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….
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
OK – I’m inspired! Fantastic stuff – especially like the B&W with the Fiat half-recorded.