but the main thing I want to achieve is smooth water like in the torridon set I posted in my first post, m 95% sure I need filters for this.
 
chewyuk said:
Light and composition is all you really need, get that nailed first and then move on to gear. Having a quick look at your website I don't think you'll have a problem :)

Landscapes is ALL about light. I bet Simon revisited those locations quite a few times, I know he did for the Snowdon sets he produces.
You will need a wide lens though, so selling the Tamron, unles you have a replacement lined up may be bets put on hold.
Click to expand...

Yeah ive got to the stage where I understand exactly what its about so want to get the equipment get the type of shots I want.
 
chewyuk said:
As 68lbs says the, next steps are filters. Are you restricted to a budget?
Click to expand...

Not really, ive found that if I get the cheaper stuff (like with my £40 tripod from currys) I quicky upgrade. Id rather invest in decent stuff. Im looking to try and sell landscape pics at some point so i dont mind investing.
 
I also use a B&W 110 filter 10stops a few of my shots were 4 mins in daylight and this really smooths the water out
 
Cathald said:
I also use a B&W 110 filter 10stops a few of my shots were 4 mins in daylight and this really smooths the water out
Click to expand...

This is a situation where it would be handy to have photographers into this kind of thing live near me so i could just meet up with them and see what they use and how it works etc.
 
lukewoodford said:
Im looking to try and sell landscape pics at some point so i dont mind investing.
Click to expand...

Ok... to give you an idea, I also purchased a set of 3 100mm ND filters when I started, that I forgot about before. My total spend with Teamwork though (looked today when placed latest order today) is over £450 so far, so it's not cheap!
 
interesting read for a beginner, but yikes filter cost loads there.

have those pics in the first link been PP /PS
 
lukewoodford said:
By the way why do I need a wide angle? is it to do with filters or just because they are good for landscapes?
Click to expand...


out of curiosity why wanting to sell the tamron 17-50?
 
Matt T said:
Well you obviously want to get as much of the landscape in shot.
Click to expand...

Not nessicarily (spell check) when ive tried it ive sometimes zoomed in a bit to get a better composition. You dont allways want to get as much as you can in the picture because it might not all be good.
 
lukewoodford said:
What to I exposure for? Do I expose for the lightest part of the image to get best results? And use spot metering?
Click to expand...

Isn't this thread about buying filters so that you can 'average out' the scene?

In which case meter sky, meter land and either lock exposure or set in manual. Note difference between two readings and install appropriate GND. Shoot!

Gosh, I sound like I know what I'm doing (am I right?)! Just need to put it into practice to better effect! :D
 
lukewoodford said:
What to I exposure for? Do I expose for the lightest part of the image to get best results? And use spot metering?
Click to expand...

That's going to be entirely dependent on the circumstance mate.

Matrix and partial also have their places in landscape photography, it just depends on how accurate the metering modes are.

I would recommend using the bracketing facility on your D700, whether you plan on exposure blending or composites afterward is not relevant, with a series of images taken in bracket mode you can pick the most suitable/correct exposure and it will also help you to set your own preferences.
A series of differently exposed images combined with the use of grad filters is a very safe and productive method.

It's a little heavy on memory but it will also act as a safety precaution in the early days of finding your feet. (y)
 
Tomas Whitehouse said:
That's going to be entirely dependent on the circumstance mate.

Matrix and partial also have their places in landscape photography, it just depends on how accurate the metering modes are.

I would recommend using the bracketing facility on your D700, whether you plan on exposure blending or composites afterward is not relevant, with a series of images taken in bracket mode you can pick the most suitable/correct exposure and it will also help you to set your own preferences.
A series of differently exposed images combined with the use of grad filters is a very safe and productive method.

It's a little heavy on memory but it will also act as a safety precaution in the early days of finding your feet. (y)
Click to expand...

Cheers mate that sounds like the safest option, I guess the more I do it the more I learn, I just want to try and get everything right in my head before I go because the location is quite a mission to get too (busses as I dont drive).
 
lukewoodford said:
I just want to try and get everything right in my head before I go because the location is quite a mission to get too (busses as I dont drive).
Click to expand...

That's a good way to think, I know what you mean too, I don't drive either so public transport and very kind buddies are my only 'wheels'.
 
Tomas Whitehouse said:
That's going to be entirely dependent on the circumstance mate.

Matrix and partial also have their places in landscape photography, it just depends on how accurate the metering modes are.

I would recommend using the bracketing facility on your D700, whether you plan on exposure blending or composites afterward is not relevant, with a series of images taken in bracket mode you can pick the most suitable/correct exposure and it will also help you to set your own preferences.
A series of differently exposed images combined with the use of grad filters is a very safe and productive method.

It's a little heavy on memory but it will also act as a safety precaution in the early days of finding your feet. (y)
Click to expand...

Thats very good advice. It also means you can create HDR versions if you so desire.

Regarding digital exposure, far more data is allocated to the highlights. It's often recommended to overexpose by 1/2 a stop, and brought back down in PP.

A general - and easy - rule to follow to ensure you capture the most detail to ensure there is data in the last fifth of your histogram. if you have no data in the last fifth, theoretically, you're losing up to half of the data you could potentially capture.

More information here. Read this fully!

Finally, make sure you shoot in 14bit RAW, as again, there is more data available for higher definition throughout the range. Unlike your old D300, the D700/D3's FPS doesn't slow down when shooting 14bit RAW. Not essential for landscapes but nice to know nonetheless :)
 
Having the best kit and the theory nailled is all well and good, but the best way to learn is to actually go out and shoot, try new things and see what happens.

Or get on a landscape course, I can recommend www.fotocourses.com.

If you do want to read up on metering look at the zone system (and Ansel Adams).
 
rdh said:
Thats very good advice. It also means you can create HDR versions if you so desire.

Regarding digital exposure, far more data is allocated to the highlights. It's often recommended to overexpose by 1/2 a stop, and brought back down in PP.

A general - and easy - rule to follow to ensure you capture the most detail to ensure there is data in the last fifth of your histogram. if you have no data in the last fifth, theoretically, you're losing up to half of the data you could potentially capture.

More information here. Read this fully!

Finally, make sure you shoot in 14bit RAW, as again, there is more data available for higher definition throughout the range. Unlike your old D300, the D700/D3's FPS doesn't slow down when shooting 14bit RAW. Not essential for landscapes but nice to know nonetheless :)
Click to expand...


Thanks for the advice, silly question- is all RAW from my camera 14bit or are there different options like 12bit? I just though RAW was RAW?

EDIT: just seen iyou can have 12 bit.
 
rdh said:
Regarding digital exposure, far more data is allocated to the highlights. It's often recommended to overexpose by 1/2 a stop, and brought back down in PP.
Click to expand...

Really, ive heard to underexpose so your sure highlights arent blown out.
 
Good thread. I can't use filters on my 14 to 24, so have to rely on bracketing. I have the 10 stop for my 24 to 70, it is an epic but expensive filter.

Gary.
 
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