Taken around 8.45pm with a 30 second exposure.
Taken around 8.45pm with a 30 second exposure.
Read less
Read less
Views
2563
Likes
Awards
Featured
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Magnificent Capture
Outstanding Creativity
All Star
Superior Skill
Virtuoso
Genius
Top Ranks
Categories
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
Eastbourne, England.Time
It was taken around 7 - 9pm.Lighting
It was natural lighting - I liked the deep blues in the sky juxtaposed with the warm glow of the sunset on the pier pavillion as it added a lot of warmth to the image.Equipment
I used a Canon Eos 5DSR & Canon 24 - 70mm L series lens with some budget 100mm Zomei ND filters taped to the front of the lens. The camera was mounted on a velbon tripod.Inspiration
I'd really wanted to take a photo of the pier & capture the movement of the clouds and water, as previously I'd not really done any photos like this & had never tried long exposure seascapes before. I wanted to challenge myself & try something new.Editing
I sharpened the image a little, and did some exposure and colour saturation adjustment. I cropped the image as I thought there was a bit too much empty sky above the pier, and corrected the colour cast/vignetting (as I was using cheap filters).In my camera bag
Generally I take a number of different things as quite often these pictures are taken when I'm on a trip so I'll bring equipment to allow me to take a variety of different subjects. Typically it'll be: Domke F2 Ballistic camera bag as they can fit a ton of gear in a fairly small bag. Camera gear is more easily accessible than a backpack & it has good clips to prevent theft etc. It's size is also good for travel as it fits in both the overhead luggage compartment and under the seats on flights etc. Sony A7 full frame & two lenses (usually two of either the Sony 24 - 70mm f/4, the 16 - 35mm, or the 20mm). A Leica M Type 240 with a Zeiss 50mm and a 7Artisans 28mm (incredible lens for the money). (I bring the Leica as I like the quality of the images it produces and I find it really good for cities and street photography. Downside is that it weighs a lot. 3Legged Thing 'Brian' tripod (either clipped to the bag or carried seperately. They're an English company that produce high-end carbon fibre tripods at reasonable prices. Their tripods weigh next to nothing but are very stable, can extend to a standard tripod height, and fold down to as short as 35cm so they take up very little room in the bag. A Sony flash. 8x AA batteries. 6 x Sony batteries (as Sony's battery life sucks and I tend to get through a few when doing long exposures). 2x Leica batteries. A Benro 100mm filter holder & 3 to 8 Lee or Ice 100mm filters (occasionally K&F Concept filters as they're also excellent) depending on need. Generally it'll be a 10-stop ND, a light pollution filter, and a soft ND graduated filter (usually around an ND2 - 4 equivalent to pull some detail out of flat skies but not too dark to make it look weird and overdone). I'll also have a Benro polariser for it's filter holder system though I don't use it much as it creates a bit of vignetting. Lens cloth. A Benro 150 mm light tent that you wrap round the lens/filter holder on bright days. A Hahnel Capture Pro wireless shutter trigger (trigger & receiver). I find using a trigger reduces camera shake that can affect image sharpness. Mobile so I can track sunset times and weather etc. The light is also useful when it gets darker. A piece of black cloth. It can act as a lens cleaner, light tent, and ND filter (by moving it back & forth in front of the lens).Feedback
Mostly my advice would be to be patient and make sure you have the appropriate gear. I'm still relatively new to long exposure photography so I'm still learning by doing. Good ND filters are essential to control the light & prevent the photo from being too bright. When I took this I didn't really have any decent filters and the Zomei filter holder I used was pretty basic which compromised the image quality a bit. The Zomei filters produced quite a purple colour cast and a bit of vignetting that needed a bit of editing as a result. My tripod was a good but fairly basic Velbon tripod/tripod head (that I'd bought primarily because it was light and good for travel) that was difficult to stabilise. Since then I've invested in a much better 3legged thing carbon fibre tripod that's much more stable & less prone to vibration from the wind etc - and folds down to about 35cm so it's ideal for carying about. I also found that although they cost much more; investing in a better filter holder (a Benro FH100M2B) and better filters (mostly Lee and Ice filters) improved the quality of the photos considerably. A light pollution filter has been a great addition as it really eliminates glare and colour cast when doing long exposures at night. I'd recommending getting a wireless shutter trigger (I use a Hahnel) as you can cause vibration & a blurry shot from touching the camera. You could however, but the camera on a ten second timer to reduce shake as I did with this photo. Remember to set long exposure noise reduction on the camera if you can, and try to keep the ISO low(ish). You can vary aperture to taste but be mindful of making sure any foreground subjects remain sharp (assuming you want them to be sharp). Finally - don't just do 30+ second exposures for every shot. Sometimes shots with a shutter speed of 2-5 seconds can produce some really pleasing results if there's movement in the water.