Man, just click the shutter….

The place where I christened my B+W ND110 3.0 filter. It’s quite a typical scene for this filter. A static object, surrounded by something non static, such as water! This is my first location of many I’ve scouted around this town. It was at one of Brändö’s harbor areas. The ice has more or less vanished now. There is some still lurking but it’s up on the beach. The weather was not the greatest today. The sky was grey and bright, the wind was mighty and the wind was cold! Did I also mention it was a mere 4 degrees centigrade? No? Well it was! It nearly stopped me from going out all together! I had decided the day before that I would be going out to take some exposures and had really been looking forward to it! The day was fantastic! Just what I would have asked for. Blue sky’s, spotted white fluffy clouds with just enough movement to them to get some great blur when using the filter. But as the time came for me to go out with my camera it all changed! But, after little persuasion, I decided the weather would not stop me, and I would go out and get my shots!

Step by step, here we go!

Compose the shot
Choose remote release
Turn to aperture priority
Take exposure reading
Screw on the filter
Switch to manual focus
Use the iPhone app nd calc to calculate exposure time
Click release

Wait…………

The longest exposure I took was 200 seconds – 3 min 20 seconds. This captured some great movement in the water!

Today was quite a journey! Something I have been waiting to do for such a long time! It’s only one of many many locations I have found and it’s the first baby step in using the filter! I hope to get the images ready in the next few days to post. Hopefully you’ll check back for them and maybe comment?

Coolness

Matthew Watkins Mon 2 May 10:47pm

Good day for it mind!

Morning! Lovely day today! Just what i was hoping for as tonight, i will venture out into the wilderness (Vaasa) fully equipped with my Nikon D3000, Tripod, 10 stop ND filter and a flask. What will be in the flask is yet to be decided. I have a few different locations in mind and im hoping to cover at least 3 of these. They are all quite close to another so should not really cause a problem! I will post a Google Map Location of where i am shooting along with the pictures for reference! The only way i know how to do that at the moment is to take a screenshot with my iPhone 3gs and upload it as a picture and then use a browser link with it. If you are reading this and know of a different way to do so, then please share as i would be most grateful!

I am extremely excited about today’s project to be honest! It will be the first time i have used the Nd filter since its arrival! I’ve been waiting a long time to get my hands on one of these! whatever the result today i will be posting, Bad or Good shots as its all about learning and practice! Also, i will make a video of my first time using this filter and post to my YouTube site which is in the links section of the blog.

As its my first time using the filter, i will be leaving prepared with my ND Calc app on the iPhone which, if you didn’t already know, calculates an exposure time for any given ND filters accurately. Hopefully it will help me out tonight if need be. Today the Sun rose at 5:37 am and will set at 9:27 pm giving us a total daylight time of 15 hours and 49 minuets and dusk will end at 10:25 pm. This should give me plenty of time with some great evening light when i set out at around 7:00 pm.

So hopefully you will check back for the shots from tonight. They might not be here for a few days but hopefully they will be worth the wait!

Coolness

Matthew Watkins Mon May 2 9:41am

Another day, another sunset.

Yip. As the heading says. Another day, another sunset. Another sunset form the set i had posted a few days ago taken at Kalles Inn over looking the Gulf of Bothnia towards Sweden and the town of Umeå. Summer is slowly creeping in, and with that, The sun sticks around for approximately an extra 30 minuets a day. This was taken at Sunset around 8:50 pm over Easter. I have been lazy in my posts of late and the settings i used have been left out of the image post. So i think ill get back into the swing of things with this. Nikon D3000 18mm F16 2 second exposure. I used a little Photoshop in the final image just to brighten the image up and to lighten the foreground and lighthouse.

Coolness

Matthew Watkins Sun May 1 11:01pm

Always thinking, a photographers brain.

Let’s get this straight before we proceed. I, am not a photographer. I am just a guy, with a camera, willing to learn! Maybe I will never come under the category ‘photographer’ but who knows, maybe I will. Anyway who’s to decide? I suppose the day will come, until then I am a guy, with a camera, willing to learn!

I take great pride in my photography though. The urge to follow this path has been lurking inside for as long as I can remember. But have never put it into practice. I have always been into the arts and craft side of things. At school they were the only subjects I enjoyed, I’ve always known I’m a do’er not a thinker, and these were the subjects I could do, without thinking. Not to say that I excelled at these subjects, quite the opposite! I never had time for school. Schooling was always second to music. I guess I put all my creativity into my music at the time and to be honest, multi-tasking, isn’t my thing! So it’s only now, where I’ve run ashore with my musical creativity and set sail with the visual side of things! I think I’ll post some of my music for you to have a listen later on, get a little variety into the blog! I played drums for many bands back home in the Rhondda Valley South Wales and since moving abroad to Finland without my drums, I followed into playing Guitar, Bass Guitar and Piano. I started to write and record my own material in my home studio and even had a sing song on the tracks! I’ll be the first to say that all Welshmen CAN’T sing!!

I moved to Finland for a few reasons, but one was to train as a Chef. Which I completed a few years ago and am now head chef In a family run restaurant. So I guess this was a dive back into the visual side of things. I see each plate of food I serve as a blank canvas. I’ve dabbled in painting in the past, in school and home. But was never truly satisfied with the results. But it must have been the switch from canvas to china, that has greatly improved my ability to produce an aesthetically pleasing piece of work and enlightened me with a confidence that I hadn’t had before. I do wish I had this while studying. But it was not the time then, maybe? So when I did finally purchase my camera, you could say that I had already started to train my mind and eye to find the beauty in things around us. Now I have finally purchased my camera, my training has gone into overdrive! I see everything in a different light these days! I see everything as a possible photographic opportunity. At the moment, it’s overwhelming, and frustrating me. But once I can get a grip on this training and journey, the easier things will become. I guess everything is a photographic opportunity…feelings, are everywhere and feeling something, having an opinion about something…well isn’t there a photograph in there? That’s what photographs are. A feeling. A moment in time that has invoked one to take a photograph. Something that has initiated an opinion. To me this is what a photograph involves.

I am keen to learn all aspects of photography and look forward with excite to the journey ahead.

Always thinking, a photographers brain.

Coolness

Matthew Watkins May 1 10:17pm

Last of the snow. When enough, is too much.

Last shots featuring the white stuff from me for a few months. A few blue, hot, bright and sunny months! These shots were taken days before spring finally set in and the snow started to melt! I took these while driving to my work place one early afternoon. The fog on that day was something else!…. The weather changed quite drastically that week. Resulting in many fields being waterlogged. I did run these pictures through Photoshop, but to be honest i think i went a little too far on the processing…What do you think? When is enough, enough?

Coolness

Matthew Watkins Sat Apr 30 4:55pm

Is That The Postman Dear?

Finally, it has arrived! well, it arrived 3 weeks ago but only now i have my hands on it. The B+W ND11 3.0. What an amazing slab of glass. Its heavy too! i really was not expecting that! I have a few ND filters, but being the amateur i am, i picked up the cheapest ones i could find. Boy do i regret it now. I had a ND2 Nd4 and an ND8 by a company called digital filter……… i think they were 8 euros for the 3. What can you expect. They served their purpose anyways, i had some practice out of them, a few ideas and hopefully all my mistakes. I doubt it mind, mistakes are always there lurking, and your bound to make a few, but that’s what mikes the good stuff worth while. I also have a cheap polorizing filter, its from a company called Kenko. That set me back 12 euros, but its OK. Its a circular and, for what I’m using it for, it does its job. But, I figured it was time to spalsh some cash, build on the kit and pick up this filter! Man I’ve been searching out pictures of this filter at every opportunity and my god, there are some crackers out on Flickr! It was at a reasonable price when i searched for it, so decided to go for it! Its 52mm diamiter as both my lens’ the 18-55 vr 3.6f and the 50mm 1.8f are 52mm in diamiter. Now, from what i have been reading, the more common thing to do is to buy a 72mm filter and buy step down rings to fit your other lens’. Too much trouble for me, so I opted to do it this way. If, or when i get a larger diamiter lens, and i would like to use the 110 with that, i will get a larger one, but until then… I’m happy. So from what i can gather, this bad boy sets me back 10 f stops, perfect for long exposures. here is a chart that i have found on the net that kinda explains the purpose of this filter….

No Filter    With Filter
30sec          8H 32min
25sec          7H 6min 40sec
20sec         5H 41min 20sec
15sec          4H 16min
13sec          3H 41min 52sec
10sec         2H 50min 40sec
8sec           2H 16min 32sec
6sec           1H 42min 24sec
5sec           1H 25min 20sec
4sec           1H 8min 16sec
3sec           51min 12sec
2.5sec       42min 40sec
2sec          34min 8sec
1.6sec       27min 19sec
1.3sec       22min 12sec
1sec          17min 4sec
1/1.3sec   13min 8sec
1/1.6sec   10min 40sec
1/2sec      8min 32sec
1/2.5sec   6min 50sec
1/3sec      5min 42sec
1/4sec      4min 16sec
1/5sec      3min 25sec
1/6sec      2min 51sec
1/8sec      2min 8sec
1/10sec    1min 43sec

1/13sec     1min 19sec
1/15sec     1min 9sec
1/20sec     52sec
1/25sec     41sec
1/30sec     34sec
1/40sec     26sec
1/50sec     21sec
1/60sec     17sec
1/80sec     13sec
1/100sec   11sec
1/125sec    9sec
1/160sec    6.4sec
1/200sec   5.1sec
1/250sec   4sec
1/320sec   3.2sec
1/400sec   2.5sec
1/500sec   2sec
1/640sec    1.6sec
1/800sec    1.3sec
1/1000sec  1sec
1/1250sec    0.82sec
1/1600sec    0.64sec
1/2000sec   0.51sec
1/2500sec   0.40sec
1/3200sec   0.32sec
1/4000sec   0.25sec

The idea i had behind buying this filter was that my love of photography is Long Exposures. As i have said in other posts i love setting up a scene, clicking the shutter, and waiting for the finished results. So, to do really good long exposures, it helps if there’s not a lot of natural light present. Living in Finland, the winter time does not pose a threat to this, there is 3-5 hours of sunlight MAX for 2 months of the year, so then long exposures can be taken most of the day. But, Summer is fast approaching! So that means 24 hour sunlight! For approx 1 month of the year anyway, so that got me thinking. Hopefully this is the answer. I will post more about the filter and the process after i have had the chance to use it! I am so looking forward to it!

Coolness

Matthew Watkins Wed Apr 27 9:04pm

Sunset and Sandwiches.

I’m not going to say too much for this post. The images say all i could ever try too. All i can say is that im happy i had the chance to post again. Ive had my hands full for the last few weeks so i have not really been inspired enough to post, or had good enough shots to post. But then came Easter. Along with some spare time. So off i went into the sunset, without ample clothing and without my sandwiches…..

Coolness

Matthew Watkins Wed Apr 27 2:03pm

Replot Bridge

Replot Bridge. The Longest Bridge in Finland is 1,045 meters (3,428 ft) long and  has two supporting pylons are both 82.5 m (271 ft) high. The bridge took 4 years to construct, and before this bridge, the only way onto the island of Replot was by ferry….or so I’m told. I’m sure some intoxicated Replotians decided to don their speedos and give them selves a wash in the Kvarken….No doubt! This first picture is taken deep into the Finnish winter. I drive this bridge nearly every day to get to work, so as i was driving home one evening, i decided to do a spot of night photography. Never mind that it was minus 16 that night and i really was not dressed for the occasion! It is a 10 second exposure at f18. I love the fog passing under the bridge and how powerful the moon was on that night. I think this was around 2330 and in the month of December.

 

 

From one extreme winter shot of the bridge, to 3 Spring shots. A dark, murky, dirty one of the first days of spring type evening! The fog just called out for me to take these shots! It had been like this all day, and as i was driving to work, i saw these shots and knew that i would have to stop the car when driving home and spend some time at the bridge.  They were all around 6-10 second exposures at f18 and i was very lucky to get some traffic trails in the middle shot. It was on a Monday night these were taken, around 2130 and for the full 45 minuets i had spent at the bridge, 4 cars passed. Unbelievable. But at least i caught them. I cant wait to get some summer shots of the bridge with my new B+W ND 110, if it ever arrives from the shop! Hope you enjoy the shots!

 

 

 

Just a quick addition….. Blog has reached over a thousand views in the mere 3 months that it has been alive, of course I’m extremely pleased with that! If you would like to follow me on FaceBook the link is http://www.facebook.com/pages/Matthew-Watkins-Photography/215054331845365

and twitter im @teamdubb Thanks in advance!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coolness

Matthew Watkins Wed Apr 6 11.13am

Night Photography Fun

A little more Night Photography fun here for you. I love night photography. Find the object, set the camera, press the button, wait in excitement for the results!…What could be better? This first photo, is of a Fallen Birch Tree at work. It has been such a hard winter this year with incredible amounts of snow falling. This is a result of a snowstorm that occurred. The tree had split and fell over one of the area lights. Exposure was 8 seconds and at f16. Enjoy.

Next, is the church in Vaasa again. I have posted photos of this church on a previous blog post. But they were daytime captures and converted into black and white. This was a 20 second exposure at f16. Myself, i love the negative space between the tree and the church in this shot. This church has so many great angles and veiws, all that i have tried my best to capture, and hope to post up as the blog progresses.

Last one of the post. This is taken at the small harbor area near Strandgaten. It is overlooking the Restaurant Ship ‘Faros’. This restaurant has quite a lot of business throughout the summer months, not as an eating place, but as a drinking place. It is another long exposure, this time a 30 second f16 exposure. There are some traffic trails in the background from the main road leading to Sundom over Vasklot Bridge.

Coolness

Matthew Watkins

No Entry and No Pass

 

This image is my favorite image, that i have taken in the 7 odd months that i have had my DSLR. This, is the reason why!, i have wanted one for so long! the ability to slow down time! This was taken looking up towards the town of  Vaasa. There is a set of traffic lights just up a bit, so i figured it was a great point to get some fantastic traffic trails! Its also a main road so i knew that there would be plenty of traffic! Its a 30 second exposure at f16. I love how crisp and cold everything looks! It was minus 18 that night though so no wonder there is snow stuck to the lampost! I really couldn’t have asked for some better traffic trails than this. Hope you like it! The image on the blog page, for some reason does not do it justice. Click on it to enlarge it for a better look. Enjoy!

 

 

 

So, if the first photo was looking up towards the town center, the next is looking in the opposite direction. This is the view of Vasklot Bridge leading to Sundom. It is also a 30 second exposure at f16. It is another image process that i love. Taking long exposures! To take these exposures, then it is ideal for the surroundings to be dark, or in other words, to be night time! Then you can get some great traffic trails if you are in a area that has traffic, or if not, your somewhere away from the hassle of the ‘city’ life, then its possible to get some great Star Trail shots. I will defiantly give them a shot, but not this year. I will wait till the winter months of January, February where the sun switches off for most of the day here in Finland. Perfect for long exposures! But, if the night is longer than the day in the winter, then the days are surely longer than the nights in the summer i hear someone say!….Yip. They sure are. Quite considerably too. So for that reason alone, i have searched out and purchased a filter. Not just any filter. A 10 stop ND filter. That will allow me to take these long exposures in the most sunny and light conditions! Needless to say im looking forward to giving it a shot! I wont go too much into the nitty gritty of it all, as they say, a picture speaks a thousand words….so when i do get this picture, then youll know what im talking about! Hopefully…..

 

 

 

 

Coolness

Matthew Watkins Thu Mar 31 9:07pm