TECHNIQUE
ASSESSMENT
DON’T GO TOO NARROW
Neil says... I try not to use apertures
narrower than f/11. I use ND filters, so
I’m not bothered about too much light
getting in camera. I also want the
cleanest images possible and the
narrower the aperture the more chance
you’ll get diffraction, which impacts the
resolution of your image.1
2
3
PRO KIT INVEST IN
TRIPOD SPIKES
Neil says... I’d recommend investing in a
decent mid-range tripod. It’s also worth
rinsing your tripod when using it around
seawater. I tend to use aluminium tripods,
as I’ve had problems mixing carbon fibre
and saltwater in the past. I’m a big fan of
tripod spikes – they’re invaluable if you’re
shooting on soft ground. Stability is more
important than ever when taking long
exposures, and spikes will help prevent
your tripod from slipping.Trip o d sp ike s a re us eful o n s of t gro u n d a s
they prevent the legs from slipping.Sally explained that she regularly visits her
holiday home in Portugal and spends the
evenings taking pictures on the beach. “I’ve
often tried long exposures,” she said, “but
I’ve struggled to get my exposure to last
more than a couple of seconds.”
Neil enquired as to whether or not Sally
was using Auto ISO. She smiled: “That
might be it, my dad taught me all about
shutter speed and aperture, but we never
really covered ISO.”
“Your dad learned on film cameras?”
asked Neil. “Film photographers are used
to buying a roll of film and sticking to the
same ISO.” With high tide drawing nearer,
it was settled. The first port of call would be
a particularly photogenic tree between
Babbacombe and Oddicombe Beach,
and Sally would start the day by dialling
in her ISO manually.THE RISING TIDE
The tree in question was hidden within a
small cutaway of the coastline and could
only be framed from a narrow walk way.
“This is a popular fine art spot, ” said Neil.“It’s been shot many times before with a
similar style – it’s definitely one for
long-exposure photographers.”
Sally reached for her tripod, but Neil
had other ideas. “Try framing your shot
handheld,” he said. “It’s much easier to
move around and try different
compositions when you’re not stuck down.”
Once Sally settled on an angle, she
started to set up the tripod. “That’s a good
idea,” she remarked, pointing to the spikes
on the legs of Neil’s tripod. Pushing each
spike into the soft earth made for much
greater stability – a necessity when
shooting those very long exposures.
The pair carefully framed the tree using
Nikon’s Z 14-30mm f/4 S lens to clearly
separate it from any neighbouring groups
of foliage. Neil explained that branches
could be cloned out in post, but the varying
tones in the sky would make this process
challenging. “I always try to get it as close as
possible in-camera,” he said. “It’ll help your
processing in the long run.”
The next step was to set the focus. Sally
used single-point AF, and Neil suggested8 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com
APPRENTICE
EXPERT INSIGHT
WAI T FOR T HE
RIGHT WATER LEVEL
Neil says... Long exposures of moving
water need to convey that movement.
Timing is crucial, and I’ve found the
best way to capture this is to wait until
the water recedes back into the sea.
The water is calmer when it’s pulled
back out to sea. It creates these
wonderful streaks as it curls around
pebbles and scythes through sand,
or flows off an object, like the bottom
steps in Super Shot 1.PREMIUM QUALITY
Neil says... To maximize quality, I’ll use
the Z 7’s base ISO (64) and will carefully
compose my shots to minimize
cropping. I use the virtual horizon
overlay to ensure my horizon is straight
and set the single AF point about three
quarters of the way into the frame (I use
AF-S and back-button focusing).FOCUS PEAKING
Neil says... Despite the fact that I focus
using the AF system, I like to utilize
focus peaking to double-check that I’m
satisfied with the area of focus. Focus
peaking uses a flat colour to illustrate
what areas of your image are in focus.
I prefer to set mine to red, but you can
also use a variety of other colours,
including yellow, blue and white.