Lee Big Stopper Use Question

[TurnipFarmer]

I have finally got round to having ago with my Lee Big Stopper today and quite impressed with the results.

For those who also have one, I have a question.

How do you achieve really long exposures ie in the 3-4 mins exposure that I have seen on peoples websites and on Flickr?

I have tried doing it for that long with a timed remote shutter and the result of the image still looks over exposed. Is it a simple fact that you do the photos at the start of the day or the end?

 

[Stu Meech]

Yes, the earlier/later in the day you shoot, the longer you can push an exposure. I've often got 2mins at f/8 rapidly approaching sunset, so if I totted it up to f/11 I'd have 4mins etc.

One way I have got longer times in the day is to use a 10 stop in conjunction with a 3 stop ND to get a good 2min exposure at f/8 or f/11 which is usually sharper than going to f/16 or f/22 due to diffraction.

I find 2mins to be more than enough anyway

 

[J.D.]

I have finally got round to having ago with my Lee Big Stopper today and quite impressed with the results.

For those who also have one, I have a question.

How do you achieve really long exposures ie in the 3-4 mins exposure that I have seen on peoples websites and on Flickr?

I have tried doing it for that long with a timed remote shutter and the result of the image still looks over exposed. Is it a simple fact that you do the photos at the start of the day or the end?

For exposures of 4 minutes you'd be looking at a shutter speed of 1/250 without the filter, so it depends on the light levels but that shouldnt be too hard to achieve in daylight if you're using a small aperture and low ISO (for landscapes I'll usually be at f/11-16 ISO 100)

The filters arent always exactly 10 stop and there could be ather factors affecting the length of exposure so I usually calculate the approx time needed then use the histogram to fine tune it. With a bit of practice and trial and error you'll be able to judge the time needed.

The longer the exposure though the more noise you are going to get so its a case of finding the shortest exposure that will give you the effect you want - as Stu says a minute or 2 will usually be enough to blur clouds/smooth water etc