pagespicsMy new Kase Variable ND filter
Those of you that regularly follow this blog will have seen a transition from big city street photography, to the more sedate aspects of New Zealand life. The upside of this is that my photographic skills are widening. One hankering of mine was to play with an ND filter; if you are unsure of what I mean, think of it as a pair of sunglasses for your camera – it makes the world a darker place (and that is a good thing). Here is what it does…
The filter lets less light in, which means a slower shutter speed. The waves become a silky smooth blanket that looks more like a thick mist than water. The image was made using a Kase variable 2-5 stop filter, which cost around 250NZD . Being variable means I can change how dark the lens gets. In retrospect, I wish I had purchased a 10 stop lens for a much longer shutter speed. Maybe I will put this on my shopping list for my next trip to the city? If this is something you wish to try, remember you will need a tripod which definitely slows you down.
Of course, some people hate this look. What do you think, please let me know in the comments below.
As always. keep clicking, Chris
pagespics 
👏👏👏📷 perfect shot
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Hi Chris,
I have a basic set of ND filters including a 10 stop but so far haven’t done much about using them but like you, should give taming the Gisborne waves a shot and put in some practise time!
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I think it looks great! I love the look. The colors are gorgeous. I’d tried a VND filter in the past, and was disappointed in its performance; my colors were awful. What you have here is wonderful.
On ND filters, I eventually went with the Lee 100 System, using both 6 and 10 stop ND filters to shoot a local waterfall/white water river rapid. Accordingly, my adjustments are outside of the filters (short of switching or combining them, which I can do), through shutter, aperture, and ISO.
Be sure to play with different shutter speeds! I’ve seen interesting differences between 1/4s and 4s, depending on the water conditions.
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Thanks, I’ll give it a go!
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