Night Shots

Recently I have been wanting to do some more startrails which is one of my favorite subjects but unfortunately the sky hasn't been playing ball for me, stoping me from getting the shots I want.
What I love about photography is being able to improvise and make the best out of a bad situation and come away with some keepers.

I looked out of my back door and saw a clear sky with loads of stars so I excitedly got together my crammed full camera rucksack, tripod and some torches then headed down the seafront.
When I got to the seafront the clouds where already coming in thick and fast so I had to improvise and think fast on my feet to grab something before the stars disappeared.
Knowing startrails where out of the question I took a straight long expsoure to capture a shot with some stars and foreground interest.

Martello Tower Eastbourne

I used the Martello tower as my foreground interest which was a great looking structure to include in my shot.
Thanks to my intervalometer I could change the exposure length precisely and to the second.
The shot above was a 60 second exposure and as the moon was to my right I didn't need to illuminate the tower with my torches as the moon done the job for me.
No startrails but a great picture to come away with.

Two nights later same again, looked out saw some stars grabbed my gear and jumped in the car.
Got to the beach and alas I was hampered by cloudage again.
I stuck on my creative eyes and improvised to come away with some cool night shots.
The moon was helping me again tonight lending me those strong rays of light hitting the seawater.
I used the moonlight by positioning myself where the moonlight was creating a lovely shadow of the beacon in the sea.
To get this shot I experimented with different exposure lengths thanks once again to my intervalometer, settling on a 90 second exposure.

Beacon in the moonlight

After taking a few shots the moon started to show itself in the gaps in the clouds so I tried a shot I have seen a few times but never tried myself before.
I took out my Nikon 70-300 VRII lens and attached it to my Nikon D300s and zoomed right into the moon.
Even at the extreme end of my zoom the moon was still small in the frame but I knew I could crop in later in post processing.
I was in manual mode which was great as the cameras exposure meter would be fooled by the small bright white blob stuck bang in the middle of all that black.
The settings I chose was

• ISO 200
• f/9
• 1/80 sec
• 300mm

Full Moon

I cropped into about 80% to make the moon look as large as it is here, really pleased with how it looks.
The camera see's things we don't see sometimes as I was shocked but happy with all those stars surrounding the moon which didn't look like this at the time, through my eyes anyway.
The pictures I have seen of the moon didn't have the stars around it like this one so I was over the moon, ahem cough cough sorry about the pun lol.
Just goes to show if you don't get the shot you have planned or went out to get don't give up just adapt to the situation and come away with something.
Try different things, think outside of the box, look for different angles and perspectives, try different lenses, do things you haven't done before and experiment, this way you may learn something new.

So there we go I went out to do startrails and came away with three totally different pictures due to the weather conditions, three really good pictures.

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Also if you like my blog please leave a comment  :)

Coastway Landscapes

The best thing about living along the coastline is the array of Landscape and Seascape shots to be had.
From sunrises to sunsets to piers and rock formations, the list is endless.

Birling Gap

Headed off to Birling Gap to catch a sunset, even though the colours weren't as vibrant as I had hoped I captured a very pleasing image.I walked around for about 10 minutes trying to find some nice foreground interest to compliment the wonderful cliff line and sky.
I found this lone pool of water surrounded by seaweed and sand and knew with my Hoya polariser I could make the most of the reflective surface and those clouds.
With light levels dropping fast I can't emphasize enough how important a tripod and cable release are to get a nice crisp shake free shot.

Sunsets are a little easier to capture than sunrises due to getting out of bed at unruly hours which for me is very difficult.
My aim is to make extra effort and drag my butt out of bed to get more sunrises.

Below is a picture of Brighton's West Pier to show that every now and again I can actually listen to the annoying buzz of the alarm clock and head out bright and early and capture those lovely colours.

Brighton's West Pier

My daughter came with me on this shoot keeping me company and just chatting on our little adventure.
We found loads of starfish scattered around the beach and decided to incorporate one into my shot.
My daughter found this ginormous one so I placed it just in front of my wide angle lens but central to the old West Piers decayed struts.
This picture was shortlisted in the National Geographic Travelers competition 2012 which I'm ecstatic about, to even be shortlisted for such an Iconic and prestigious magazine was more than enough for me.


The coastline is not only amazing for sunrises and sunsets but is also superb for long exposures.
Thanks to 10 stop filters long exposure photography has exploded and is very very popular.
These amazing filters can turn day time exposures into seconds and even minutes adding motion blur to moving objects or smoothing out water to give a smooth milky effect.

Eastbourne Pier

This picture of eastbourne pier and beach was an exposure of 120 seconds smoothing out the sea and clouds.

Beacon

This 154 second exposure shows how long exposures can make mono shots extra dramatic,I love that moody and powerful sky.

Eastbourne Pier At Night

Just wanted to finish this post with the inclusion of a night shot.
This is Eastbourne Pier just before the light disappeared which has given me a nice sky and reflections in the wet sand.
Be careful taking pictures with a tripod on sand, if you don't push the feet down firmly the tripod could sink during the exposure ruining your shot.

Thanks for stopping by and feel free to check out more of my work on Flickr.
Also if you like my blog please leave a comment  :)

Happy Easter

Just wanted to say Happy Easter to everyone for 2013.
I hope everyone, adults and children got to enjoy all those chokky delights of all shapes and sizes.
Our house was full of Easter Eggs with fun shaped boxes including 'Hen Houses' and 'farm houses' and also the more traditional ones including 'Munchies','Caramel',Cadburys Buttons' and more.

Here is a picture of my daughter hands holding a 'Cadburys Buttons Easter Chick'.

This year we have staggered the chocolate through the day instead of trying to eat it all before 10am lol and so far no one has been sick.
We also managed to squeeze in a massive roast dinner during the chocolate break which my wife lovingly cooked for us.
Mmmmmmm I love roast dinner which included a four bird stuffed roast with lashings of potatoes, vegetables, Yorkshire puddings and gravy.
The kids cleaned the kitchen for us and done a damn good job I must say so myself.
After the traditional afternoon snooze in front of the telly it's back to forcing chocolate down before bed.
So until next year :)

Happy Easter

PPOTY 2012

Had some amazing news recently when I received an e-mail from Professional Photographer with regards to my entry into Professional Photographer of the year (PPOTY) 2012.
My entry into the 'Location Flash' category made the top 20 for that round, I know I didn't win but WoW what an achievement especially with the amazing standard of the other entries.
The other entries look like they come straight from an advertisement or a high profile magazine like Vogue so to be placed beside the best 20 has left me with a very proud glow.

The top picture is mine which is my daughter at Birling Gap at sunset.

The bottom picture is not mine and was placed underneath but attached to the same page.

It's also thanks to my family for helping me with my photography making it possible to get shots like the one above.
My daughter is a great sport and is included in a lots of my pictures trying loads of of different things for me so we can be creative and fresh.
My wife comes with me on photo shoots giving ideas, support and also an extra critical eye, the odd hug and cuddle spurs me on as well.
My other daughter was holding my flash stand and umbrella for the picture above and is brilliant for behind the scene technical stuff, she has also modelled for me in the past and has been included in a photo book but prefers being behind the camera nowadays.
My son has modelled for me and gets involved in my shots when asked and is great fun to work with.
So as you can see I get a lot of family support which shows through in my pictures and has helped me improve, this has also let my creativity flow.

Here is the link to Professional Photographers website

Here is the link to the shortlisted entries to all the categories PPOTY 2012 shortlisted categories

Also don't forget to check out my Flickr pages to check out some of my other work.

You can also follow me on Twitter

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Deeper Underground

Deeper Underground, a photo by simon.anderson on Flickr.



Had a great day out in London on the 15th March 2013 to get some pictures in and around Canary Wharf.
Managed to grab a few shots I'm really proud of but due to the wind and rain a lot of my shots were ruined. 
The shot of London bridge tube station was taken on my way to Liverpool St train station to meet my friend Andrew Brown who was with me for the day for picture taking and a chat.
I used a slowish shutter speed to incorporate some blur into the tube train as it was moving off  whilst trying to keep a steady hand to keep detail in pretty much everything else.
I used my Sigma 10-20 to squeeze loads in including the London Bridge sign.

The picture of the clock in front of 1 Canada Square in Canary Wharf is a popular and well known picture, I was really looking forward to taking it myself.
I read loads of horror stories about doing photography in Canary Wharf and was a little worried about walking around with my big camera and tripod but the security were brilliant on the day, very helpful and polite so can't wait to go back when the weather is better.
The wideness of my Sigma 10-20 was brilliant for this making those already tall buildings touch the clouds.
I converted this picture to mono giving it a metallic New York feel which really suits the pictures style.

 

This night shot of Canary Wharf is one of the main reasons for going on this photographic day out.

I was dying to grab loads of night shots with these glowing buildings lit up like a Christmas tree, unfortunately I didn't get as many as I wanted due to the constant wind and rain, I was forever drying the glass on my lens.

If the exposures were short it would have been easier but as the exposures started going up to and beyond 30 seconds it was virtually impossible to keep the lens dry for this length of time.

Cable Release Placement

Does your cable release just dangle from your tripod.
Does your cable release sway in the wind and bang on the legs of your tripod.
Do you stand there with the cable release in your hand whilst doing long exposures.
Have you dropped your cable release in the sea whilst taking that early morning seascape.

WELL NO MORE !

I have done all of the above and more, having no where to put your cable release can be annoying and frustrating so I came up with a little plan to make life easier, this will mean you can step back without holding the cable release for the duration of your exposures.

This is a very simple way to attach your cable release to your tripod.
You will need

• Tripod
• Cable release
• Velcro (hook and loop)
• scissors
• Cable ties

I love velcro it is so handy and great for sticking things to each other.
You can get velcro from most places but I got mine from C+H Fabrics.
Velcro comes in strips,rolls and squares, what type you choose depends on how much you need or use, I use lots of it for alsorts of things so I have a roll of it.
Make sure you get the sticky back velcro so you can stick it to your cable release and also make sure you get the two types, HOOK and LOOP as they will stick to each other.

Once you have everything ready you just measure a piece of Velcro to attach to your tripod and cut to size.

I use the Loop (soft) velcro for the tripod and attach using cable ties.
I place this piece of velcro onto the foam grip of the tripod so the cable release will be facing you and easy to reach, I then secure it with cable ties, using three or four spread evenly to make sure it doesn't come off as you will be pulling the cable release off often.

Now the tripod is done I need to do the cable release.
Once again measure the length of velcro required and cut to size.
I use the HOOK (hard) velcro for the cable release.

Peel off the paper from the back of the velcro exposing the sticky back and then place the velcro onto the back of your cable release pressing firmly all over to make sure the glue contacts everywhere the velcro is.
Allow the glue time to dry and you will see that the velcro will be stuck solid to the cable release.
If your cable release is digital and has a battery compartment make sure you don't attach one strip all the way down as it will be a nightmare trying to change batteries.
Either use a shorter strip or cut the strip into two sticking one piece to the upper rear of your release and one piece onto the battery compartment, see below.

That's it now you can just place your cable release onto the velcro on your tripod and just leave it there.

The Velcro is quite powerful so once you place it on don't try and take it off during an exposure as you could pull the tripod and ruin your picture.
If I'm doing long exposures or star trails, once I press the shutter release I will very softly just place the cable release onto the tripod velcro, both pieces just latch onto each over with no effort and as long as you are careful it won't affect your picture and you can just leave it there whilst the camera does it's thing, great when exposures go into minutes or hours.
If you have a manual cable release and are using the lock button and need to stop your exposure don't pull the cable release off, just very carefully unlock the button whilst its still attached to the tripod.
Once again be careful and and it won't affect your picture.
So there you have it no more just leaving your cable release to just dangle knocking into the legs of your tripod or standing there holding it for ages just sit back and let the camera do it's thing.


If this post has been helpful please feel free to leave a comment.

Custom White Balance for 10 Stop Filters

10 stop filters are getting more and more popular enabling us to get longer exposures during the day, helping to create some beautiful and sometimes quite surreal shots which isn't normally possible without this wonderful piece of equipment.
This blog post is to share my technique for creating an easy and fast way to get a custom white balance to try and combat and correct the ugly colour cast you get from using these filters.
Once learned, this technique will get you better quality shots in camera with minimal processing saving time and frustration afterwards.

Some info on 10 stop filters first before the technique

These filters come in different shapes and sizes and from different brands.

• B+W (circular, screw onto lens)
• Lee (square, slot into filter holders with various sizes)
• Hitech (square, slot into filter holders with various sizes)

Above are just a few of the more popular brands.
I have the B+W and the Hitech Pro stopper filters.
The B+W screw in filter is a fantastic filter which I loved but it was frustrating screwing on and off the filter everytime I needed to focus or re-compose but the quality is superb and the slight cast is very easy to correct in post processing.
My main workhorse is my Hitech pro Stopper 100mm version which slots into my Lee filter holder.
This filter has a foam gasket so when you slide it into the holder the gasket stops light leakage with its nice tight seal.
The two main advantages to this square filter is if I need to refocus or recompose I just slide  the filter out then back in when the adjustments have been made and also I can use additional filters which slide in the extra slots of your filter holder, so I can use my Lee hard edged Grads to really darken skies making them very dramatic.

Check out my blog post on Graduated Filters

The Hitech filter has a very reddy orangy cast which can be corrected with the custom white balance and the dropper tool in Photoshop Hitech pro Stopper
This filter is normally in stock and is very good quality and can produce excellent results when you learn how to use it to it's best.

The Lee Big Stopper is also a square slot in filter and even though I haven't had the opportunity to use one reviews and comments online state this is the best one you can get with optimal quality.
The problem I found with this one is they are always out of stock and I got so fed up of waiting I went with the Hitech, waiting lists can go into months (shame on you Lee). Lee Big Stopper
Probably worth the wait if you are patient but if like me you get fed up you won't be disappointed with the excellent Hitech pro Stopper which is also a lot cheaper.

Custom White Balance

If you are getting a 10 stop filter or already have one I will show you a way to custom white balance out in the field to correct those colour casts.

You will need to know how to set custom white balance for your camera so will need to check your camera manual if your not sure.

As I have a Nikon D300s I will be showing you using this camera.

The scenario: you are standing outside on a cloudy day waiting to start taking long exposures.

• If the lens you are using for the long exposure has a zoom extend the zoom as far as possible then with the focusing in manual turn the focusing ring until everything is totally blurred

•  Next up your ISO as far as it can go, this will depend on your camera and should be around 3200-6400 for example
  
  
  
  
  
• Next attach your ten stop filter to the lens.
• Now set aperture priority and then press the WB button whilst moving the scroll wheel to choose Pre on the top LCD screen, then press in the WB button again but holding it in until pre flashes.
• Now point your camera towards the cloudy sky(even though you cant see through the viewfinder with the filter on, your camera will be able to with the settings we have chosen).
• Press the shutter button then look at the LCD top plate which should say the word 'GOOD' which means you have successfully saved a custom white balance on the pre setting of your camera, if it doesn't say good follow the steps above until you get it right.

You have basically used the clouds as your grey card for the custom white balance.
That's it you are ready to do some long exposures with the custom white balance you have pre installed into the cameras memory.
You should now have a pretty accurate white balance but you can also use the dropper tool in Photoshop to fine tune it if needed.
Now just set up your camera as normal for your shot and don't forget to drop that ISO back down to 100-200 and revert your settings but keep the pre selected for you long exposure.
The biggest mistake I made after doing my long exposures was not putting the white balance back on auto, don't forget to do this every time you finish doing your long exposures as your pictures will probably have a massive pink cast when taking normal shots.

I hope this helps and I hope I have explained it well enough for you to try and copy but if not just drop me a line and I will try and help more.

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