There, I’ve said it. It’s probably incredibly unfashionable in this age of digital - in fact I often see people on forums etc discussing selling their grad filters because they have abandoned them in favour of exposure blending - but they are currently my preferred method of attempting to balance exposures.
An ND (Neutral Density) grad (Graduated) filter is basically just a piece of plastic that is dark at one end and clear at the other - the dark part of the filter is positioned over the lighter portion of the scene, reducing the light variation (dynamic range) of the scene so that it can be captured without any loss of detail.
Drawbacks
As with other methods used to make your camera faithfully reproduce a scene with a wider dynamic range than it is capable of, ND grads certainly have their drawbacks:-
- The line between the clear and dark parts of the filter is a straight one (albeit with a slight fade/graduation to make it less noticeable). Rarely will a scene have a simple, straight line transition between dark and light so you end up having to compromise and perhaps hide the transition somewhere you hope the viewer won’t notice it
- Getting the gradient to start in the correct place takes a bit of practice - if it starts too low some of the foreground with appear slightly darker - if it starts too late the brightness of the sky might appear uneven.
- Like all lenses and filters they need to be kept clean - and as I swap them around between filter holders I have a tendency to drop them
With so many negative points, why use them?
Other methods of exposure balancing (such as exposure blending or HDR) require multiple exposures of the same scene, which realistically means using a tripod. I have a tripod, and I use it a lot, but I don’t always carry it - when I’m out with the family it’s an unnecessary burden - and sometimes I make the decision not to use it at all as constantly relying on it can lead to a lack of invention. A set of grads takes up very little room in my camera bag.
Processing time. Other techniques may only take a matter of minutes when you are skilled at them but if I’m taking an afternoon’s worth of casual shots I want them all to look their best with minimal editing.
An Example
These two shots, taken at sunset in Bradgate Park show the subtle but pleasing effect of using the Cokin P121M (ND4) grad. The first shot was taken without the filter. As you can see, the foreground is quite dark.
Technical info: ISO100, 18mm, f/22, 0.5s
The second shot (below), with the filter in place produces a much more even result.
Technical info: ISO100, 18mm, f/22, 0.6s
No further processing has been done to either image. As you can see from the technical info, the second shot was exposed for slightly longer (0.1s) which allowed more light from the foreground to be picked up by the camera sensor, resulting in a more even looking photograph.
Posted in filters, tutorials.
Tagged with cokin, filter, gradient, kood, nd grad, neutral density.
When I was first introduced to photography I was horrified by the concept of “Chasing the Light” - trying to be in the right place at the right time to capture a scene at its best (or at least, how you want it to look). Now, a year later, I find it one of the most interesting and fun aspects of photography. Of course I expect it can also be a dreadful chore, revisiting the same place tens of times, just waiting for that special moment - but for the novice photographer it’s an interesting and useful experience.
I often go out in the evening for an hour around sunset - sometimes the light is quite good, other times it is overcast, but it’s always nice to visit new locations and get out for a walk in the countryside. The first time I went to this location, a field next to a footpath that leads to Bradgate Park, it was just getting dark and the light was quite poor. However I was intrigued by the crop so decided to go back the next day. Despite it being lovely and sunny when I set out, by the time I got there the weather had changed and the sky was filled with cloud.
Despite me quite liking the subdued brown of the crops I really wanted a bright, golden shot of them. I only had to wait a couple of days for the weather to improve. When it did I went back again in the afternoon - not a time I’d normally shoot but I knew the sun would be in a good position to illuminate the field but would also be out of shot.
The final shot was taken with a Cokin ND8 grad filter on the sky and a Kood light tobacco filter on the ground. The grad was used to balanced the exposure so that I could get a nice bright crop, with the tobacco filter being used to emphasize the colour.
Purchase print at RedBubble
I don’t actually know which I prefer now, but I’m glad I made the effort to get both. I’m also pleased that I went back so soon as the farmer mowed the crop down a few days later - something else that I learned the hard way - never put off taking a photo.
Posted in filters, landscape.
Tagged with cokin nd8 grad, crops, golden, kood, leicestershire, light tobacco.
This was the first sunset I ever really paid attention to - and the first one I witnessed with my camera. I hadn’t previously been aware of just how much the light changes before and after the sun goes down and being there was accidental - I had actually gone to take pictures of some boats I had noticed there earlier in the week.
I’d just taken delivery of some new filters - a light blue grad and a light tobacco grad, both Kood - and was keen to try them out. After getting the shots I wanted I started to wander back to the car when I noticed that the sun had finally disappeared from view and there was a slight ripple moving across the otherwise still reservoir.
I used both filters here - the tobacco one at the bottom and the blue one at the top. Technically I should have included some foreground but the colours in this were pleasing enough for me to not mind its exclusion.
Technical details:- 0.125 sec (1/8s), f/8.0, 21 mm
Posted in filters, landscape, sunsets, water.
Tagged with cropston reservoir, kood, moon, ripple, sigma 17-70mm, sunset, trees.
Two photos today, both from the same location, Curbar Edge Stone Circle in Derbyshire.
I was lying down when I took this, as I often seem to be now when taking photos. I’d never really thought of it before, but since dispensing with the tripod it gives that extra bit of stability and allows you to get shots that look a bit different from everyday snaps.
I had originally intended this shot, along with all the others from that day, to be in black and white and they were all taken with either green or red filters attached, but there was something about the distribution of colour in this one that made me decide to tint it (and the other shot here).
As with Shimmer a green filter and an ND4 grad were used and then a magenta tint was added in post production.
This second shot was taken slightly earlier, whilst I was waiting, and as I’ve mentioned in another post shows how much difference a few minutes can make to a image.
Whilst the grad filter is slightly too low and darkens the top of the frame a little too much the subject lends a wistful air to the shot, which lead me to decrease the saturation. I think this gave a much lighter feel, a child lost in contemplation on a warm sunny afternoon (probably wondering why a grown up is lying on the floor)
Posted in filters, trees.
Tagged with canon 450d, cokin, kood, nd grad, sigma 17-70mm, stone circle, stones, trees.
My discovery of filters and their uses has increased my enjoyment of photography immeasurably. Some ND grads were recommended to me for use on skies as an alternative to using HDR. These filters are grey and have no colour cast (the ND stands for Neutral Density) and they stop a certain amount of light entering the lens - the “grad” bit refers to the fact that they are graduated, so part of the filter is clear and lets all the light pass through, but some of it is dark and lets less light pass through. Basically they allow you to make the sky less bright, which allows more detail to be captured elsewhere in the photo, such as the ground.
The shot above, which was taken in Watermead Park, Birstall, was taken with a combination of Cokin ND4 grad (P121M Grad Neutral Grey Medium) and Kood Green filters. (The Kood filters are much cheaper than the Cokin ones and possibly there is a difference in quality, but as I’m just an amateur and trying these things out for the first time I’m not overly worried at this stage - besides I get 3 Kood filters for the price of the Cokin Light Tobacco filter that I was about to buy for £30)
The green filter is really for use in Black & White photography but I find its effect can be pleasing in colour if a red tint is added in post production to calm the green down a bit. Obviously it’s possible to alter the all the different colour levels in Photoshop to get the same or similar effect, but for some reason I don’t find it as enjoyable. Using them on the camera also seems to help me with ideas - I’m actually looking at contrast and texture more than colour and am divorced from the beauty of the scene.
This was how the image looked when it came from the camera - it’s a bit “green” but it allowed me to see how the final image would work.
The image below shows the importance of waiting at a spot for a few minutes - when I arrived there was a breeze and no pleasant reflection in the water 
Posted in filters, trees.
Tagged with canon 450d, cokin, kood, nd grad, reflection, sigma 17-70mm, trees, watermead park.
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