Essential Guide to Filters for Landscape Photography by Hoddinott & Bauer - On My Bookshelf S03E07
What are filters? Do I need filters? Which filters should I buy? How do I use filters? If you need answers to any of these questions, then the latest book to hit my virtual bookshelf could be the answer.
What Filters Should I Use for Landscape Photography?
Questions about filters is the one topic I get asked about more than any other. What filter kit should I buy? What filters do I need? All good questions and I do try and take the time to provide answers. However, I only use the Kase Filter system (which is very good by the way!) and a handful of filters so my experience of other brands and other types of filters is somewhat limited.
Up until now, there hasn’t really been a single, up to date, and comprehensive resource on filters for landscape photography. It would be nice to send people to a single resource where they can get all the information they need on which filters to buy and how to use them.
When Nature TTL announced that they were publishing a book by established photographers and renowned authors Mark Bauer and Ross Hoddinott, I knew I wanted to get a copy. After reading the book and seeing how comprehensive it was I knew I needed to feature it in an episode of On My Bookshelf so you could see for yourself if it might be a title for your bookshelf.
I hope you enjoyed this episode of On My Bookshelf. I thought it was an excellent book on filters for landscape photography and it will be a book that I will now recommend to anyone that has questions about filters. You can get a copy of the book right here.
Photographing Boscastle and Using Kase Filters
I'm back with a new video! This week I head to the picturesque village of Boscastle in Cornwall to capture some images of the distinctive S shape harbour. I also talk a little bit about filters and what I like about the Kase Filter system which I'm now using.
Back to Boscastle
Boscastle has a special place in my photographic heart. It was about 5 years ago that I decided I really wanted to start learning the craft of photography so I spent the day with local photographer Ross Hoddinott for a bit of 1-2-1 tuition. The first location we visited was Boscastle and from that viewpoint on Penally Hill I probably learnt more about composition than I'd done in the previous 5 years.
Since that day I've been returning to that viewpoint every year to capture images the harbour. Some years have been more successful than others but I've always enjoyed looking down onto that distinctive S-shaped harbour and the hills that run along with it. There's more than just the harbour to shoot as well. There are a couple of great viewpoints closer to the coastline that are worth checking out. Read my blog post Sunrise at Boscastle to see them.
A Slight Break in the Weather
While the lovely summer weather we've been having here in the south-west is fantastic, it's not exactly been optimal for landscape photography. I love the extended hours of light that allow me to travel further and get out more, but those pesky blue skies don't always translate well into good landscape photographs.
After a few weeks of "great" summer weather there was finally a break from the blue skies and the weather forecast was predicting some decent cloud cover that would hopefully make things a bit more interesting. Fortunately for me it was also going to be high tide around sunset as I was keen to shoot some long exposure seascapes. All I had to do was pick a location. Boscastle immediately sprung to mind!
Kase Filters
Even though I'd already made one of my 5 Minute Photo Adventure videos from Boscastle I was so optimistic about the conditions that I thought it would be worth making another vlog from there. As I was going to be shooting long exposures seascapes I thought it would also be an excellent opportunity to talk about Kase Filters. A few months ago I needed to purchase a new filter system and after recommendations from some fellow photographers I know I decided to go with the Kase Filter system. You can hear what I think about them in the video and watch me put them to use.
If you'd like to see how I got on with my latest photography adventure to Boscastle and hear my brief thoughts on the Kase Filter system, then check out the video below.
A Summers Evening in Boscastle
So was my evening in Boscastle a successful one? Let’s find out.
As you will have seen in the video I actually got the better light early on in the evening. Normally the light gets better the closer you get to sunset but due to atmospheric conditions the light fizzled out a bit as the evening progressed. The following image is my favourite because it has the golden light on the foreground rocks as well as the hills surrounding the harbour.
Last Light at Boscastle Harbour, Cornwall - Nikon D850, Nikkor 16-35mm f/4 at 20mm, f/13, 100 seconds at ISO 64, Kase Filters CPL, 6 Stop ND and ND Grad.
The other two images I took are pleasing enough but compared with the first I think they lack some depth and colour.
Boscastle Harbour at Sunset, Cornwall - Nikon D850, Nikkor 16-35mm f/4 at 19mm, f/13, 100 seconds at ISO 64, Kase Filters CPL, 6 Stop ND and ND Grad.
Out to Sea, Boscastle, Cornwall - Nikon D850, Nikkor 16-35mm f/4 at 18mm, f/13, 160 seconds at ISO 64, Kase Filters CPL, 6 Stop ND and ND Grad.
Overall though I was very happy with my adventure to Boscastle and the photographs I took. Does that mean I won't go back? Of course not! There will always be new compositions to found and different conditions and lighting to work with.
I do hope you enjoyed the video and photographs and that it has inspired you to visit Boscastle. If you are looking for more Cornwall locations to inspire your photography then check out some of my other posts from Cornwall. If you've got a favourite Cornish location that you want to share then let me know in the comments below. See you next time!
Lee Filters Little Stopper vs 6 Stop ProGlass IRND
In this blog post, I look at the differences between Lee Filters Little Stopper and their 6 stop ProGlass IRND. They are both 6 stop neutral density filters so what are the differences and which one should you buy?
Lee Filters
I'll be upfront with you. Ever since I bought my first filter set in 2007 (when I had a Nikon D80), I've only ever bought filters from Lee Filters. When I first started looking for a filter system, everything I read said that Lee Filters were the best. Pricey, but the best.
Over the years I've built up a reasonable size collection of filters from Lee. Up until now the only filter I have replaced was the original circular polariser for the new, slightly thinner landscape circular polariser. I've never had to replace a filter because of a fault and I still use the filters that I originally bought in 2007. So if you are looking for a comparison to filters from other manufacturers, I'm afraid this isn't it.
Goodbye Little Stopper and Big Stopper
With all that said I have just sold both my Little Stopper (6 stop ND) and Big Stopper (10 stop ND). These are filters I have used a LOT. So did I not need them anymore or did I buy ND filters from a different manufacturer? Of course not! All I have done is simply replace them with 6 stop and 10 stop ProGlass IRND filters from Lee Filters.
Apart from being more expensive than their Stopper equivalents how do these ProGlass IRND filters differ? Should you sell your Stopper filters and replace them? Do you need both Stopper and ProGlass IRND filters? In the video below I aim to answer all those questions!
Hello ProGlass IRND
As you'll have seen in the video my conclusions about whether these new ProGlass IRND filters are a must buy aren't clear-cut. It's difficult to give a general conclusion as everyone's needs and budgets are different. The fact that the ProGlass IRND filters don't actually replace the Stopper range also adds a little complexity to the decision.
So all I can really do is talk about my own decision to sell my Stopper filters and buy the ProGlass IRND filters. For me, it has very much been money well spent. I particularly like the lack of colour cast and vignetting. While both these can be corrected or enhanced in post-processing, I much prefer seeing a more neutral/accurate representation of the scene on the back of the camera at the time of capture. I also like the fact that calculated exposure times are far more accurate.
So have you bought any of the new ProGlass IRND filters? Would you consider replacing your Stopper filters? Do you use something other than Lee Filters? Let me know in the comments below.
Comparison Photographs
Here are the images from the video should you wish to take a closer look.
60 Second exposure with the Little Stopper. Unprocessed.
60 Second exposure with the 6 Stop IRND. Unprocessed.
60 Second exposure with the Little Stopper. Processed
60 Second exposure with the 6 Stop IRND Processed.