Mostly our camera accessories work for us, but sometimes they get in the way. The Solution is a bit of do-it-yourself.

Over recent months I have been experimenting with long exposure photography. To do this in normal daytime lighting requires the use of a very heavy neutral density filter or something like an infrared filter. These filters cut out so much light, sometimes eight to nine stops worth, that your full sun exposure stretches into minutes.

filter systems

One of the filter systems I have been using is that by the French company Cokin. This system uses square resin filters and a filter holder that you fit to your lens. This is a great system and works extremely well in normal situations with normal filters. However, what I found in actual use with these very dark (effectively opaque to the eye) is that the filter holder allowed light to leak in behind the filter and fog the exposure. With such extreme filters there was nothing that you could do to cut it completely. I tried draping a cloth over the filter holder but this only helped a little. This is not an issue with the screw in filters because they have a tight fit to the lens.

The solution was a bit of do-it-yourself

The solution was a bit of do-it-yourself. The standard Cokin filter holder has three slots to take multiple filters. But even with a filter in the slot closest to the lens there is still a gap that lens can leak through. So what I decided to do is to glue some black leather scraps that I had lying around the filter holder so that with a filter inserted the leather sits up against the filter but still allows the filter to be slid in or out without scratching.

With these modifications in place most of the flare was gone

With these modifications in place most of the flare was gone. One more thing had to be done. I needed to use the eyepiece cover incorporated into the camera strap of my Canon 400D. Without it in place it was clear that some light was leaking around the mirror when it was up. With the cover in place (oh how I dream for a camera with a built-in blind) there was no more leakage and the images were clear and sharp.

We often have expectations of what we can and cannot photograph. Usually these expectations are not only completely wrong but they also hold us back in various ways. I had this made clear to me last week.

Last week we got away to the family beach

Last week we got away to the family beach out for a bit of R&R, which was desperately needed. One night we went to an amusement park that is set up on the foreshore every summer. I had my camera gear with me more for security reasons than with an expectation of shooting. But since I was there and I had my gear I decided to try out my IR converted Canon 350D. The results were fun and not bad, pointing to some more work I should do with it.

The resulting images have the now normal to me mixed warm/cool subtle color tones and point to be being able to shoot such activities and get interesting results. Exposures were around f4 or f4.5, 1/45 to 1/60 second and 400 or 800ISO, depending on the amount of light present. I did notice that visible light levels were not always a good indicator of IR levels in this situation, so I let the camera decide.