The Canon Magazine 35
INCREASING the amount of blur
in a landscape is one of the many
creative options at the landscape
photographer’s disposal – and neutral-
density filters are a necessity to slow
the shutter speed down enough to do it.
Neutral-density filters, or NDs as they’re
also known, are filters that reduce the
amount of light that passes through them
by a specified number of stops. NDs are
typically available in one-, two-, three-
and four-stop strengths; as their name
suggests, they have no effect on colour.
NEUTRAL-DENSITY FILTERS
Blur motion without affecting the colour balance in your shot
80004000200010005(^00)
(^052)
(^521)
124851 0306
CES
S^2
EC
(^5) S
EC
60 secs
(^821)
(^00)
023 0046
0
061
0
8
0
(^40)
0
(^200)
100 50
0
ISO
f/16 100
SHOOT LIKE A PRO WITH NEUTRAL-DENSITY FILTERS
When James shot this scene the standard exposure, with a polarizer
attached to remove glare, was 1/4 sec. Adding a two-stop ND increased
the exposure to a full second. This wasn’t quite enough to create silky-
smooth water, so adding a six-stop ND as well extended the exposure to
60 secs. The reason a 10-stop ND filter wasn’t used is that with the desired
camera settings, the exposure would’ve been a whopping 16 minutes!
16-35mm lens at 16mm | 60 secs, f/16, ISO100
Polarizer + six-stop ND
CAMERA SKILLS
BEFORE AFTER