I'm falling deeply and madly in love ....

[Dave Humphries]

You have worded it better than I could have, but that was my own thought on the matter.

It seems we're correct, the phenomena is sometimes known as a Seiche, wind also plays a part, which I didn't mention.

[Donald]

It seems we're correct, the phenomena is sometimes known as a Seiche, wind also plays a part, which I didn't mention.

Well, well, well. You learn something new every day.

Just skim read Wikipedia on 'Seiche' and, indeed, it is as you say.

[JBW]

I am going to ask a big favour Donald. I could be the only one but I am betting there are others that would enjoy seeing a 'snapshot' of one of your shots put up beside one of these 3 minute / filters / your expertise and a little bit of luck shots.

When i see your superb shots I always have this nagging suspicion you could get as good a result with a cell phone camera.

[mknittle]

As always super nice Donald.

[Chrisclick]

This type of image must be an acquired taste, a taste I'm yet to acquire. I'll admit, manmade structures have never held any fascination for me, photographically speaking.

I suppose photography and other forms of art are always going to be subjective (pardon the pun) by nature.

For me, the most interesting (and mildly poignant) part of the shot is the bird sitting atop the light pole.

On a technical note, Donald, I notice from the EXIF that you were shooting in Auto exposure mode on your - wonderfully capable - 5DS. Is there a particular reason for choosing this mode? Wouldn't you feel more in control of the exposure shooting in Manual? I have no experience with long exposure photography, so I'm wondering if this is the preferred mode for these types of exposures.

Also curious about your choice of metering modes; did you choose Spot Metering deliberately? Once again, with no knowledge of long exposures, I would have thought that Evaluative Metering would be more suitable when you are gathering light over a long period of time. With your focus on the lighthouse, the Spot Metering would have metered for the lighthouse.

I hope you don't mind me querying these things, Donald. Trying to understand.

[Manfred M]

Do the NDs throw out the readings?

Short and sweet answer is NO.

At f/16 the focus doesn't even have to be all that close. The 24m reading your camera is giving doesn't make any sense unless you are setting up to shoot hyperfocal distance; 70mm at f/16 means anything past around 35ft will be okay for an A4 size print viewed at around 1 ft away.

[Mike Buckley]

I'm surprised you were able to maintain separation between the lighthouse and the sky. Well done!

It's so funny to me that you don't like using a slow shutter speed on waterfalls or cascades but you enjoy using one on this type of scene. I completely understand the differences between the two types of scenes, but it's still funny to me. If I regularly photographed a lake, bay or ocean, I would also be using such strong neutral density filters.

As for the EXIF data, I only know that sometimes it's undeniably wrong.

[george013]

Oh Izzie, I'm hopeless at estimating distances. I've just gone to Google Earth and measured it. It tells me it was 246 yards (226 metres).

When I search for Ainster I get this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anstruther. Looking in maps gives me your location. I think your measurements are wrong. The measurements on my other pc where in feet. And are you sure you got the horizontal distance and not the walking distance.

I don't know the place you where standing. Unless this is a crop, given the focal length and the sensor size could give me a roughly indication where.

Or I've a same looking but different harbour.

George

[Donald]

Lots and lots of comments and thoughts, which are always great to wake up to.

I am going to ask a big favour Donald. I could be the only one but I am betting there are others that would enjoy seeing a 'snapshot' of one of your shots put up beside one of these 3 minute / filters / your expertise and a little bit of luck shots.

When i see your superb shots I always have this nagging suspicion you could get as good a result with a cell phone camera.

You mean my test frame to check things before going for the shot? I'll try and remember to do that and post it. Can't do it for this one as, of course, it gets deleted as soon as I upload to the computer.

On a technical note, Donald, I notice from the EXIF that you were shooting in Auto exposure mode on your - wonderfully capable - 5DS. Is there a particular reason for choosing this mode? Wouldn't you feel more in control of the exposure shooting in Manual? I have no experience with long exposure photography, so I'm wondering if this is the preferred mode for these types of exposures.

Note sure what you're seeing there. The only thing showing 'Auto' is the White Balance and that doesn't matter anyway as I'm shooting RAW. I shoot in Manual 100% of the time. I've never shot in Auto mode in my life. I know people ask why use Manual all the time when all those nice engineers at Canon went to the trouble and time to make it so much easier to use one of the semi-auto modes. My only answer is that it's what I got used to and I now find it much easier to use than any of the other modes.

Also curious about your choice of metering modes; did you choose Spot Metering deliberately? Once again, with no knowledge of long exposures, I would have thought that Evaluative Metering would be more suitable when you are gathering light over a long period of time. With your focus on the lighthouse, the Spot Metering would have metered for the lighthouse.

Given the way I have the camera set up, the focus point and the spot metering location are not the same thing. The two are done quite separately. Why use spot metering? Same as the answer above. It's what I best understand and I can get accurate metering much more easily and quickly than by using one of the other settings. Again, it's just what I've got used to. I take the reading from the brightest part of the scene. Make sure the needle for that is way up at the right hand side, ... and shoot.

It's so funny to me that you don't like using a slow shutter speed on waterfalls or cascades but you enjoy using one on this type of scene.

I know. Just one of my little quirks. I really bought the Mor-Slo to add to the Vari ND for skies. But since getting it all we've had are grey, leaden, flat skies. And I wanted to try it in the field. So this sort of scene was the obvious choice.

When I search for Ainster I get this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anstruther. Looking in maps gives me your location. I think your measurements are wrong. The measurements on my other pc where in feet. And are you sure you got the horizontal distance and not the walking distance.

I don't know the place you where standing. Unless this is a crop, given the focal length and the sensor size could give me a roughly indication where.

And, just for George:-

[Rob Ekins]

When i see your superb shots I always have this nagging suspicion you could get as good a result with a cell phone camera.

Ouch!
Brian, give it a go...you have a cell phone right.

Donald,
Cracker of a shot,

On my monitor there appears to be some dark points extending around the end of the break walls into the water. They look to me to be introduced in post?

[Donald]

On my monitor there appears to be some dark points extending around the end of the break walls into the water. They look to me to be introduced in post?

Rob - What I did see in processing was a light strip of water extending away from me right in the middle of that gap, as opposed to two dark bits of each side. I tried to accentuate that during processing, but it didn't work so I abandoned it.

So, if there are darker bits, then they are natural. But I wonder if the lighter bit in the centre is fooling us into thinking there are two darker bits at the sides?

[pnodrog]

I'm falling deeply and madly in love .....

I trust the objects of your attention are not overcome but remain totally neutral......

[Donald]

I'm falling deeply and madly in love .....

I trust the objects of your attention are not overcome but remain totally neutral......

They do ... and that's what's so lovely about them!

[Dave Humphries]

On a technical note, Donald, I notice from the EXIF that you were shooting in Auto exposure mode on your - wonderfully capable - 5DS. Is there a particular reason for choosing this mode? Wouldn't you feel more in control of the exposure shooting in Manual?

I think this is another anachronism of displayed EXIF data Chris.

It does say "Auto", but the shutter speed/mode is shown as "Bulb" (which surely is manual by its very nature), then gives a (presumably timed) value of 178.2 seconds, at f/16 and 100 iso.

[Donald]

It does say "Auto", but the shutter speed/mode is shown as "Bulb" (which surely is manual by its very nature), then gives a (presumably timed) value of 178.2 seconds, at f/16 and 100 iso.

Thanks, Dave. I'm not seeing that 'Auto' with my EXIF reader.

On the subject of timed bulb exposures, I found a super little App that I put on my phone. It's called 'ND filter timer' and it's free. You just dial in the shutter speed without filter, then the number of stops you're planning to shoot with; e.g. 10, and it tells you what the shutter time should be. It's includes a time clock. So you just press 'Start' when you open the shutter and watch the clock run down.

[Dave Humphries]

Try this: Regex EXIF site

It shows "Auto" in a couple of places, most easily in the summary at top, but also buried in the detail block below.

That might be a 'construct' of the decoder/viewer, without looking at the 'raw' exif data, I cannot say whether it comes out of camera with that value in that field - I suspect it does though.

UPDATE: I just tried a different EXIF decoder (on FF) and that doesn't show Auto, it shows "(null)" in the "Exposure Program" field, so perhaps it is a false assumption made in the other decoder.

Cheers, Dave

[IzzieK]

Dammit Donald, every time you post an image, you push me a little closer to getting one of those bodies.
Tis indeed a gorgeous picture.

Just buy it and stop belly-aching, William...for many years you've been sacrificing, now is your time to jump to the bandwagon of upgrading...it will be well worth it...

[Chrisclick]

It does say "Auto", but the shutter speed/mode is shown as "Bulb" (which surely is manual by its very nature), then gives a (presumably timed) value of 178.2 seconds, at f/16 and 100 iso.

Yes, my version is slightly different, records the SS as "Exposure Time" - quite normal, and no mention of "Bulb".

I have had EXIF inaccuracy once before, it showed the lens as one that I do not own!

[ST1]

Another scene which works well with your chosen long exposure technique Donald. I'm not keen on the amount of sky in the image I know it's what you had on the day but I find it to featureless IYSWIM.
I wish for you some clear days with lots of wispy clouds to see what impact they would make on a scene like this.

I didn't connect Ainster with Anstruther so I too have learnt something from reading through the interesting responses in this thread.
I also found this on youtube for those of you who like sea songs LINK

[Donald]

I also found this on youtube for those of you who like sea songs LINK

Thank you, Peter.

Yes, from NYC, via New Jersey and Yorkshire, to Glenfarg, that Mor Slo filter is a wonderful addition to my kitbag. Thank you again.