Exposing for the Mid Tones

 5D Mk IV, EF 16-35 f/4 L IS, 1.6 sec, 19mm at f/13
Lee 6 Stop ND filter
Convict Lake, Eastern Sierra

I am always trying to expose for the mid tones, while holding back the histogram from clipping the highlights. This was a pretty bright scene late morning at Convict lake, also very windy. I used the Lee six stop ND filter here to hold back some of the light and allow for the longer exposure on the waves, giving a little motion effect and allowing for some blur on the wave caps.  I used the mid tones on the mountain to expose the image in live view, then pressed AE lock and refocused on the foreground. At f/13, this gave me enough depth of field to make this image work. 

 

 final histogram

I still needed to pull shadows and highlights in lightroom, but by keeping my histogram in check I was able to pull the needed detail in post and get the most dynamic range out of this scene as I could. Finally I cropped it to a 4:3 aspect ratio, that I like for portrait orientation landscapes.

Ross

Images In Light

Using a ND filter for long exposure

 5D Mk IV, EF24-70 f/2.8 L  II, f11, 53mm, 30 sec

Processed  in Lightroom for monochrome and split toned.

When imaging a scene with lenticular clouds like this one, I like to use a long exposure to exaggerate their circular rotation. Here I used a Lee 6 stop ND filter to extend the exposure time to 30 sec. Instead of the wispy clouds, I got more of the circular motion of the whole storm system.

This was predawn light, so my original exposure would have been a couple of seconds at f/11, not long enough to get the full range of motion. The below image was a similar exposure taken after the sun came up and the exposure time difference with the same setup was 27.5 seconds, for a 2.5 sec exposure.

5D Mk IV, EF24-70 f/2.8 L  II, f11, 70mm, 2.5 sec

Of course its all a matter of personal taste, I happen to like both, I also have a shot at normal exposure speeds without an ND filter and like those as well. This is just one example of the use of an ND filter and why they should be in every landscape photographers bag.

Ross

Images In Light

Capturing Atmosphere

5D Mk III, 24-79 f/2.8 L II, Lee Little stopper
f/11 at 2 sec

This was an interesting scene, when we arrived it was a hazy/foggy late evening and the atmosphere was not something I thought I was going to be able to catch, often times unsettled air does not allow for good images. Here I feel like I was able to capture the atmosphere of that moment and the long exposure helped, giving it a more dreamy look with the blurred waves.

Ross

Images In Light