Sunset/Tide question

Nick_A

Nick_A

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Nick
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this will be a really stupid question so I apologise in advance

I like the seascape photos you see with a milky sea from a longer exposure at or just after sunset. I presume these are done as the tide is coming and the light level drops? I thought seeing as I live by the sea in Morecambe I'd give it a go

Tonights high tide is at 8:31 PM, Sunset is about 8:58 PM

will this technique work with a retreating tide or only when it comes in?

I have no idea, guess I could always go and have a look anyway?
 
It does not really matter if the tide is inbound or outbound it is really a matter of getting a long enough exposure to capture the movement.

You will need to use an ND or stack what filters you have if you have any.


Regards

Nigel
 
Nick_A said:
at the moment I only have

1X ND4
1X ND4 Grad

will that be enough if I stack them?

not sure if half an hour between high tide and sunset will be enough for the tide to retreat sufficiently
Click to expand...


I am sure you will be able to use them and get a usable image, it is not the retreating tide that milks out the sea it is the movement itself, if you have a CP as well use that as that will suck 2 stops as well.

Nigel
 
Yeah I do, that was going to be next question :lol:

What I meant was, the place I'm planning on has a rocky outcrop that I planned to get the water moving over with the long exposure... I'm not sure if the tide will have retreated far enough to expose it in the half an hour between high tide and sunset... I guess I'll have to go have a look


Many thanks for your help :)
 
How long an exposure you need will depend how long after sunset you are. Very near to sunset even with four stops worth filter you may not get much more than a second, but a good long while after you could get an exposure of a few minutes even without any filters. Don't give up when things look really dark and there's not much colour left in the sky. With the shutter open long enough you can get some great stuff.
 
The best way to find out is to have an idea - then go and see what happens.

Photography is all about ideas and then putting them into practise - if you run your ideas past other people they will only turn them into THEIR way of doing things. There is no right and wrong...try putting your camera on BULB and running down the street. See what you get (neon lights help!)
Give your camera an exposure of about 2 seconds, mount a flash on second curtain synch, spin round with people all around you and fire the camera, keep spinning until the shutter closes....see what you get.

If you don't try these things that come into your head, you won't get YOUR ideas, but other peoples' idea of your ideas. You also learn more by doing it yourself and if you get it wrong, or it doesn't come out quite how you thought...ANALYSE the results and then have another go tweaking the settings to suit better.
 
In terms of the milkyness, that simply depends on the length of the exposure. You need two or three waves, at maybe four or fives seconds per wave, so you'll be looking at 10-20sec exposure time. It won't matter if it's longer than this.

How to arrive at this shutter speed is up to you. If the light level is very low, that's what you'll get anyway but you usually need to give it some help. Around sunset/rise, you could probably get a really long shutter speed just by using low ISO and a high f/number. At other times, an ND filter as well.

ND4 is only two stops, which is not a great deal of difference, The dark ND filters that people use to get long exposures in normal daylight are around ten stops - ND1000. To give you an idea, ten stops reduces 1/1000sec to 1 second.
 
many thanks for everyones help, I got out there in the end and had a play. quite happy with the result but missed the focus. I know what I need to do different know :)

this is the result, thanks again

heyshamsea_web.jpg
 
Is that down by half moon bay or near one of the groynes off the prom? Keep meaning to either get a 10 stop ND or a step up ring and mount my welding glass to that a try a few long exposures.
 
I know where you mean. Walk my dog at half moon bay when I can.
You can get some crackin sunsets from there.
 
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