Regular readers will no doubt recall my post about the B+W 10 stop ND filter a few weeks ago. This weekend Hobart copped some wild weather including some incredible winds so I decided to give the filter another go while the clouds were moving fast and the effect of the filter should be most apparent. My close-by location of choice for these types of shoots is the foreshore at Bellerive or Kangaroo Bluff, so I grabbed my gear and set off into the howling wind. Predictably the foreshore (which faces west) was very windy so I went for the south facing bluff instead which was sheltered from the northerly winds. As I mentioned in my previous post, the filter stops the amount of light entering the camera by 10 stops which has a spectacular effect on a scene where there is a lot of movement, such as a seascape. Coupled with 100kilometer per hour winds meant the clouds too became smooth streaks during exposures which were anything up to 10 minutes in duration. The images I captured were mostly quite dark and moody – exactly how I like them 🙂

“Dark Light” – 10 Stop ND Filter & Seascape Photography

In this second image a tree branch had very conveniently washed up right on the rocky foreshore. Or perhaps another photographer had dragged it there for a composition… In any case I couldn’t really ignore it and think it looks good with the clouds streaking in the background and the super smooth water.

10 Stop ND Filter & Seascape Photography

195 second exposure, with the B+W 10 Stop ND Filter & Seascape Photography

0.6 second exposure, without the 10 stop ND filter

Anyone interested in the B&W 77mm #110 3.0 (1000x) Neutral Density Glass Filter can grab one from Amazon. Make sure you purchase one that fits your lens. If you need to you can also purchase a step up ring so that you could use your (say) 77mm filter on a 67mm lens also.