30 Surreal Seconds in Leeds….

Surreal Leeds!

You’d not normally bother with the camera on a day like this was, but here’s what I tried, making a surreal Leeds….

_MG_8650
 

It’s mid-afternoon…

  • The sun is bright
  • There is a slight wind blowing the clouds
  • There are people and cars around
  • I’ve just left a meeting in Leeds…
  • So do I take more bright day shots of Leeds Town Hall – or do I go home….

Then I remember I have one of these “10-stop filters” and the clouds are moving… so decide to get some long exposure shots of the city, something a little different.

The Techy Bit…

A 10 stop filter is to the eye, a piece of black glass you can’t see through – a bit like a welding mask glass.

Its purpose is to reduce the flow of light into a camera. Here’s how it works:-

  • A 1 stop filter stops 1/2 the light entering the camera – so you need to double how long you expose your photo
  • A 2 stop filter stops another 1/2 the light entering the camera (so 1/4 of the unfiltered light) – so you need to quardruple how long you expose your photo
  • So if we go on, the 10 stop needs 2^10 times the exposure – which is 1024 times more exposure time

So if you’re shooting at 1/100th without the filter, you’d need to shoot at 10 seconds with the filter on. 

What they are used for…

So you can shoot really long exposures in bright light – what does this mean?

  • Water becomes smooth and waveless
  • Passing cars disappear
  • Shopping centres look odd – only people who stand perfectly still appear
  • Streets look empty
  • Skies look surreal – the clouds slur across the picture leaving totally alien patterns

So I didn’t stray too far from the Town Hall – just popping around Millennium Square and back

The Photos

 

Leeds town hall_MG_8644Park square in Leeds _MG_8655

Leeds town hall

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Leeds town hall

_MG_8640-2St George’s St Leeds _MG_8638

Leeds town hall

_MG_8656

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