St. Mary's Lighthouse

Cullercoats

After yesterday's disappointment, I decided to try again this morning, this time in Cullercoats. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't on my side, and the sky was flat and grey, so no light at all. This black and white image was the best I could muster under the circumstances.

South Shields

This morning was my first trip out with the camera in months, due to a busy work life and a lack of energy for early summer mornings. I was very rusty, and it shows. These were the only three images I managed to rescue.

EXIF: 50mm : f/1.8 : 24secs : Canon EOS 5D Mark II : Carl Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f/1.4 : Lee 1.2 ND : Lee Big Stopper

 

I'd picked an uninspiring spot along the South Shields coastline (I won't be going back), so I opted for some close-ups of the rocks instead. This kind of thing irritates me, as it gives no sense of place, but then I guess it's better than coming home empty-handed!

EXIF: 50mm : f/1.8 : 15secs : Canon EOS 5D Mark II : Carl Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f/1.4 : Lee 0.9 ND Soft Grad : Lee 1.2 ND : Lee Big Stopper

 

There's something I find extremely fascinating about wide-aperture long exposure, that I'd like to explore more. Long exposures are usually shot at very narrow aperture for maximum depth-of-field, and to increase the amount of time the shutter can be held open.

EXIF: 50mm : f/1.8 : 25secs : Canon EOS 5D Mark II : Carl Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f/1.4 : Lee 0.9 ND Soft Grad : Lee 1.2 ND : Lee Big Stopper

 

I've been experimenting with extreme neutral density (11-stops) to get a reasonably long exposure time, yet with a very narrow depth-of-field, which leads to some interesting and unusual shots. I just need to get them looking good now :)

Click on any of the photos to see them full-size against black, and please do leave a comment below if you like the photos.