Julian, thank you so much for these videos. Truly inspirational. I had the pleasure of visiting some of the locations you recommended and came away with some shots I'm reasonably happy with, but it was well worth the visit. Again, thank you and keep up the awesome work.
Thanks Jawad. It's really good to hear my content is inspiring you and you getting out to some of these locations. I've got a new location video going up tonight so stay tuned! :-)
Very handy little video thanks Julian. Many people want to use 'stopper' filters but aren't sure about the process. This explains it very well. Plus, I learnt that the Lee stoppers app has a timer on it !! I've been using it for ages ans never noticed! Doh 😆
A superb video Julian. Concise and perfectly explained process. I have only just subscribed but look forward to viewing many more of your content. I used to have a Lee filters setup but after buying the Nikon 14-24mm f2.8 I had to find a system that would fit that lens. I don't know if you have tried Nisi filters but they are superb quality (as you would expect with the price) and introduce zero colour cast unlike the Lees which I find have a blue-ish cast.
thank you so much Steve. Very pleased to hear that i managed to communicate the process effectively. And thank you for subscribing. Welcome! I switched to Kase Filters a few years ago, and like the Nisi filters, they are better value for money and don't have any colour cast. Cheers :-)
Enjoyed that! Simple, logical workflow to build up a good exposure. I use the same process...it works. I've been using back-button focusing for ages now...set your focus point, then forget about it! A point to note, though. You don't mention 'live view'. Using the live view function in your camera allows you to make adjustments with all your filters in place, including the 10-stop, as the camera can 'see through' the set up you have and display the 'live' exposure on screen. A wonderful and very useful function! Lovely image btw....and yes, I've subbed. ATB, Adie.
Thanks for watching and subscribing! BBF is the way forward. I've been using it for years now. Takes a little getting used to but once you've switched you never go back. Not sure what camera you are using, but I'm sure, at least with the Nikon D750, with ND filters in place live view is pretty useless. Sometimes, if I'm using the Little Stopper on a bright day I can still focus and compose, but generally speaking it's a no go. I'm aware with many of the mirrorless systems such as those from Fuji and Sony, this isn't the case. I believe you can set the exposure time just by viewing the histogram and live view - even with long exposures. If I'm missing a trick with my live view let me know! :-)
I know this is an old video but I am loving your content. Just came across your channel and I love all the devon and dorset videos. Used to live down there and planning on moving back soon. It is great to see some fantastic locations. I will add them to my list :) Just been down on Dartmoor for a couple of days and missed it so much.
Thanks Andrew and welcome to my channel! Great to hear you are enjoying all the content and that you'll be moving back to the south-west soon (so many great locations to shoot!). Stay tuned as I've got a Cornwall video going up this afternoon. :-)
Great Job Julian. You're using essentially the same setup as I am, with the exception of your choice on video, I went with the G85, however after seeing how great your footage looks I may have chosen the wrong one. Seems the Sony does a much better job of focusing than the G85, both render great 4k footage, just seems the Sony is a bit better with focusing. Great job with the ND tutorial. Keep it up, I subscribed. Take care, John.
John Ibarra thanks for watching and subscribing. The Sony has its limitations though. Poor battery life (i almost always end up using a spare) and no mic input either (so i use an external recorder). however the video quality itself is amazing for such a small camera.
Julian, it may have been worth advising the viewers to turn their lenses to manual focus (prevents losing focus and camera then hunting for focus). Other than that it was a very informative vlog.👍
Thanks for watching and commenting Andy. Yes, you are correct to point to the tip on setting the camera to manual focusing. I didn't mention it while I was out in the field (I forgot at the time as I use BBF) but I did later mention during the review of technique at 05:55 .
Dear Julian, very kind of you just what I needed, thank you. Just one more Question: Doing a long daylight exposure with the Big Stopper on - do you have Noise Reduction set on your camera or do remove it in processing ???
Hey Allan, glad you found the video useful! I never use in camera NR. If I need to remove any noise I'll do it in post. However, the only time I needed to remove any noise was with a Super Stopper exposure lasting around 10 minutes. Don't get any noise with the Big Stopper, including exposures up to 5 mins. Hope that helps. :-)
nice video bud! Do you have any methods for compensating for the rapid changes in light when shooting longer exposures? As you say in your video, if doing a 10 minute exposure you want to get it right first time but during those 10 minutes at sunrise or sunset the light levels can change dramatically. I'm sure that there is some complicated equation that can be used but was wandering if you had a rough rule of thumb method to help? At the moment I just take an educated guess and rely on post processing to save my backside from any mistakes. Matt Davis (monkeynumber1 from instagram)
Hey Matt, nice to see you over here as well (cracking user name BTW!). I would love to tell you that I some amazing formula to work this out, but generally speaking I use my best judgement. Unless the exposure is really long, say longer than a minute or two, the calculation from base exposure is relatively accurate, even when light is fading / coming up quickly. For really long exposures I will just add a little time or cut it short. But it's really best guess. I tend to avoid really long exposures at critical sunset / sunrise times unless I'm really after a specific look, as I don't want to commit the camera to such a long exposure when things can change so quickly. It is tricky taking really long exposures right at sunset / sunrise, but I guess this is where experience comes into play. Don't get me wrong, I don't get it right all the time, and I've rescued many a photo in Lightroom!
Thanks bud! When I was setting up my youtube account the 2 closest things to me (in terms of distance, not emotional attachment) were a cheese sandwich and a basket of my daughters toys which ended up as my profile picture. I thought this would be the case with regards to my question but thought I'd ask anyway incase I was missing something really simple (it wouldn't be the first time!). I suppose a formula could created taking in to account geographical location, time of year etc but things like weather would still only make it a "rule of thumb" method. Maybe an add on for the TPE app?
Good question from the Cheese Sandwich :-) I"m a bit of a morning bluehour and sunrise freak. I usually do stuff about 1:40 at that time and sometimes do a guesstimate and cut it short if I think its lighting up too quick. better a bit under than over exposed. Usually thou, its fine. Good job on the video Julian
Thanks for watching and leaving a comment. It's not an exact science, especially when dealing with varying light levels. A lot of it comes from experience, and most of the time you can recover a lot from the highlights and shadows in post (though it's always nice to get it right in camera!)
Julian, thank you so much for these videos. Truly inspirational. I had the pleasure of visiting some of the locations you recommended and came away with some shots I'm reasonably happy with, but it was well worth the visit. Again, thank you and keep up the awesome work.
Thanks Jawad. It's really good to hear my content is inspiring you and you getting out to some of these locations. I've got a new location video going up tonight so stay tuned! :-)
Very handy little video thanks Julian. Many people want to use 'stopper' filters but aren't sure about the process. This explains it very well.
Plus, I learnt that the Lee stoppers app has a timer on it !! I've been using it for ages ans never noticed!
Doh 😆
Cheers Paul. Great to hear my process was explained well. :-) And great to hear you found the timer! :-)
A superb video Julian. Concise and perfectly explained process. I have only just subscribed but look forward to viewing many more of your content.
I used to have a Lee filters setup but after buying the Nikon 14-24mm f2.8 I had to find a system that would fit that lens. I don't know if you have tried Nisi filters but they are superb quality (as you would expect with the price) and introduce zero colour cast unlike the Lees which I find have a blue-ish cast.
thank you so much Steve. Very pleased to hear that i managed to communicate the process effectively. And thank you for subscribing. Welcome! I switched to Kase Filters a few years ago, and like the Nisi filters, they are better value for money and don't have any colour cast. Cheers :-)
Great information Julian I bet a lot of people including myself found this very usefull :) :)
Thanks Tim, great to hear you've found it useful. Always happy to share these things. :-)
Enjoyed that! Simple, logical workflow to build up a good exposure. I use the same process...it works. I've been using back-button focusing for ages now...set your focus point, then forget about it!
A point to note, though. You don't mention 'live view'. Using the live view function in your camera allows you to make adjustments with all your filters in place, including the 10-stop, as the camera can 'see through' the set up you have and display the 'live' exposure on screen. A wonderful and very useful function!
Lovely image btw....and yes, I've subbed.
ATB, Adie.
Thanks for watching and subscribing! BBF is the way forward. I've been using it for years now. Takes a little getting used to but once you've switched you never go back. Not sure what camera you are using, but I'm sure, at least with the Nikon D750, with ND filters in place live view is pretty useless. Sometimes, if I'm using the Little Stopper on a bright day I can still focus and compose, but generally speaking it's a no go. I'm aware with many of the mirrorless systems such as those from Fuji and Sony, this isn't the case. I believe you can set the exposure time just by viewing the histogram and live view - even with long exposures. If I'm missing a trick with my live view let me know! :-)
Another informative video Julian, I myself follow the exact same workflow!
Thanks for watching Kris. Yep, it's a solid work flow. Not everything in photography needs to be complicated! :-)
I know this is an old video but I am loving your content. Just came across your channel and I love all the devon and dorset videos. Used to live down there and planning on moving back soon. It is great to see some fantastic locations. I will add them to my list :) Just been down on Dartmoor for a couple of days and missed it so much.
Thanks Andrew and welcome to my channel! Great to hear you are enjoying all the content and that you'll be moving back to the south-west soon (so many great locations to shoot!). Stay tuned as I've got a Cornwall video going up this afternoon. :-)
Looking forward do it! It is only a week since i was back down for my honeymoon but wish we had never left!
Congratulations!
Good Guide, I am using freewell ND filters they are good for taking shots
Philip Dawson thanks for watching and leaving a comment. Glad you liked the guide. 😁
Interesting and informative - thanks.
Thanks!
Great Job Julian. You're using essentially the same setup as I am, with the exception of your choice on video, I went with the G85, however after seeing how great your footage looks I may have chosen the wrong one. Seems the Sony does a much better job of focusing than the G85, both render great 4k footage, just seems the Sony is a bit better with focusing. Great job with the ND tutorial. Keep it up, I subscribed. Take care, John.
John Ibarra thanks for watching and subscribing. The Sony has its limitations though. Poor battery life (i almost always end up using a spare) and no mic input either (so i use an external recorder). however the video quality itself is amazing for such a small camera.
Julian, it may have been worth advising the viewers to turn their lenses to manual focus (prevents losing focus and camera then hunting for focus). Other than that it was a very informative vlog.👍
Thanks for watching and commenting Andy. Yes, you are correct to point to the tip on setting the camera to manual focusing. I didn't mention it while I was out in the field (I forgot at the time as I use BBF) but I did later mention during the review of technique at 05:55 .
Love it
Thanks!
Dear Julian, very kind of you just what I needed, thank you. Just one more Question: Doing a long daylight exposure with the Big Stopper on - do you have Noise Reduction set on your camera or do remove it in processing ???
Hey Allan, glad you found the video useful! I never use in camera NR. If I need to remove any noise I'll do it in post. However, the only time I needed to remove any noise was with a Super Stopper exposure lasting around 10 minutes. Don't get any noise with the Big Stopper, including exposures up to 5 mins. Hope that helps. :-)
Thank you for your prompt reply very kind of you. Am I correct that you are a - Scot's exile ???
Indeed I am. Emmigrated here from the homeland about 8 years ago. :-)
I am originally from Edinburgh but likewise, I have lived away in Northern Ireland these past 45 years.
nice video bud! Do you have any methods for compensating for the rapid changes in light when shooting longer exposures? As you say in your video, if doing a 10 minute exposure you want to get it right first time but during those 10 minutes at sunrise or sunset the light levels can change dramatically. I'm sure that there is some complicated equation that can be used but was wandering if you had a rough rule of thumb method to help? At the moment I just take an educated guess and rely on post processing to save my backside from any mistakes.
Matt Davis (monkeynumber1 from instagram)
Hey Matt, nice to see you over here as well (cracking user name BTW!). I would love to tell you that I some amazing formula to work this out, but generally speaking I use my best judgement. Unless the exposure is really long, say longer than a minute or two, the calculation from base exposure is relatively accurate, even when light is fading / coming up quickly. For really long exposures I will just add a little time or cut it short. But it's really best guess. I tend to avoid really long exposures at critical sunset / sunrise times unless I'm really after a specific look, as I don't want to commit the camera to such a long exposure when things can change so quickly. It is tricky taking really long exposures right at sunset / sunrise, but I guess this is where experience comes into play. Don't get me wrong, I don't get it right all the time, and I've rescued many a photo in Lightroom!
Thanks bud! When I was setting up my youtube account the 2 closest things to me (in terms of distance, not emotional attachment) were a cheese sandwich and a basket of my daughters toys which ended up as my profile picture.
I thought this would be the case with regards to my question but thought I'd ask anyway incase I was missing something really simple (it wouldn't be the first time!). I suppose a formula could created taking in to account geographical location, time of year etc but things like weather would still only make it a "rule of thumb" method. Maybe an add on for the TPE app?
Yes, the weather, our old friend the weather. We always need something to blame when it doesn't go our way don't we!
Good question from the Cheese Sandwich :-) I"m a bit of a morning bluehour and sunrise freak. I usually do stuff about 1:40 at that time and sometimes do a guesstimate and cut it short if I think its lighting up too quick. better a bit under than over exposed. Usually thou, its fine.
Good job on the video Julian
Thanks for watching and leaving a comment. It's not an exact science, especially when dealing with varying light levels. A lot of it comes from experience, and most of the time you can recover a lot from the highlights and shadows in post (though it's always nice to get it right in camera!)
What tripod are you using?
Hey, thanks for watching and leaving a comment. I'm using a Manfrotto 055CXPRO3. Hope that helps :-)