PRO KIT
L BRACKET
Neil says... 3 Legged Thing makes
a dedicated L bracket for the Nikon
Z 6 and Z 7, called ‘Zelda’. It’s so
handy, providing much more
stability when shooting in portrait
orientation. Mine never comes off
the camera as it still provides
access to the side ports, card slot
and battery. I actually carry a little
plastic spoon, which makes it easier
to lever open the flap that covers
the shutter release port.Very long exposures can be vulnerable
to changing weather conditions.“I just don’t think about using portrait
orientation for landscapes,” Sally admitted.
“It depends on the subject,” said Neil.
“Because this isn’t the most interesting
subject, I think we need to focus on the
movement in the sky.”
Sally framed the image to include more
sky and Neil dropped in a 16-stop ND filter.
“That ’ll be around 4 minutes 22 seconds,”
he said checking the app. “It should provide
plenty of movement in the clouds.”
The Z 7’s Time mode proved useful here.
“I prefer it to Bulb mode,” said Neil. “Instead
of holding down the shutter button for the
duration of the exposure, you simply press
it to start the exposure and press it again
when you want to end it.”
Sally activated the shutter release cable
and noted that the fishermen on the pier
provided additional interest. Neil agreed
and explained that with more time he’d
either wait or return in the future, hoping to
capture three figures on the pier. He’d also
take multiple photographs as they movedabout, hoping to find the optimum spacing
between each fisherman. With Super Shot
2 in the bag, it was time to leave
Babbacombe Beach and head to Shaldon.LIGHT ON THE BEACON
Shaldon is home to the Philip Lucet te
Beacon, which is entirely surrounded by
water at high tide. Unfortunately, the
contrast between sky and sea was harsher
than at Babbacombe.
To reduce the contrast, Neil asked Sally
to place a one-stop graduated ND filter over
the 16-stop ND filter she was using. The
exposure lasted over four minutes, but four
minutes is a long time and the light
conditions kept changing.
A shorter exposure was needed, so Neil
and Sally moved further up the coast to
photograph the beacon from a higher
vantage point. The change in position
meant a land mass now obscured the
horizon line, so the Z 24-70mm f/4 S was
swapped for the 70-200mm f/2.3 Legged Thing’s Zelda is a custom Z 6 and Z 7
L-bracket for easy portrait-orientation shooting.APPRENTICE
HOW TO:
USE ND FILTERS
FRAME IT FIRST
Neil says... Frame and focus your shot,
and set your camera to its base ISO.
Now input the desired aperture and set
your shutter speed accordingly. I would
then use focus peaking to double-check
my area of focus before carefully
attaching the filter.MATH CHEAT
Neil says... If you’re a maths whizz, you
can look up the formula for calculating
the correct exposure time when using an
ND filter. However, I use the Long
Exposure Calculator app which does
everything for you. Simply input the
strength of ND filter used, your base
shutter speed and voilà!PRECISE TIMING
Neil says... After dialling in the shutter
speed I’ll use my shutter release cable
so that there’s no danger of jogging the
camera when pressing the shutter
button. I can also precisely time when
the exposure starts – handy when
shooting moving subjects like waves.1
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