EnglishBrenda Loc: Kent, England

Another effort at calming the sea today. The water was fairly choppy but not rough enough for much spray. All taken in the morning sun (Spain) with a 10 stop filter.

f32 for 30s


f22 for 30s


f32 for 30s


f25 for 30s


f25 for 30sec.

sus Loc: Ripon,Ca

Fine art elegance achieved.

EnglishBrenda Loc: Kent, England

Thanks Sus - always so much to learn and improve on.

FotoBuf Loc: Arizona

I like the horizon in the picture, looks more like cotton candy sea. :-) Nice job! Now try shorter and longer exposures, like 10 seconds and at dusk for several minutes. See what that does.

EnglishBrenda Loc: Kent, England

Thanks FotoBuf. Further experiments duly planned. I have experimented on different settings but on the day these seemed the best. When using ND filters is it beneficial to use a lowish f number with a stronger filter rather than a high f number with a weaker filter or shorter time when conditions offer you the option? Or is DOF the only consideration here?

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

Ultimately, that decision depends on what sacrifices you make: As you stop down, diffraction increases on all lenses. So you have choices: depth of field, diffraction, shutter duration creating a different look, iso with increased grain.... Another option, of course, is to change the time of day such that you can keep the longer shutter duration and reduce diffraction by shooting at the mid-range of your lens (F/5.6-f/8). Of course this will reduce your DOF.

FotoBuf Loc: Arizona

Depth of field is dependent on three things only. First, the focal length of the lens, size of film or sensor doesn't matter. Second, the F stop setting and third, the distance of the focus point. The wider the lens, the wider the apparent depth of field. The actual point of focus is the only place in truly sharp focus, but the apparent depth of field increases as the lens is stopped down. One site that gives a good explanation of this is www.kenrockwell.com/tech/focus.htm. You might also check out the hyperfocal settings for different F stops on the lens. Your question about the ASA or ISO setting is similar to film in that the lower the ISO or film speed the less grain in the negative and therefore the larger the print can be without looking like a series of dots. With digital sensors, the higher the ISO the more noise and again poor image quality. Having used film most of my life, I always try to keep the ISO speed as low as possible. With digital higher ISO numbers are possible than with film but... Most of what you want is up to you and your experimentation to suit you. Personally I prefer using prime lenses, faster and lighter than zoom lenses, and less equipment to haul around. That's just me. Suit yourself, just don't buy too much equipment all at once and learn the limits of what you have. Have fun and Merry Christmas!

EnglishBrenda Loc: Kent, England

Thanks LoneRangeFinder, You explained that very well. I now understand the reason for keeping the f no. lowish and not on its maximum even though that would cut out more light and allow you to use a weaker ND filter. This is what was confusing me. Happy Christmas to you.

EnglishBrenda Loc: Kent, England

Thanks FotoBuf for taking the trouble to give such a full response. I will read the link etc. I bend over backwards to keep my ISO at around 100 and I know it is particularly important to do so on long exposures. I have the 18-105mm and the 70-300m Nikon lenses only but am very happy with them and enjoy experimenting every day. Playing around with long exposures has given me a rest from chasing birds around all the time which is my usual photographic pursuit. Happy Christmas to you too and thanks again.

FotoBuf Loc: Arizona

We tend to think of F stop as being the factor in depth of field, but the wide lens at 18 to 24mm will give a very great dof at F5.6 to F8. A 24mm lens does not seem that wide on a small format camera, but it's the focal length of the lens that determines the dof. Try wide open F stops at the 18 to 24mm settings, you'll be supprised at the dof. :-)

EnglishBrenda Loc: Kent, England

Thanks FotoBuf, yes I will play around with that suggestion when next on the beach. Hopefully tomorrow.

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

Trudy: What camera (sensor size) are you using?

Sensor size actually DOES matter. Consider (these are Nikon numbers with a different crop factor v. some Canons) this example
Both shot at 55mm f/16 subject distance 10':
FX (full frame sensor): has a effective DOF of 12.3' (3.2' in front & 9' in back)
DX (cropped Nikon sensor): has an effective DOF of 7.04' (2.4' in front & 4.63' in back)

This is the source: http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

EnglishBrenda Loc: Kent, England

I am using Nikon D7000, 1.5 crop factor. I think I am going to need all my fingers and toes for these calculations.

EnglishBrenda Loc: Kent, England

But seriously I really do understand i.e. one third in front of the focus point and two thirds behind. Also, I think you are right, I need to start using more thought and accuracy in my shots and less snapping at a variety of exposures in the hope that some come good. Thanks for the spur- I think!!

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

I really think that if you plug your camera model & wide angle lens range into the DOF calculator and chose f/5.6 or f/8, you should have adequate DOF for these seascapes....

Good luck!