Project 52 by Mark von Kanel

[Mark von Kanel]

well i missed last week, ummmmed and ahhhherd about whether to commit to something like this and guessed that i should finally commit to something in my life. So here goes off out to take my first pic!!

[FrankMi]

Just pretend that its last week and go for it!

[Dave Humphries]

Just pretend that its last week and go for it!

Absolutely Mark, in fact I said as much here earlier today

Welcome,

[ScoutR]

Hey Mark you're not the only one who needs a bit of a shove sometimes. Personally, I thought this project would be a great place to motivate myself to do some of the things that I think about but never get around to.

Hope you stick with it and hope to see that first shot soon

Wendy

[Mark von Kanel]

Ok got off my fat behind and went out to try something ive never tried before (well thats the idea i suppose). I have to admit that im a bit of a gear head and can be a bit lazy about using the gear, thats sooo easy to buy!!

I bought a Light craft workshop variable ND filter last summer but have never used it before, i was in for a bit of a shock! Im in Genoa at the moment and in the central square there is a fountain and i thought id go and try to get some of those ghost like motion blur images. Easy yes? NO!

For some reason when i stopped down the filter i got uneven exposure across the frame you can get this with polarising filters ( which this is essentially 2 of mounted together) so i changed my angle to the sun, but still the same problem. After much huffing and puffing i noticed that the effect was more pronounced at shorter focal lengths with higher amounts of stopping down. The effect disappeared by the time i was using 60mm focal length, by then i was a little frustrated because i wanted to use my ultra wide to get the perspective that i wanted. im going to email LWC to confirm my suspicions but can feel the purchase of a set of ND filters and mounts on the way!!

This is the effect i was getting shot at 18mm f14 for 13 seconds with 8 stops of ND



This one worked was shot at 34mm f14 for 13 seconds with 4 stops ND



This worked as well and was shot at 18mm but i stopped the lens down to f18 for 2.5 and used less on the ND filter



I swopped to my ultra wide for this and stopped way down to f22 with just a 2 stops of ND 5 second exposure



For this one i used f 22 for 20 seconds at 18mm with 2 stops ND what i found interest is that as the people got closer to the camera and their angle became more oblique to me they essentially speed up and disappear off the image. Logical i know but id never thought of it before.



Lessons i learned today:

Variable ND filters arnt all they are cracked up to be and a good set of normal ND filters are probably easier to use and when you consider that you may need grads anyway, you will already have the holder dont waste your money like i did.

When you use these filters use manual focusing

Dont forget your remote release!! i used self timer, ok but not perfect

When the exposure finished i couldn't hear the shutter close, but the data writing light came on i found that useful

If you do use a variable ND remember that there is a correlation between focal length and the amount of stops you can use on the filter to get an even exposure you can check this by using live view.

When taking photos in public using a tripod lots of tourists will ask you to take their pics with their cameras for them they will all assume your local and speak to you in the local language........

there we go week 1 done...... now what shall i do for week 2???? suggestions on a post card please.

[Mark von Kanel]

An update! just been on LCW's website and it now says that the stops gained are subject to focal length! problem solved. they also point out it can be used for hdr without altering camera settings..... interesting, might be a project for next week!

[Goldcoastgolfer]

Some great shots there Mark and it also sounds like some good lessons learnt! I've been wondering about ND filters so it was great reading about what you'd learnt.

[Donald]

Wonderful use of Project 52 as a learning exercise ....... as well as shown a rather nice set of images..

[FrankMi]

Hi Mark! Even though the sky is blown out a bit, I really like what you've done in the 4th shot. Please keep posting images and writeups like this as I (and I'm sure, others as well) are learning from your experience. Thank you!