Wide Angle Milky Water Shots

GrittyShaker

GrittyShaker

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Scott
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Just wondering if anyone can give me any advice on how to take them. Those ones with rocks and such in the foreground, that capture the movement of the waves. I had a little trip to the beach today to try them out, using the kit lens at 18mm, and the results are less than perfect.

At 18mm, the smallest achievable aperture is f22. I had the ISO at its lowest, and the longest shutter speed I could manage was under a second.

Would a neutral density filter be a good idea for these sort of shots? Any other suggestions?

Here's the best I could manage:

4300213175_e71ca675e5.jpg


Cheers. :)
 
I am sure someone who knows a lot more than me will be along shortly to give a more comprehensive answer but I would say an ND filter would certainly help with this. Looking at your image, there seems to be a lot of light around, even at F22 so an ND would bring the light down, I am not sure which grade though HTH. Iain
 
Thanks. :thumbs: It was quite a dismal day, so I was hoping that would help. Obviously it hasn't helped enough though. I'd have had no chance if the sun was shining.
 
Trying earlier in the morning or later in the day when light levels are lower will also help let you get a longer shutter speed, but as said the best solution is to use an ND filter.

Tommy.
 
Get a 10 Stop ND filter. It'll give you MUCH longer exposures to get shots like this:

240 second exposure, I took it late last year.

 
Brilliant! Thanks for the comments. Excellent shot. :thumbs:

Will any brand of filter do the trick, or should I fork out for a decent quality one? 7dayshop seem to do them quite cheaply.
 
You could also try taking them at dusk (or dawn if you want to get up early). The long exposure will record enough light so that the resulting image will appear as if it was taken during normal daylight hours.
 
I think getting a shot from a lower vantage point would also give a better picture.
Cheers Paul
 
Yeah it looks like you were so set on having a long shutter speed you've blown out the whole shot :(... Sometimes its best to go for a quicker exposure
 
Yep, an ND filter is about all you can do there. At f/22 you'll get softening of the image anyway due to such a small aperture as well. If you don't want to invest in an expensive 10-stop, I can highly recommend a welding glass filter to get you going! :D
 
There are some cheap-ish 8-stops on Ebay, which I'm considering, but welding glass might be a good substitute. Thanks Chris. :thumbs: B&W filters are a bit pricey for me at the moment, when I don't really know if I'll get the use out of them.

I'm a bit reluctant to go to that location at dusk, but perhaps I can find somewhere else local. It's a pretty harsh location, with no artificial light, and lots of rocky areas. I'd be worried about getting a bit lost if it got dark quickly, or worse, falling over on rocks and landing on my kit.
 
GrittyShaker said:
There are some cheap-ish 8-stops on Ebay, which I'm considering, but welding glass might be a good substitute. Thanks Chris. :thumbs:
Click to expand...

No worries! If it helps, my welding glass is 13 and a third stops (if memory serves), and cost £2, and I was genuinely surprised to see minimal image degradation!
 
I looked at that thread a few months ago and, whilst liking the shots, I still didn't really know what the whole pooint of it was. How embarrassing. :D Long exposures in daylight. It all makes sense now. I love long exposures, so really should invest in welding glass or a properly dark filter.
 
Gritty - your tripod might not go any lower, but can you reverse the column? Then it will because the camera will hang upside down from the centre column, between the legs.

Try unscrewing the either the head, or the bottom of the column and sliding it out, then sliding it back in the other way up. Then mount the camera and away you go, low vantage point tripod.
 
The filter you want is a B+W ten-stops ND, or six-stops ND. Nobody else makes screw-in ND filters anything like that dark (except Hoya, expensive, special order only). The 8x filter you are looking at is eight times the exposure time, which is only three stops and not much use at all. Ten stops is 1,000x times, so 1/1000sec becomes one full second. That is the one most people go for. I bought one last week from here http://www.fotosense.co.uk/b-w-110-3-0-sh-ndx1000-58mm-neutral-density-filter.html Good price at £28 in 58mm, and in stock which they very often are not.

You need screw-in to seal the filter against light leaks. For the same reason, be sure to cover the viewfinder eye-piece during the exposure. There's lots of stuff on here about using ND filters if you search. The welding glass option also works okay but is a bit of a faff to seal against the lens and correcting the strong green colour cast.
 
Lensflare said:
Gritty - your tripod might not go any lower, but can you reverse the column? Then it will because the camera will hang upside down from the centre column, between the legs.

Try unscrewing the either the head, or the bottom of the column and sliding it out, then sliding it back in the other way up. Then mount the camera and away you go, low vantage point tripod.
Click to expand...

I don't think it does, to be honest, but I will check. It's not the best tripod (no disrespect to by best buddy who bought it for me, who might be reading this thread :p) when it comes to anything precision, or anything a bit more advanced like upside-down mounting. I need to get my hands on a better one sharpish.

Nick T; sold! :p
 
Is that Paddys Hole at Redcar ?-it looks familiar.

I agree with the other comments about shooting at the end/beginning of the day when the light is low.

ND filters will help during the day, but you get a much better quality of light around sunrise/sunset
 
Sounds like a plan! :thumbs: I should have my ND filter by the weekend, so whether it's daylight hours or not is irrelevant. It'll just be weather dependent.

Although I've got the afternoon off work on Thursday, so might go then. Don't know if you're free on weekdays or not?
 
Might be a little bit too dark by then. :D

I'll see what the weather does on Thursday, and play it by ear. Nothing stopping us going somewhere else at the weekend, if I've already been to Redcar. How's that for a plan?
 
GrittyShaker said:
It is indeed Paddy's Hole. I might have another trip there this weekend, but leave it a bit later in the day. Thanks. :thumbs:
Click to expand...

20sec @f14, 50mm F1.4 lens-Paddy's Hole

VK0I2953.jpg
 
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