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- Nigel
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As Nicola sorted out her wardrobe I headed out into the wind. Upon reaching Ramore Head was treated to some spectacular waves smashing over the coastline, towering tens of metres above sea level. The sky was moody and foreboding but thankfully for the most part kept its watery innards to itself ...
While a faster shutter speed would have frozen the waves I quite liked slowing the shutter using a 0.9 ND Grad (to help balance the brighter parts of the sky) and then a 3 stop ND filter (to allow me to slow the shutter speed a little) to help calm things down a little. I also needed to decrease my aperture to f/16 (from f/11) to help with the shutter speed as I found the 3 stop filter only giving me around 1-1.5 seconds of shutter speed. My next filter choice was 10 stop and this would have increased the shutter speed too much.
Of course balancing shutter speed with crashing waves can be tricky. Too long an exposure and things get a bit misty, which while great for some images wasn't what I was looking for here. I also spent a bit of time counting, as the waves formed out to sea, to ensure my 2 seconds started when I wanted it. The final bit to consider was mother nature herself as of course not every wave crashed just the way I wanted it.
Was a great first little bimble with the camera, no more than 10 minutes from the front door of our new home. Walking in these conditions really does make for a fantastic substitute to caffeine. I felt so alive and thankful to be able to be out in it.
Camera: Fuji XE2
Lens : Fuji 10-24
Filters: 0.9 ND Grad, 3 stop ND
Settings - f/16, 11mm, ISO 200, 2 seconds
Location - Ramore Head, Portrush, Northern Ireland
[url=https://flic.kr/p/D4eu1t]
Who Needs Coffee ? by Nigel Cooke, on Flickr[/URL]
While a faster shutter speed would have frozen the waves I quite liked slowing the shutter using a 0.9 ND Grad (to help balance the brighter parts of the sky) and then a 3 stop ND filter (to allow me to slow the shutter speed a little) to help calm things down a little. I also needed to decrease my aperture to f/16 (from f/11) to help with the shutter speed as I found the 3 stop filter only giving me around 1-1.5 seconds of shutter speed. My next filter choice was 10 stop and this would have increased the shutter speed too much.
Of course balancing shutter speed with crashing waves can be tricky. Too long an exposure and things get a bit misty, which while great for some images wasn't what I was looking for here. I also spent a bit of time counting, as the waves formed out to sea, to ensure my 2 seconds started when I wanted it. The final bit to consider was mother nature herself as of course not every wave crashed just the way I wanted it.
Was a great first little bimble with the camera, no more than 10 minutes from the front door of our new home. Walking in these conditions really does make for a fantastic substitute to caffeine. I felt so alive and thankful to be able to be out in it.
Camera: Fuji XE2
Lens : Fuji 10-24
Filters: 0.9 ND Grad, 3 stop ND
Settings - f/16, 11mm, ISO 200, 2 seconds
Location - Ramore Head, Portrush, Northern Ireland
[url=https://flic.kr/p/D4eu1t]
Who Needs Coffee ? by Nigel Cooke, on Flickr[/URL]
To be honest I wasn't particularly thinking about scale when I made the image (not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing) .... I was more interested in calming the waves through a slightly longer exposure to see how it looked ... If I'm honest I prefer the look of the sea itself to the right of the frame rather than the breaking wave itself .... 
