Digital SLR Photography

TOP TIPLEEFILTERSAPPTheLeeStopperExposureGuideappforAndroidandiOSisafantasticwaytocalculateexposuretimesforNDfi lters.Bytakingashotinaperture-prioritymodeandusingexposurecompensation,ifrequired,tofi ndthecorrectexposureundernormalconditions,youcanthenusetheapptocalculatetheexposuretimeforasix, tenor15stopNDfi lter. It’seasytouseandthere’sev enabuilt-intimer.PH TOSKIL LSWATERFALLSSHOOTINGWATERFALLSISAGREATWAYTO PUSHCREATIVEEXPOSURETO THELIMIT.JAMESABBOTTSHOWSYOUHOWTO CAPTUREBLUREFFECTSWITHANEXTREMENDFILTER``````CAMERA:CAMERA:NIKON D610NIKON D610 // LENS:/LENS: NIKONAF-S 16-35MMNIKON AF-S 16-35MM F/4G ED VR F/4G EDVR/ FILTER:/ / FILTER: TIFFENAXENTTEN-STOPNDTIFFEN AXENT TEN-STOP NDWATERFALLS ARE ONEof the mostmagical aspectsof landscapes andare afi rm favourite among outdoorphotographers.Water is a powerful elementfor photography that can be used to createdynamic compositions, and in some cases toapply creative exposure effects ranging fromcompletely freezing water, to capturing it asan ethereal blur, plus everything between.The exact amountof blur that can becaptured depends entirely on thefi lters youhave to hand. With nofi lters, on an overcastday, you may be able to achieve an exposureof around one second, although you mayfi nd``````you can’t even get close to this. A polarisingfi lter canreduce exposure by up to two stops,and are also greatfor removingrefl ectionsfrom water while achieving slightly longerexposures. Whilefor truly long exposures,ranging anywhere from afew seconds tominutes, you’ll need a Neutral Densityfi lter.Neutral Densityfi lters block light withoutaffecting colours in the image, hence theirname. They areavailable in a varietyofstrengths, measured in stopsof light. Socalled‘extreme’ NDfi lters, such as the LeeFilters BigStopper, block an incredible tenstopsof light. There are evenfi ltersavailable``````to fi lter up the 16 stops! More extreme NDsdo create colour casts however, althoughthis can beremoved using a custom WhiteBalance. So while they are considered NDfi lters, they’re not truly neutral.We’re going to shoot extreme longexposuresof waterfalls using a ten-stop NDfi lter, sofor this technique you’ll need a DSLRor CSC with an ultra wide-angle lens orstandardzoom. You’ll also need a tripod andremoterelease tokeep the camera locked inposition, andof course a ten-stop NDfi lter.If you don’t have afi lter you can still useaweaker NDfi lter, or a polarisingfi lter.