LEExposure/ ISSUE 07

ROM LEE FILTERS

INEF
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07
2 LEExposure

Welcome
When faced with a blank slate – be that a piece of paper or a studio space – it’s the
natural reponse of many of us to panic. How do we go about creating something to fill
that space in a way that’s engaging and will hold the attention of the person looking at
it? UK-based photographer Jake Hicks has no such concerns. In fact, nothing makes
him happier than walking into a pure white studio, knowing he can inject his individual,
slick and vibrant style into it. How does he do this? Simply, by the use of coloured gels
in front of his studio flash units. A plain white backdrop is anathema to him, but give him
a pack of orange, teal or pink gels, and he’s a happy man. Given the extent to which he
has made the technique his own, coupled with his understanding of the psychology of
colour, it’s not surprising to learn that people now flock from all over the world to take
part in his workshops. Find out more about his approach on page 6.

Talking of global audiences, YouTuber Tom Heaton has found exactly that – so much
so, that he now makes his living from the videos and tutorials he uploads weekly to his
channel. The pressure to ‘feed’ the channel is immense, but it’s something he clearly
thrives on. And it would appear that plenty of others enjoy it, too, because he now has
well over 180,000 subscribers, and he even gets recognised in the pub on occasion.
Discover how it all developed on page 62.

Elsewhere in this issue, we bring you the lowdown on the ProGlass IRND range – LEE
Filters’ newest additions to the neutral-density family. Originally developed for the
television and film industries, the filters are now making waves in the photography
world, too. Composition Masterclass is brought to you by self-confessed ‘Marmite’
photographer Doug Chinnery (page 22), while three other image-makers reveal how they
went about capturing the raw essence of a storm (page 44). On page 56, landscape
photographer Colin Prior critiques five images by LEE Filters users, while your best
photographs are showcased in The Gallery (page 27).

As always, we hope you enjoy the issue.

Contributors
> Sarah Alsayegh > Colin Prior
> Mark Bauer > Carla Regler
> Pete Bridgwood > Leo Santana
> Alessandro Carpentiero > Mike Sheil
> Doug Chinnery > Lizzie Shepherd
> Tom Heaton > Vadim Sherbakov
> Chris Herring > Stephen Taylor
> Jake Hicks > Mauro Tronto
> Norman McCloskey > Robert Warren
> Justin Minns > Suranga Weeratunga
> Nicholas Parker > Dirk Wiemer
Fuji GFX 50s with Fuji 23mm f/4 lens, 40 seconds at f/16, ISO 100,
0.9 ND Reverse Grad and 1.8 (six stop) ProGlass IRND
Photograph by Mark Bauer
4 LEExposure

06-15
> >
16-21 >
22-26
TRUE COLOURS ON NEUTRAL TERRITORY COMPOSITION
When faced with a blank white space, It’s the ambition of most photographers MASTERCLASS
nothing makes photographer Jake Hicks to nail the image in-camera and avoid
happier than being able to imbue it with spending hours on postproduction. The When Doug Chinnery started out taking
his slick, stylised and – above all – highly new proglass IRND range is designed to landscape photographs, his work followed all
colourful approach. We find out what it is help achieve exactly that. We explain how the standard conventions. Then, he stumbled
about colour that makes him tick they made the jump from the film and tv across someone’s Flickr stream and his style
industry to stills photography changed forever…

>
27-43 >
44-49
THE GALLERY ANATOMY OF A STORM
Feast your eyes on our showcase of fine Whether they take the form of waves crashing
photography, all shot using Lee Filters on to a beach or a lightning strike hitting
the ground, storms can provide the kind of
drama that few landscape photographers are
strong enough to resist. Here, we show how
to go about capturing their dramatic qualities

>
50-55 56-61
> >
62-73
THE KNOWLEDGE YOURVIEW AS SEEN ON SCREEN
There are numerous ways in which using Each month, on our website, a different His channel has more than 180,000
filters can enhance your photography. Here, professional photographer critiques subscribers, his most popular video
five professionals reveal their secrets to a range of images submitted by LEE Filters’ has been viewed 483,000 times (and
photographic success users. Here, it’s the turn of landscape counting), and he now gets recognised
photographer Colin Prior to take a look at when he’s out for a pint with his dad. We
what you’ve been up to. To see more find out how Tom Heaton is riding the
images from Your View, and to submit your wave of the YouTube revolution
own picture, visit leefilters.com
6 LEExposure
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True colours
WHEN FACED WITH A BLANK WHITE SPACE, NOTHING MAKES PHOTOGRAPHER
JAKE HICKS HAPPIER THAN BEING ABLE TO IMBUE IT WITH HIS SLICK, STYLISED
AND – ABOVE ALL – HIGHLY COLOURFUL APPROACH. WE FIND OUT WHAT IT IS
ABOUT COLOUR THAT MAKES HIM TICK
>

Spectrum of Desire

“This editorial image was taken in a penthouse in London at about 2pm

on a bright, sunny day. It looks as if it was taken at dusk, but with some
careful underexposing of the daylight outside and some Kelvin adjustments,
I was able to give the image a more interesting and engaging look”

Nikon D600 with 28-105mm lens at 85mm, 1/160sec at f/5.6,

ISO 80. Mint Green, Rose Pink and Peach filters from the Jake
Hicks Pastels Colour Pack
8 LEExposure
xposure

Photographers, generally speaking, fall into one of two it should be. Self-confessed studio-flash junkie Jake Nikon D600 with 28-105mm
lens at 62mm, 1/160sec
camps. There are those who are happy to work solely Hicks falls firmly into the latter category. Almost from the at f/11, ISO 100. Teal and
with natural light, waiting until it ‘paints’ their subject moment he first picked up a camera, the portrait and Orange filters from the Jake
in exactly the right way, then releasing the shutter at fashion photographer was obsessed with light and its Hicks Definitive Colour Pack
the split second when everything comes together. capabilities within the studio.
Then there are – for want of a better term – the control
freaks. These are the photographers whose aim is “I was fortunate with my tutors,” he recalls, speaking
to take charge of every element in the frame, almost of the art foundation course he did in his hometown
in the same way a film director would. For them, the of Reading, where he is still based now. “They were
subject, the props, the background and – most crucially incredibly creative and always trying to do things a bit
– the lighting are all elements that can be controlled, differently. I was very lucky that that was the education
manipulated and tweaked until everything is exactly as and training I had.” After this, he went on to study >>

Nikon D600 with 85mm f/1.8 lens, 1/125sec at f/2.2,

ISO 50. Teal, Orange and Purple filters from the Jake Hicks
Definitive Colour Pack

>
>

Lost Light Hair campaign

“This was an editorial shoot, and took place in a 1970s “This was one of my early opportunities to use my colourful
mansion that was once owned by Led Zeppelin. The shoot’s style in a commercial setting. The shoot was for the British
ethos was to introduce the vivid colours of our modern neon Hairdressing Awards, and it was fantastic to finally see my
world and overlay that on to the backdrop of a weathered coloured lighting being used in an industry that is notoriously
and worn interior of times past” reserved and passionate about black and white hair shots”
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11

of a photographic conveyor belt, and could involve

anything from headshots to images for a book about
yoga, it was, Jake says, “phenomenal learning. I’m not
going to lie, it was soul destroying at times, but there’s
no substitute for standing behind the lens for hundreds
of hours and learning exactly what’s going on. It was
a major contributor in terms of where I am now.”

As a result, he started on the road towards developing

what has become his signature style. “I worked for
hours in that studio, and the shoots were sometimes
monotonous, so I started trying to find ways of making
my days more interesting. Once I’d done what the client
had asked for, I’d get out the coloured gels. Often, the
client would be more interested in these images than
the ones they’d commissioned me to do.”

And if there’s one thing that characterises Jake’s work,

it’s the use of coloured gels in front of his studio lights.
It’s a technique he’s been championing for many years,
despite, for a time, it having a distinctly uncool image.
“The 1980s killed it,” he laughs. But this didn’t put him
off perfecting the use of gels, and around five or six
years ago, he found the technique gaining traction >>

Nikon D600 with Lensbaby Velvet 56mm lens, 1/60sec at f/4,

ISO 50. Colour Temperature Orange filter from Jake Hicks Nikon D600 with Lensbaby Composer Pro II and Sweet 50
Utility Gel Pack Optic, 1/125sec at f/5.6, ISO 50. Teal, Orange and Pink filters
from the Jakes Hicks Definitive Colour Pack
photography at university, where his main passion was
>

Spectrum of Desire for using flash in a controlled environment.

>
Emily Anderson model shoot
“This was a tricky shot to achieve, but the effort was Following graduation, he found himself a job in the
worth it for the result. This image was taken at about industry, and everything went swimmingly – at first. “It “It’s always tricky to shine vibrant colours on to skin, but
3pm on top of a high-rise building in London. The was around 2003 and, at the time, it was great and the with a little balancing and practice you can make it work”
resulting image looks as if it was taken at a very money was coming in,” Jake says. “But then digital
different time, though. I heavily underexposed the came along, and we found we simply couldn’t continue
daylight behind the model, then shone a Colour charging what we were. We’d go to a client meeting,
Temperature Orange (CTO) gel on to her, shifting the and they’d love our portfolio. Then, we’d get onto the
white balance in camera to compensate for the colour” subject of budget… One time, someone laughed in our
face, saying, ‘We don’t pay.’”

Disheartened by the drop in the perceived value of

photography, and the difficulty in making a living from it,
Jake left the industry. For two or three years, he worked
> Dark Desire

in an outdoor store, went climbing and mountaineering, “This shot was used in an advertisement for Bowens
and used a camera only as a means to take snapshots flash. Again, it was a fantastic opportunity to use
of his experiences. But the call of photography was too my style for a brand that would normally choose
strong for him to stay away permanently. “Plus,” he says, more conservative imagery”
laughing, “I knew deep down it was the only thing I was
good at. I had nothing else to fall back on!”

His next step was to join a studio where he found Nikon D600 with 28-105mm lens at 52mm, 1/125sec at f/5, ISO 50.
himself doing around 300 shoots a year – and Teal and Orange filters from the Jakes Hicks Definitive Colour Pack
sometimes 16 at a weekend. While it was something
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13

again. “I was able to use them in different

ways, so it was less cheesy,” he says.

Nowadays, Jake and his pack of gels can

be found photographing anything from
beauty work and images for make-up
artists’ portfolios to hairstyling campaigns
and magazine editorials. A large proportion
of his working life is also spent training
other photographers – something he
does worldwide, as well as in the UK.

But what is it about the effect of colour

that he is so obsessed with? “White
lighting holds no interest for me at all,” he
states, emphatically. “My core objective
as a photographer is to create an image
that is engaging. We see thousands of
images every day, and we can become
a bit blind to them. Using coloured gels,
for me, was a way of trying to hold the
viewer’s attention for more than a split
second. As a result, when I’m setting up
a shot, I always ask myself how I can
photograph it in a way that’s not only
visually pleasing, but also so that the
viewer will stop and ask what’s going on.”

There are several strands to Jake’s

approach to a successfully gel-lit
image, the most fundamental being
an understanding of colour and its
connotations to the human brain. For
instance, he has become particularly well
known for using orange and blue, which
are complementary on the colour wheel
and therefore aesthetically pleasing, in
a single image. He also has to remain
aware of the colours that do – and, more
importantly, don’t – look good when
projected on to human skin. Hence,
green, with its suggestion of sickliness,
is a strict no-no. Then there’s red and
green, which is only really acceptable if
you’re shooting a picture that’s going to
be used on a Christmas card.

Within each gel, there is a great deal

of flexibility in terms of hue. Place an
Nikon D600 with 24-70mm lens at 52mm, 1/125sec at f/3.2,
>

orange gel in front of a flash set to full ISO 50. Powder Blue, Peach and Dusty Pink filters from the RGG EDU video tutorial
output, and the result will be a very Jake Hicks Pastels Colour Pack
bright, yellowy-orange. Dial the flash “This image was taken as a part of a tutorial video I shot – everything. It’s a great example of how coloured gels
power down, however, and you’ll get on using coloured gels in photography. This room was can literally transform a plain room into a completely
something closer to ochre. “There’s almost entirely white: white floor, white walls, white ceiling different environment through coloured lighting alone”
no correct exposure for a gel,” Jake >>
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15

> Bitter Sweet

“I’m always looking for an excuse to

add an extra coloured light. What can
I bounce colour off, through or on to?
In this shot, I placed a massive fan
behind the model. I added a little
atmosphere via a haze machine, then
placed an orange gel on the floor
behind it. It doesn’t technically make
sense that a fan is emitting light, but
visually it doesn’t look out of place, and
it adds drama and interest to the shot”

Fujifilm GFX 50S with 63mm f/2.8 lens, 1/125sec

at f/2.8 ,ISO 100. Teal and Orange filters from the
Jake Hicks Definitive Colour Pack

Nikon D600 with 28-105mm lens at 28mm, 1/160sec at f/10,

ISO 100. Teal and Orange filters from the Jake Hicks Definitive
explains. “I can get pretty much any colour I want, The only time it becomes tricky is if Jake finds himself something simply because that’s the way you do it, but Colour Pack
simply by adjusting the power of the flash.” working in a confined space. “You have to use your I like to explain why I do it. I give reasons for absolutely
model’s body and pose to separate the lights,” he everything I do, and that’s what people seem to find
Also crucial to an image’s success is the ability to explains, “which can be difficult if they don’t have much particularly useful, because it means they can then apply

>
separate each coloured element within the set-up. room. You have to work very closely with the pose to this knowledge to their own situation.” Old English Neon
“You have to break it down into sections,” Jake make sure the lighting remains separate, but at the same
explains, “and you can’t have different-coloured gels time you’re looking for a synergy between the pose and It all feels a very long way from the days when using “Once again, I am playing with the juxtaposition of colour
overlapping, otherwise they start bleeding together the lighting. There’s a lot to think about.” coloured gel was sneered at for being naff, and Jake and adding neon colours to a very traditional-looking
and you lose all the saturation. So you might have one is a fine example of why it pays to follow your own path setting. There is certainly no way this room would be lit
colour on the back wall of a room, another on the side, As mentioned earlier, aside from commissioned and passion, as the result will nearly always be a style like this normally, but it’s about creating engaging visuals
and another on the model.” work, Jake increasingly finds himself running training that’s recognisably yours. “I get asked all the time how rather than simply lighting a scene”
workshops on lighting techniques. So, what can people to go about developing a style, and it’s a sensible
In his mind’s eye, he breaks down the scene into planes expect from one of his sessions? “People should come question,” he concludes. “But there’s only one answer
of light, and, he says, these planes aren’t only formed with a fairly good understanding of off-camera flash,” he – and that’s time. There’s no shortcut, because it takes
by the inanimate objects in the frame, such as walls says. “We’ll spend an hour or so on colour theory, then time for your voice to come through, whatever area of
and tables, but they are also created by the models we’ll go over some of the ideas we’ll be working with art you’re working in.” ■
themselves. Hence, the left side of a model’s body might throughout the day, with me explaining how they take
count as one plane of light, and the right side as another. shape and why I do them.”
And, if there’s a fill light, that counts as a third. “This is
how you can get away with using multiple colours, as What Jake remains acutely aware of during his To see more of Jake’s work and find out about his
long as you keep them all separate,” he reveals. “But the workshops, however, is not just the ‘how’ but the LEE Filters gel packs, visit jakehicksphotography.com
more you do it, the more intuitive it becomes.” ‘why’. “It’s very easy to show someone how to do
16 LEExposure

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On neutral
territory
IT’S THE AMBITION OF MOST PHOTOGRAPHERS TO NAIL THE IMAGE IN-CAMERA AND AVOID
SPENDING HOURS ON POSTPRODUCTION. THE NEW PROGLASS IRND RANGE IS DESIGNED
TO HELP ACHIEVE EXACTLY THAT. WE EXPLAIN HOW THEY MADE THE JUMP FROM THE FILM
AND TV INDUSTRY TO STILLS PHOTOGRAPHY

ProGlass IRND ProGlass IRND ProGlass IRND

0.6 ND – 2 stop 0.9 ND – 3 stop 1.2 ND – 4 stop

ProGlass IRND ProGlass IRND ProGlass IRND

1.8 ND – 6 stop 3.0 ND – 10 stop 4.5 ND – 15 stop

Putting the ‘neutral’ into a neutral-density filter is of photography (DOP), whose job it is to ensure representation and light control is all down to the DOP, appearance of the likes of Victoria, Snatch and new Jed
notoriously tricky. The stronger the light-blocking effect, everything is consistent in terms of lighting style. Andy and ND filters allow us to work with the lens stop we Mercurio project The Bodyguard, explains further. “You
the more dye is required, and therefore the greater the McDonnell, who has worked on such high-profile TV need for a particular scene.” might be shooting a wide shot and want a large depth
chances are of colour casts being introduced. It was with dramas as Humans, Happy Valley and Last Tango in of field. A close-up from the same scene would require
this in mind that the technicians at LEE Filters began Halifax, describes his role as director of photography Where the problems can arise is when the DOP has to a shallower depth of field, so you need a stronger ND
work on a new range of neutral-density filters. More as, “Anything to do with visuals, apart from design. My switch from, say, a 0.6 ND filter to a 1.2, because the filter in order to achieve it – but what you don’t want is
than two years of research and development later, the responsibilities are to organise the camera department potential for a shift in colour can mean additional fiddly, a huge colour shift between the two shots. And grading
ProGlass IRND family of filters was introduced. and the lighting department, and to make sure we have time-consuming and expensive work in the ‘grade’ (this is always a compromise, because you have to take the
the right equipment to produce what the director and is the film and TV industry equivalent of Photoshop, in worst colour shift and make everything match that – it’s
Initially, the range was developed for the TV and movie producer would like.” which colours are tweaked and re-set to make them like working backwards.”
industries. Neutral-density filters are a crucial part of appear the desired way).
the production process, but the shift in casts between He continues, “Neutral-density filters are important to However, the introduction of the ProGlass IRND range
strengths of filter can be a real headache for directors what we we do, because everything to do with colour Fellow DOP John Lee, who has been responsible for the of filters has dramatically reduced the need for >>
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19

such compromises. “There’s no colour

shift at all,” says Lee. “You can go as
far as using a 2.1 ND outside in sunny
conditions and there’s no degradation
of the image. Other filters can make
greenery outdoors almost appear
‘electric’, and you simply couldn’t
get natural-looking colours, but with
ProGlass filters the effect is invisible.”

McDonnell agrees. “Every DOP will tell

you that the stronger the ND filter, the
more its colour changes, but with the
ProGlass filters I couldn’t see a change.
With other manufacturers, you can
even see a difference in colour between
one 1.2 and another 1.2 by the same
manufacturer. This doesn’t happen with
ProGlass – they’re all the same.”

The other crucial aspect of the ProGlass

filters is their consistent stop values. If it
says it’s a 0.9 ND, it is a 0.9 ND – not a
fraction weaker or stronger. This means
all the cameras on a movie set will
match and be reading the same levels of
light, without the need to tweak them to
ensure consistency.

But what does this all mean for the stills

photographer? Landscape photographer
Mark Bauer has been putting the
ProGlass range through its paces since it
was first launched, and his findings tally
with those of the DOPs who use them
for controlling the light and appearance
of moving images. “I’ve been working
with the Pro Glass IRND filters since
they were first released, and it didn’t take
very long for them to find a permanent
place in my filter bag,” he says. “It’s no
exaggeration to say they are by far the
best ND filters I’ve worked with. The stop
values are completely accurate, which
makes calculating exposures a simple
matter, and in terms of colour, they are
absolutely neutral. I’ve done with and
without comparisons, using the same
white balance and the colours match
perfectly. And it’s not just that there’s
no colour cast – they also seem to >>

0.6 ND medium grad and 4.5 (15 stop) ND ProGlass IRND, with
no postproduction work carried out. Photograph by Mark Bauer
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0.6 ND hard grad and 3.0 (10 stop) ND ProGlass IRND, with no
postproduction work carried out. Photograph by Mark Bauer

deliver really punchy colour – something which is very way in which they are coated. And their neutrality is available alongside the ProGlass IRND range, because any way. (The vignetting occurs on wideangle lenses,
important to me.” He continues, “This might all sound complemented by the ability to block both ultraviolet their qualities are quite different. For a start, Stoppers because the angle at which light hits the filter means
a bit ‘salesy’ – but it’s my honest opinion!” and infrared pollution, which is what keeps the colours have always been known as long-exposure filters, it has to pass through more of the dye than it does in
so clean and punchy. because they aren’t neutral. Where ProGlass IRND the centre of the filter.)
Not surprisingly, LEE Filters is loath to reveal too filters are coated, with Stoppers, the dye is added
many manufacturing secrets, but the reason for such Some of you are probably wondering where all this when the glass is still molten. Their blue tone and However, for those who want a pure, clean image that
precision is not only down to the optically flat glass leaves the hugely popular Big, Little and Super Stopper natural vignette give a classic Stopper look that many requires virtually no additional work in postproduction,
that’s used to create each ProGlass filter, but also the filters. These will continue to be manufactured and made photographers still love and don’t want to change in the ProGlass IRND range is the one for you. ■
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Composition
masterclass
with Doug Chinnery
WHEN DOUG CHINNERY STARTED OUT TAKING LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHS,
HIS WORK FOLLOWED ALL THE STANDARD CONVENTIONS. THEN, HE STUMBLED
ACROSS SOMEONE’S FLICKR STREAM AND HIS STYLE CHANGED FOREVER…

“With this style of photography, you have to get over None of this means he takes a shoot-and-hope
the fact that 85% of people aren’t going to like what approach, however. When photographing a landscape
you produce.” So says Doug Chinnery of his distinctive, using intentional camera movement (ICM), it’s not a
intriguingly abstract style. “It’s like Marmite – you will case of simply waving the camera around during an
polarise opinion, but the people who really do like your exposure of a couple of seconds. “As you see something
work will absolutely adore your work.” beginning to work, you can begin to take control,” he
reveals. “It might be that everything is in the right place,
When he first started shooting landscapes, Doug’s but there’s not enough detail – or even too much detail. It
concerns were precise focus and foreground-to- can be about the amount of movement and the direction
background sharpness – the same as most other of that movement. Or it might be a case of tweaking the
photographers who are inspired to work in this filtration or aperture. It’s a refining process. Often, I’ll
discipline. But one day, he had what he describes as stand in one place for 20-30 minutes until the balance is
an epiphany. Sitting at his computer, looking at Flickr exactly right.”
for inspiration, he stumbled across the work of Chris
Friel. “I had never seen anything like it,” Doug recalls. In terms of composition, Doug explains he still makes
“Up until that moment, everything I’d been fed from the same decisions as any classical landscape
other photographers was all about sharpness. But here photographer. He chooses where to point the camera Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 24-70mm f/2.8 lens, four seconds at
was this image looking back at me from the screen and what to include in or exclude from the frame. And, f/11, ISO 200, two 0.9 ND filters, 0.6 ND soft grad, polariser
where almost nothing was sharp. I went back to his very often, he prefers a tree, hill or cottage, say, to
photostream constantly over the next two or three days, remain identifiable, so they can’t be placed randomly
and I realised there was another way of expressing within the image. Storm surge
myself with photography.”
When it comes to processing, the creativity continues. “The beauty of working with abstract forms is that you is longer than I would usually shoot. I achieved this by
It’s the serendipity and sheer lack of control that appeals “When I processed my classic landscapes, my intention are disguising and altering reality, and as a result you using two 0.9 ND filters and a polariser, as well as a
so much to Doug. As he puts it, “Nobody can duplicate was to preserve the integrity of the landscape. When can be much more creative with your locations. At first, 0.6 ND soft grad to make the sky darker. I then created
one of your images, but even I can’t duplicate an image I process these images, however, I don’t want to be it’s easy to obsess about technique, but you have to get a composite image using a second ICM image – as
I’ve just taken. You can get something similar, but it won’t constrained at all. As far as I’m concerned, anything past that as quickly as you can. It’s about the image, a result, the fine texture you can see over the top is
be identical.” goes. I’ll flip an image, turn it upside down, alter the not the technique – it’s much more important to get marram grass from some sand dunes, which I blended
colours – basically, whatever it takes to make an image to a location and think about the place, how you feel in very gently to give texture in areas where I felt there
The lack of control means he shoots a lot. And we that conveys something I want to express.” about it and how to interpret it. This image was taken wasn’t enough in the water alone.
mean a lot. A typical session in the field might result in Northumberland on a trip that was characterised by
in him coming home with between 500 and 1,000 stormy and turbulent conditions, and I wanted to create Although I abhor the rule of thirds, I’ve used it in this
images. Of these, he will keep no more than a couple Visit dougchinnery.com a feeling of being out in the water, like a sailor in a boat. picture, plus there are compositional devices such
out of every 100. I love the paintings of JMW Turner, with their heavy skies as diagonal lines and triangles, and the bright patch
and swirling water, and emulating that effect is difficult. at the bottom balances with the top. With ICM and
multiple exposures, your images still have to work
The processing in this image was more complex than compositionally. They can’t be random – they have
the others. My base exposure was four seconds, which to connect with the audience and draw them in.” >>
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Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon TS-E 45mm f/2.8, 1/15sec

at f/22, ISO 50, 0.9 ND filter, polariser
Showers Over Luskentyre
“This image was shot on a campervan trip to Lewis and showing what it looks like. With my photography, I’d I handheld the camera in one hand, and the lens was
Harris one autumn. Very few people were there at the rather try to convey what I felt when I stood there. fitted with a polariser and a 0.9 ND filter to make my
time, and the Atlantic storms and constantly changing exposure five stops slower. You can tell from the direction
skies meant we saw the Outer Hebridean island at On this day, my wife had retreated to the campervan, of the movement in the shot that I would have been
its very best. In conditions such as these, intentional and even our dog felt it was better to dodge the flicking the camera downwards as I exposed the image,
camera movement comes into its own. I feel that classic showers. I stuck it out, because as each squally shower to accentuate the flow of the rain. I didn’t want
landscape photography can become very sterile, so passed over, the silvery light following behind it was to lose the shape of the hills and the patterns of light
a technique such as ICM enables me to capture the magical. The tide was out, the light was reflecting on the on the sand, hence the short shutter speed. Any slower,
mood and emotion of a place, rather than simply sand and the curtains of rain falling were wonderful. and the image would have been too abstract.” >>
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the

Gallery
FEAST YOUR EYES ON OUR SHOWCASE OF FINE
PHOTOGRAPHY, ALL SHOT USING LEE FILTERS

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon TS-E 45mm f/2.8, one second
at f/22, ISO 100, 0.9 ND soft grad, 0.9 ND filter

High tide
“Taken in 2011, this was a very early ICM image that letting go and experimenting. For instance, I over-grad
I took as I was trying to learn the art of the abstract some of my images in order to artificially make the
– with its blocks of colour, it’s about as simple as the sky look stormy or dark, and that’s what I did with this
technique gets. I panned from left to right, and used a bit image. It’s the sort of thing that would be anathema to
of ‘wobble’ to get the curve. Basically, I kicked my hand classic landscape photographers, but it can create very
up to mimic the wave action and create the swirling feel. pleasing effects in the right image.

I don’t tend to make many images like this any more, but There’s no such thing as the photography police.
that being said, I like the simplicity of it. It’s a graphic Nobody should tell us how our images should look, so
image and the colour combinations work well, with the I always tell people to experiment and give something
contrast between warm and cool, and the textures in the new a go – you have nothing to lose. You can be sure
foamy water in the middle. that the artists who make an impact on the world are
those who do things differently. And if we want to make
Nowadays, I tend to move the camera more, and in an impact, we have to think differently and sometimes be
different directions within the same image. It’s all about prepared to fail.” ■
28 LEExposure

29

Vadim Sherbakov
Moscow, Russia

Ponte dei Sospiri, Venice

I was walking back to my hotel from
another location where I’d been shooting,
when I saw that this spot was completely
free of tourists, which was extremely
unusual. I stopped to look, and noticed
that the light was particularly pleasing.
I wanted to shoot something a bit
different, so I decided to combine a long
exposure with the gondola.

I set up my camera on a tripod and

fitted a Big Stopper. Because there was
no traffic on the canal, the water was
pretty smooth. I waited a few minutes
for a gondola to pass by. Later on, at
the computer, I combined a few different
exposures – one for the sky, another for
the long exposure and then the gondola
– in one image. The trickiest element to
capture was actually the gondola, as I
wanted it to be sharp.

The fact that it combines a long exposure

with still subjects is what makes this
photograph stand out. >>

Canon EOS 80D with Canon 24-105mm f/4L at

24mm, 43 seconds at f/8, ISO 100, Big Stopper
30 LEExposure
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31

Moscow State University

This is a very popular location in Moscow, so, rather into one image. I took several shots of the sky and a long
like the photograph on the previous page, I decided exposure of the water. The most difficult part was the
to create my own take on it, by making a composite postproduction, combining different qualities of light with
image. I spent about two hours standing in front of the a long exposure and the various clouds. I like to take a
building, capturing exposures right through from the new spin on popular locations, and I hope this approach
golden hour to the blue hour, and later combined them has worked well in this image.

Canon EOS 6D with Tokina

16-28mm f/2.8 lens at 20mm,
eight seconds at f/8, ISO 100,
Little Stopper

Canon EOS 6D with Tokina

16-28mm f/2.8 lens at 18mm,
46 seconds at f/8, ISO 100,
Big Stopper

Neist Point, Isle of Skye

I’d seen a number of pictures of this lighthouse, and was and found an even better spot. I just had enough time to
keen to photograph it, so my wife and I made a point move before the sunset started in earnest. As with the
of going there when we were on holiday on Skye. She previous images, it’s a composite of sky, foreground and
stayed at the top of the cliff overlooking the peninsula long exposure on the water. >>
and lighthouse, while I went off to search for a good
angle. Finally, I settled on a composition and waited for Visit vadimsherbakov.com
the sunset, but while I was waiting, I explored a bit more
32 LEExposure

33

Stephen Taylor
Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute

Millau Viaduct, France

Nikon D800 with Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 lens at 32mm, 1/40sec
at f/11, ISO 100, 0.9 ND soft grad

The Millau Viaduct is one of the most famous bridges

in Europe and is comfortably the highest in Europe, if
not the world. It is an absolute triumph of design and
engineering. France is an amazing country to visit and
the Millau Viaduct stands out as one of the best things
to see. I have a real love of car travel and it was a dream
come true to finally drive over the bridge – and, being a
photographer, I couldn’t resist taking a photograph of it.

In the image, I wanted to convey our relationship with

the landscape and perhaps illustrate that despite our
interference with nature our own impact on the landscape
can be striking and beautiful. It is a marvellous design
and proves that contemporary architecture needn’t be
seen as an eyesore. In terms of the photograph, this was
taken from the viewpoint on the A75 services heading
north. The timing of the photograph required careful
planning. I wanted to capture the bridge without moving
traffic. A moment came when it was completely car free
and I fired the shutter. While you can Photoshop these
things out, with all the railings on the bridge, it would be
difficult and time consuming to do it well. I had thought
about using a long exposure to ghost out moving traffic,
but there was a fair wind blowing and I didn’t want the
foreground foliage to be blurred. Finally, I used a 0.9
ND soft grad to allow a little more shutter time to allow
the foreground foliage to be exposed correctly without
blowing out the sky. Using a soft-edged filter got round
the issue of an obvious filter line.

Keeping the camera level on both planes was also vital

to avoid converging verticals and unwanted distortion.
It can be corrected in postproduction but you start to
lose the edges of the image while doing it. The weather
in the south of France is usually excellent and the lovely
late-evening sunlight brought out the metalwork of the
bridge wonderfully. >>

Visit sftphotography.co.uk
34 LEExposure

35

Suranga Weeratunga
Colombo, Sri Lanka

Ice cave, Vatnajökull Glacier, Iceland

Iceland is an amazing country for landscape guide and book a number of tours with him. He is the
photography. I’ve been fortunate enough to be there subject in this photograph, waving the sparkler. It was
in both winter and summer, and it is always a paradise a very cold day and I didn’t have a chance to try any test
for photographers. I particularly enjoy shooting the shots, but I was lucky with this one and the exposure was
ice caves and the northern lights. perfect. I would love to visit these caves again and again.
Nature is amazing, and on each visit you can expect
To reach these amazing caves, I had to contact a local different conditions, and so get different images.

Nikon D810 with 16-35mm f/4 lens at 35mm, 1/800sec at f/4,

ISO 400, polariser

Glacier rivers,
Iceland

No, this image isn’t a painting or a drawing – it’s from My pilot explained that the colours are due to the way
a series I took of this mind-blowing view of glacier rivers in which the sunlight hits the sediment from the glaciers,
in Iceland. Taken from a height of more than 1,000ft, it’s which are at varying depths in the river. They are mostly
hard to believe the colours and patterns are real, but mineral deposits created from larger sections of the
they are. In order to capture this image, and the others glacier upriver. Slowly and surely, the river grinds them
in the series, I flew for more than three hours in an down, carrying them bit by bit to the sea. >>
Nikon D810, with 14-24mm f/2.8 lens at 14mm, ten seconds
open-windowed Cessna aircraft. Not surprisingly, it was
at f/6.3, ISO 400, Little Stopper, tripod a challenge to shoot in the strong winds, and at Visit surangaw.com
temperatures of minus 10-15°C.
36 LEExposure

37

Alessandro Carpentiero
Milan, Italy Olympus OM-D E-M1 with Olympus 7-14mm at 9mm,
eight seconds at f/7.1, ISO 200, Little Stopper

Blue Mosque,
Istanbul

The Blue Mosque is certainly one of the

most beautiful landmarks in Istanbul. It’s
also one of the most crowded. I spent
an afternoon there trying to shoot a very
long exposure, but the crowds were
so overwhelming that not even the Big
Stopper could help. I didn’t know what to
do, until the weather came to my rescue:
a storm was on its way and the rain
started to fall. After only a few minutes,
everyone had disappeared, and I found
myself in front of a scene that I didn’t
ever think I’d be able to get.

My aim was very clear – I wanted to

capture a dramatic sky filled with dark
and moving clouds, as opposed to the
immensity of the mosque’s architecture.
The drops of rain didn’t make my life
easy, which is why I didn’t go for too
extreme an exposure. Still, the strong
wind helped by moving the clouds
enough to create this stunning effect.
Sometimes things don’t go according
to plan – they can go better! >>
38 LEExposure

39

Burj Khalifa, Dubai Burj Al Arab, Dubai

Best hotels have five stars, right? Well, the Burj Al Arab depth and texture on the hotel’s architecture. It was the
has seven. This is how things work in Dubai – everything kind of calm morning where the only movement you
is possible. So is it also possible to find a calm, peaceful get is the gentle motion of the sea. It was the perfect
essence within this futuristic city? This was the question moment. The Little Stopper allowed me to capture the
I asked myself when planning this shot. motion of the waves, while the polariser enhanced the
reflections and the sea’s colours. >>
I headed to Jumeirah Beach at 5am, but the sunrise was
pretty mediocre. Still, I really wanted this shot, so I just
stayed and waited for the morning to come. The first Visit alessandrocarpentiero.com
rays of sun started to illuminate the beach, creating

Olympus OM-D E-M1 with Olympus 7-14mm at 7mm,

one minute at f/8, ISO 100, Big Stopper

Ever since I first learned about Dubai I knew I had to I set my tripod as high as it would extend (a clamp
photograph it. I’d had this picture in my mind for a few would have been a better solution, in retrospect), and
years, and I still can perfectly remember the excitement set an exposure long enough to capture a full light trail.
I felt while standing on the 42nd-floor terrace, ready Fortunately, cars move pretty fast on Sheikh Zayed Road.
to make my dream a reality. My idea was to capture The strong artificial light made it tricky to get a balanced
Dubai as the city of the future, portraying the tallest exposure, so I made sure I captured a few darker
building in the world, the Burj Khalifa, standing tall exposures for the highlights, too, which I then manually
above the city during the blue hour. blended in postproduction. Olympus OM-D E-M1 with Olympus 7-14mm at 14mm,
0.6sec at f/11, ISO 200, Little Stopper, polariser
40 LEExposure
xposure

41

Mike Sheil
Oxford, UK

Shells in fields, the Somme

All of these photographs were taken as part of my of what is called the ‘Iron Harvest’. Even after the passing
exhibition project Fields of Battle, Lands of Peace 1418, of a century, about 150 tons of unexploded ordnance is
which documents the battlefields of the First World War uncovered every year by ploughing.
as they are today. The whole purpose is to show that time
and nature has turned places of death and horror into I used flash to emphasise the presence of these sinister
landscapes of great beauty and tranquility. steel ‘mushrooms’ as they seemingly sprouted from the
grass, and the filter was used to darken the sky to create
This picture is taken on the Somme and shows the reality the sombre landscape to act as backdrop the shells.

Kodak DCS Pro 14n with 17-35mm f/2.8 lens at 26mm,

1/125sec at f/19, ISO 160, 0.6 ND soft grad

Nikon D700 with 17-35mm f/2.8 lens at 25mm, 0.3sec at f/5.6,

ISO 200, 0.6 ND soft grad

Brooding soldier,
near Ypres

Near Ypres in Belgium, this Canadian memorial is

known as the ‘Brooding Soldier’ and marks the place
where poison gas was first used in 1915. It is a very
simple and powerful memorial, and I wanted to retain
that sense of power by excluding any distracting detail,
hence the night-time shot.

The area is quite densely populated, and there is

a great deal of light pollution at night, so I used the
filter to darken the sky and thus accentuate the detail.
The filter enabled me to control the light while still
retaining sufficient detail to keep the shape of the
statue defined within its surroundings. >>
42 LEExposure

43

Nikon D700 with 17-35mm f/2.8 lens at 17mm, 0.8sec at f/13, Nikon D700 with 17-35mm f/2.8 lens at 17mm, 1/125sec at f/9,
ISO 200, 0.6 ND soft grad ISO 200, 0.9 ND soft grad

Floods, Yser Valley, Flanders Sunrise, Amiens

The battle at Amiens is generally regarded as a turning
In 1914, the Belgians used an especially high tide to I wanted a picture that, while suggesting those thick point in the conflict in 1918 and I wanted a photograph
inundate the low-lying Yser valley in Flanders to act as a white mists in the French soldier’s quote, would also that would be strong and dramatic. The landscape
barrier against the advancing German army. This shot clearly show the nature of the landscape, so I was here is very flat, so I was fortunate to gain access to
was inspired by the the words of a French soldier who after soft tones and no real highlights or shadows. The a memorial tower that gave me the elevated position
wrote, “Water is everywhere: in the air, on the ground, real problem was getting a morning that combined mist I needed. I made five pre-dawn visits before I got the
under the ground. It is the land of dampness, the with a bright sun to provide backlight during periods of right balance of mist, which muted the rays of the rising
kingdom of water. The north-west winds... carry heavy winter flooding: I think I made three separate trips over sun through the use of a soft ND filter. ■
clouds… As soon as the rain ceases to fall, thick white two years before I got this shot.
mists rise from the ground giving a ghost-like Visit fieldsofbattle1418.org
appearance to men and things alike.”
44 LEExposure

45

Anatomy of then you count yourself lucky,” Sarah explains. “The lone waited for the lightning to strike. Much to the surprise
tree in this shot is all we had – so we shot it.” of the others on the workshop, she also fitted a 0.6 ND
hard grad. “People think it’s strange that I use filters,
Using a MIOPS trigger that she bought as soon as she as they often shoot and run, but without it, the clouds

a storm image
touched down in the States, she set up her camera and would have lost their drama.”

A 0.6 ND hard grad ensured every bit of detail and

WHETHER THEY TAKE THE FORM OF WAVES CRASHING ON TO A BEACH OR A LIGHTNING texture was retained in the clouds, emphasising the
STRIKE HITTING THE GROUND, STORMS CAN PROVIDE THE KIND OF DRAMA THAT FEW contrast between their grey-blue colour and the green
LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHERS ARE STRONG ENOUGH TO RESIST. HERE, WE SHOW HOW of the foreground.
TO GO ABOUT CAPTURING THEIR DRAMATIC QUALITIES A MIOPS Smart Trigger,
designed for high-speed
photography, helped
Tree and lightning, Texas ensure Sarah captured the
lightning the moment it
Canon EOS 5D Mark III with EF16-35mm A distant hailstorm hit the ground. The fact
By Sarah Alsayegh f/2.8L II USM at 16mm, 1/10sec at f/10,
Kuwait meant that the area just that it struck just to the
ISO 50, 0.6 ND hard grad
above the horizon was right of the tree was an
smooth and soft. This added bonus.
allows the tree stand out
clearly and gives the
image depth.

It can be tricky to find a spot that has

It would be easy to overlook, but this foreground interest when storm-chasing,
distant farmhouse on the horizon helps so Sarah and her companions made the
to give a sense of scale, showing off the most of this tree when they spotted it.
sheer enormity of the storm clouds.

ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER

Kuwait-based Sarah Alsayegh first fell in love with own camera after ‘borrowing’ her father’s, Kuwait
photography in 2005, shortly after graduating was engulfed by a huge dust storm – a phenomenon
from college. She was instinctively drawn towards known as a ‘haboob’, which can be several
landscape photography, but ‘classic’ landscapes kilometres high and can travel up to 60mph. Sarah
are thin on the ground in this Middle Eastern state. did her best to photograph it, under very tricky
Instead, as Sarah puts it, “I had to look for a different conditions, and it was from this that a passion for
kind of beauty in Kuwait.” shooting storms developed. As a result, in 2016,
she travelled to the USA to take part in a storm-
“The cloud formations you get in a storm in the US know you’ve crossed state lines because of the change As a result, she cut her teeth on the futuristic chasing photography workshop with photographer
are simply amazing,” says Sarah Alsayegh of her in the speed limits”. As such, all she recalls about this cityscapes of her home city, finding inspiration in and filmmaker Mike Olbinski, then followed up
experiences of these extraordinary phenomena. image is that it was shot “somewhere near the Texas- the all-too-brief ‘blue hour’ at the end of the day, with a second in 2017, when she shot the image
“Although there are sandstorms in Kuwait, where I’m Oklahoma border.” when daylight and the artificial lights of streets, shown on these pages.
from, they don’t have the same texture as the storm homes and office buildings balance so beautifully.
structures you see in the US.” When it comes to capturing the quality and drama
of a storm, it’s very often simply a case of stopping Some five or six years after she started taking Visit salsayegh.com
Chasing storms is a far from relaxing affair. It’s easy and setting up wherever the clouds start to form. This photography seriously, having graduated to her
to cover more than 5,000 miles in the course of just was the case with the image shown here. “If you have
one workshop, and often, as Sarah explains, “You only foreground interest – such as a tree or similar subject –
46 LEExposure

47

direction. “The end of the pier worked well for providing behind them,” Carla explains. “You can depict the drama
The end of Ophelia, Porthleven, Cornwall interest and structure as the waves rolled in,” she says. just as well – and often even better – if you have layers
of waves throughout the frame.”
By Carla Regler It can be easy to get carried away when photographing
storms, and assume that the biggest waves will produce Shooting handheld, Carla tends to work at shutter
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II
USM at 255mm, 1/500sec at f/8, ISO 400, polariser the most photogenic results. However, this is rarely the speeds of around 1/500sec, with an aperture of f/8 or
case. “The trouble with big waves is they fill the frame thereabouts. She then lets the ISO rating fall where it
when you’re shooting with a long lens, so you lose any may – but as storms can often be surprisingly bright,
sense of depth because you can’t see what’s going on the ISO may not be as high as you might first think.

When conditions during a The biggest waves aren’t

storm are very bright, there will always the best. Capturing
be haze and spray to contend a range of waves from
with. A polarising filter helps to foreground to background
cut through this and define the helps to give the image a sense
waves more clearly. of depth and movement.

Having a solid object within the

frame not only contrasts with
the movement of the waves, but
also gives a sense of scale.

The sun was shining brightly

from above and to the right.
A chamois cloth is an essential This meant Carla had to expose
accessory, as it doesn’t cause carefully to ensure she retained
streaks on the filter in the way detail in the brightest parts of
a lens cloth does, and so avoids the image.
smears spoiling the image.

ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER

When Carla Regler moved to Cornwall in 2010, it and subsequently she was asked to join Charlie
wasn’t to become a photographer – it was to open Waite’s photo holiday company, Light and Land, as
a restaurant with her partner, Chris. But the daily a tour leader. Since then, not only has she led
walks along the cliffs with her dogs, watching the tours to destinations such as Iceland, Norway and
changing light, inspired her to pick up a camera Provence, but she has also opened a gallery in
and attempt to capture the conditions. Photography Porthleven, just a couple of doors down from the
became a release from the hard work in the restaurant. Now a full-time photographer, she divides
restaurant, and she went on a number of workshops her time between producing work for the gallery and
to learn as quickly as she could. leading workshops. “I love helping people progress
with their photography, because I was in the same
In 2014, south-west England was hit by very severe position only a few years ago,” she says.
This image was shot in October 2017, when Storm and you can end up going back and forth without finding storms, and Carla’s shot of Porthleven being
Brian made its way across parts of the UK. Needless what it is you want and settling on it.” pounded by the waves went on to win the weather
to say, Carla headed out with her camera to capture category in the British Life Photography Awards. The Visit carlaregler.com
the essence of the storm. “I’m always like a child in In the past, she has almost always ended up shooting ensuing publicity gave her the leg up she needed,
a sweetshop in these sorts of conditions,” she laughs. towards Porthleven’s famous clock tower, but on this
“It’s difficult to know which way to point your camera, occasion she decided to point her lens in the opposite
48 LEExposure

49

Danger Beach, Derrynane The stormy skies were the focal point,
By Norman McCloskey but the light was changing from second
to second. A 0.6 ND soft grad retains
The breaking light over the horizon is a their foreboding blue tone and keeps
small but significant detail, which tells control of the exposure.
the story of an approaching rainstorm.

The headlands on either

side of the composition
stop the eye from
wandering out of
the frame and keep
everything central – which
is a characteristic of
A 0.9 ND ProGlass filter Norman’s photography.
slowed down the exposure
slightly, giving just
long enough to blur the
waves a little, and capture
some movement in the Norman had been struggling with
foreground grasses. his composition, and it only fell into
place once he included these sidelit
grasses in the frame. They soften the
foreground and provide a pleasing
juxtaposition to the hard rocks.

Canon EOS 5DS R with EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM at 16mm,

ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER
five seconds at f/6.3, ISO 200, 0.6 ND soft grad, 0.9 ProGlass
Norman McCloskey started photographing the I could get up early when I wanted to, do my own
stunning landscape of south-west Ireland some 25 photography, then come back and work.”
Norman has been visiting this spot on the Iveragh darker,” he admits. “Now, I arrive at a location later and years ago, but it hasn’t always been his home. After
Peninsula, in Ireland’s County Kerry for more than I work later, and I’m not afraid of missing, say, the glow studying photography in Dublin, and working as an Once he was confident he had a strong, cohesive set
20 years, but he has always found it a tricky place to of the sun with all its reds and golds.” assistant to various commercial photographers, he of work, he took the step of opening a photography
photograph. “It’s a very wide expanse,” he explains, then joined a sports photography agency, intending gallery in his hometown of Kenmare, and also
“but this section has some interesting rocks to anchor By working close to the rocks, Norman was able to to stay for six months. He ended up running the published his first book, Parklight. “I’m now living
everything in place. This image was shot in the winter shelter from the full force of the winds that were coming picture desk and commercial arm of the business for the dream,” he says, “making my living from
of 2016, when there was a non-stop conveyor belt of directly off the Atlantic, so wasn’t in the direct path of 18 years. However, after a few years, he informed his producing and selling my own work. I can go away
storms all winter long. I became quite accustomed to the spray. “You can work quite comfortably, but you boss he was going to start working from home – and for three days and spend all that time making
working in those conditions.” have to be prepared,” he says. “Winter on the west ‘home’ would be 250 miles away in County Kerry. pictures. I can then put a print on a wall a few days
coast of Ireland is pretty dramatic, but you have to be later – and it sells. It all begins to make sense.”
On this occasion, though, he ended up waiting until wary of going out in stormy conditions. Social media “I worked from home for 12 years,” Norman explains.
the really dramatic light and in-your-face drama had has created an appetite for these types of picture, “It meant I had a well-paid job but huge freedom in Visit normanmccloskey.com
passed, preferring to capture the slightly quieter face and you do see people taking risks to feed that need. terms of time to take pictures out in the landscape.
of the storm. “My work has started moving away from I have 25 years’ experience of working on this coastline
impactful colours and saturation to something a bit and I’m as cautious as you should be.”
50 LEExposure

51

The knowledge
THERE ARE NUMEROUS WAYS IN WHICH USING FILTERS CAN ENHANCE YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY.
HERE, FIVE PROFESSIONALS REVEAL THEIR SECRETS TO PHOTOGRAPHIC SUCCESS Canon EOS 5D Mark II with EF17-40mm f/4L USM at 33mm, 1/6sec
at f/13, ISO 200

Misting filters
In certain conditions, no matter what you
do, lenses and filters always manage to
steam up at the worst possible times,
usually when the light is at its best.

On misty mornings, when you are right

in the thick of the conditions, I find the
resin grads in particular will mist up in
use, even when they have been out for
a while to acclimatise to the changes in
temperature and humidity. Often, the lens
behind can be fine, with no condensation
on it at all, it’s just the grads that are
misting up. Wiping the filter just seems
to make more of a mess, and you then
have to spend five minutes trying to
clear the smears from the filter. I find the
best thing to do is simply take the filter
out of the holder and place it in the soft
Lee Filters wallets, leave it for around 30
seconds and it usually clears up so you
can continue shooting straight away. You
may have to keeping doing this, but you
can usually get plenty of shots before it
needs doing again. >>

Chris Herring

Visit theuklandscape.com
52 LEExposure

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 17-40mm lens at 29mm, 203 seconds 53

at f/16, ISO 50, Big Stopper, 0.9 ND hard grad (used as ND
filter), 0.6 ND hard grad

Movement and moments

Photography allows us to visualise something that creative door to impressionism. Blocking 99.9% of
is otherwise impossible: the effect of visually slowing the light entering our lens on a sunny day creates the
time and encapsulating it in a still image. The imagery perfect exposure requirements to capture the essence
created by intentional camera movement (ICM) offers an of life itself; because life isn’t about ‘freeze-frames’, it’s
alluring distraction from more conventional workflows. about ‘moments’.
Visual emphasis of a spiritual connection between the
photographer and their subject, rather than a strictly Pete Bridgwood
literal photorealistic capture, can intensify the emotional
engagement of the person viewing the final print. Using Visit petebridgwood.com
the Big Stopper in the middle of the day unlocks the

When is a grad not a grad?

Thanks to their size and the small area of the graduation, among the rocks below. To get the shot, I used a 0.9 ND
hard or very hard neutral-density graduated filters have hard grad in its place, pulling it all the way down until
a large area of solid tint and, at a pinch, can be used to the coated area of the filter covered the lens. Of course,
double up as an ND filter. it’s better to have both in case you need to use them
together, but sometimes needs must. >>
On this occasion, I was shooting a long exposure on
a fairly bright day and the Big Stopper wasn’t providing Justin Minns
quite enough filtration to give me the slow shutter speed
needed to smooth out the water. I decided to add a Visit justinminns.co.uk
0.9 ND ProGlass filter, but managed to drop and lose it
Fujifilm X-T1 with Fujinon XF55-200mm f/3.5-4.8 R LM OIS
lens at 140mm, 1/5sec at f/5.6, ISO 200, Big Stopper
54 LEExposure

55

Tone down the highlights

Small gaps in the cloud at either end of the day can bright patches of sky and would have detracted from
be wonderful for giving us a splash of warm light and the emphasis I wanted to place on the pine trees. I also
colour; however, they can also be problematic with the found that the medium grad allowed me to hold back
potential for blown highlights or simply by being too those brighter areas of sky without overly darkening the
distracting when included in the frame. Although there island and pine trees. I did, however, lighten the upper
is a degree of subjectivity here, this is even more the area of sky in Lightroom. ■
case when doing longer exposures. Here, I found that
an exposure of six seconds, courtesy of the Little Lizzie Shepherd
Stopper, gave me a pleasing balance of blur and
texture within the sea, while maintaining the shape of
the clouds. A longer exposure would have rendered Visit lizzieshepherd.com
the clouds streaky, really emphasising those smaller,

Canon EOS 5DS with EF70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS UMS at 83mm,

1/20sec at f/11, ISO 400, Landscape Polariser

Use a polariser in woodland

When it comes to using a polarising filter, most on dull days. Simply rotate the filter until you see the
photographers immediately think of sunny days and effect that you want. If you use LEE’s Landscape
enriching the colour of blue skies to contrast with Polariser, this also has a slight warming effect, which
clouds. Not so many of us think of fitting a polarising gives real punch to autumn colours.
filter when we’re shooting in woodland, but it is an
excellent way of boosting the colour of foliage. By Mark Bauer
reducing surface glare, a polariser takes the sheen
off leaves, thus restoring their natural saturation. It Visit markbauerphotography.com
doesn’t need to be sunny – this works just as well
Sony A7Rii with Zeiss Loxia 50mm f/2 at f/16, six seconds
at f/16, ISO 100, 0.6 ND medium grad, Little Stopper
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57

YourView
EACH MONTH, ON OUR WEBSITE, A DIFFERENT PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER CRITIQUES
A RANGE OF IMAGES SUBMITTED BY LEE FILTERS’ USERS. HERE, IT’S THE TURN OF LANDSCAPE
PHOTOGRAPHER COLIN PRIOR TO TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT YOU’VE BEEN UP TO. TO SEE MORE
IMAGES FROM YOUR VIEW, AND TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN PICTURE, VISIT LEEFILTERS.COM

Winter sunrise, Lake Superior

by Nicholas Parker

Visit traunfoto.com

Colin Prior “This haunting image looks to have come quality of the image. Had I been there, I wouldn’t have
straight from one of the fantasy landscapes in The changed much. Perhaps I might have shot a little tighter
Chronicles of Narnia. We have two colour opposites to give more emphasis to the backlit icicles, and I’d
at work here – blue and yellow – which have fused probably have let the sun drop below the island (which
harmoniously, creating a feeling of peace and tranquillity. I’m sure you’ve done). I feel there’s competition between
The warm backlighting picks up the icicles below the the hotspots and, as we know from experience, in
island beautifully, helping to create the ephemeral photography, less is more. A lovely image.”

Canon EOS-1D X Mark II with

EF 16-35 F/4L IS USM at
18mm, three minutes at f/16,
ISO 50, 0.9 ND hard grad,
Big Stopper

Oahu, Hawaii
by Robert Warren

Visit @rewphoto on Instagram

Colin Prior “The strength of this image is in its simplicity of saturation applied, either globally or in specific
and the fact that it juxtaposes the two colour opposites: channels, to ensure that the scene we are experiencing
magenta and green. Personally, I would have considered remains believable to the viewer. The use of the Big
cropping this to 3:4, as I find the 2:3 format on the Stopper has helped create a dynamic between the
upright orientation too long and thin. While the colours glass-like nature of the sea and the motion blur in the
Canon EOS 5D Mark III with Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 lens,
109 seconds at f/18, ISO 100, Big Stopper are very appealing, we need to be judicial in the amount clouds, which are complementary.” >>
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Rainy morning at Hintersee, Bavaria

by Dirk Wiemer

Visit dirkwiemer.de

Colin Prior “This is a strong composition, with the me) natural, and I would also have used the radial filter
mountain peaks framed by the two rocky islands in the in Lightroom over the cloud on the mountain and in its
lake. It’s a lovely airy and high-key picture with a feeling reflection in the lake, by removing some of the highlight
of a pristine environment. values. This would have helped the viewer to navigate
the image in the way intended and would help dissuade
There are one or two things I might have done differently our eyes from moving instinctively to the centre of the
here. I feel the saturation in the yellow/green channels image, where the brightest portion of the image lies.
has been increased beyond a point at which it looks (to Notwithstanding this, it’s still a great image.”

Nikon D800 with 14mm lens, 1.6 seconds at f/8, ISO 1600,
Big Stopper

Zumaia
by Leo Santana

Visit leohsantana.com

Colin Prior “Despite the Big Stopper being used in this convergence on another. Above, in the sky, and in
this image, it has created a feeling of movement rather yet another plane, the moving clouds also contribute
than tranquillity. When I look at this image, I experience to this sense of movement, which I don’t think would
a feeling of perpetual motion. We are drawn into the have been quite so pronounced had the filter not been
composition by the two parallel water flows, which exist used. The low camera angle helps to create a powerful
in one plane, and are juxtaposed with the sea meeting dynamic. All good.” >>
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 14-24/2.8 at 16mm, 62 seconds at
f/11, ISO 64, 0.9 ND soft grad
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Seven seconds
away
by Mauro Tronto

Visit maurotronto.com

Colin Prior “Strong compositional lines

here hold the eye firmly in the turbulent
amphitheatre, and the photographer has
been careful to lead the eye through the
image from the bottom right-hand corner
of the frame.

The Big Stopper has forced the long

shutter speed, turning the running water
into a solid, amorphous mass, while in
the sky, the opposite effect has been
achieved with motion blur streaking the
heavens. Also, the cool pre-dawn colour
temperature enhances the feeling of
the freezing conditions and plays to the
overall mood of the image. Not much
here that I would have done differently.” ■

Canon EOS 5D Mark III with Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L

USM II, three minutes at f/16, ISO 50, Big Stopper
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63

As seen on screen
HIS CHANNEL HAS MORE THAN 180,000 SUBSCRIBERS, HIS MOST POPULAR VIDEO
HAS BEEN VIEWED 483,000 TIMES (AND COUNTING), AND HE NOW GETS RECOGNISED
WHEN HE’S OUT FOR A PINT WITH HIS DAD. WE FIND OUT HOW TOM HEATON IS RIDING THE
WAVE OF THE YOUTUBE REVOLUTION

LEE Filters scenes. Nothing inspires me more at the moment than

When did you first realise you wanted to make a career seeing the vast array of autumn colours on show. Every
out of photography? leaf becomes a piece of art, every corner of woodland
becomes a vibrant colourful collage of reds, yellows and
Tom Heaton oranges. I love it.
Making landscape photography my career was never
a conscious decision. It was very gradual and happened It’s very important to revisit the same places in different
simply by grasping opportunities when they came my conditions. It helps us understand the importance of
way. It wasn’t until April 2017 that I was confident enough light and seasons. There are few things in photography
to go into it full-time, but about six months prior to that I that will satisfy you more than seeing something new in
started to realise that it might be possible. a familiar location. Returning again and again means you
will get to know an area intimately and this can give you
I also had a photography studio as a business venture a great advantage. Revisiting a location can be just as
and it was reasonably successful. But although I enjoyed exciting as going somewhere for the first time.
it, I wasn’t passionate about the type of work I was
doing, so landscape photography was always going LF
to win as soon as it became steady enough. The truth What made you upload your first video to YouTube?
is, it is still rather inconsistent as a career, but it doesn’t
matter so much when you love what you do. TH
My first video was made after I found myself watching
LF countless mountain bike videos. It suddenly occurred to
What landscapes in particular inspire you? me that there might be a wealth of photography videos,
too. There were a few, but a lot of them seemed to be
TH adverts in disguise. Because I couldn’t find what I was
This varies from month to month. As I write this, we are looking for, I decided to make my own. It was just for
in peak autumn, so it is all about the intimate woodland fun, and I had no real idea if anybody would actually >>

> Hrauneyjafoss, Iceland

“It was important to me that I retained the vibrant blues in the water
while capturing the glow of the early-morning sunrise, so I used
a polariser to remove glare from the surface of the water and a 0.9
ND medium grad to hold back the sky”

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with EF24-70mm f/2.8L II USM at

67mm, 10 seconds at f/11, ISO 100, 0.9 ND medium grad
64 LEExposure

65

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with EF70-200mm f/4L USM at 91mm,

0.4sec at f/11, ISO 100
>

Bláhnjúkur, Iceland

“This is a panoramic of approximately nine images. It is so watch it. I think it got about 500 views in the first week, always amusing, especially when I’m having a beer with my work. I also like to do my bit and share the work of
important to ensure you have a level tripod when shooting a which was amazing at the time. More people watched my dad and somebody comes over. I have a lot more others – for example, at the end of my videos I always
panoramic, so this is where most of my time was spent. The scene this video than had ever looked at my entire portfolio photography-related opportunities now, such as being recommend another video for people to watch.
was beautifully balanced, so there was no need for any filters” on Flickr. I soon realised that people enjoyed the story able to meet and work with some amazing peers, and
of how an image came to be. From there, I simply shoot some of the best locations on the planet. What LF
continued to document my excursions, and more and has changed the most for me is having the ability to When did you make the choice to go full-time with the
more people began to watch. share my work. Before YouTube, I would be frustrated YouTube videos and landscape photography?
when I captured a beautiful image and it wasn’t seen by
Things have changed a lot in the few years since that anybody. I think this is one of the hardest things about TH
first video. I am able to travel more, see more and do photography in this day and age, but I am fortunate I am a calculated risk-taker. When I quit my job in 2010,
more. I get recognised on a regular basis, which is enough to have an audience with whom I can share I saved a bit of money and altered my lifestyle to >>
66 LEExposure

67
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with EF70-200mm f/4L USM at
184mm, 0.8sec at f/11, ISO 100, polariser

TH man band, so it can be quite full-on. I would say I spend

What I do is a full-time job. There’s no 9-to-5 – it’s about seven per cent of my time taking photos. People
24-hour. Luckily, I love what I do, so I rarely differentiate assume I am out every day – if only.
between working and having fun. For example, I love
editing my videos, so this doesn’t feel like work. Making videos has forced me to slow down and be
more selective about what I shoot, just like film forces
It never stops, however. If I neglect emails for three days, you to do. This is why my digital and film shooting styles
I will have 200 or more to reply to. I have all but given are similar. I need to know an image is going to work,
up trying to respond to every social-media message or because with each image comes at least 30 minutes’
comment. I run workshops, I do seminars and public worth of filming: b-roll [supplementary footage], drone
speaking, I sell calendars and prints and I am a one- footage and a piece to camera explaining why I am >>

>
Mountain light

“This image is a great example of patience and perseverance. This scene was completely shrouded in
fog when I woke before sunrise. I decided to venture out regardless and was rewarded with five minutes
of beautiful light as the fog lifted. Soon after, it returned and the scene was gone”
>

Autumn reflections

“There’s more to landscapes than just the grand vistas. I found this image by simply observing the
surface of the water in an old quarry. The contrast between the orange leaves and black slate caught
my attention. To increase the contrast, I used my polariser to reduce glare from the sky above, which
resulted in an image with deeper blacks and more vibrant oranges”

the bare minimum. My outgoings were down to £500 It was still a risk to jump ship. The best things in life are
per month, so I knew I would have the best chance of always risky, but always come with the greatest reward.
success. It was the same with landscape photography.
I calculated what I would need to earn per month in LF
order for it to be viable and waited until my passive How much of your time now is spent ‘feeding’ the
income was near that mark consistently. Anything extra YouTube channel, and how much time is spent actually
would be a bonus and reinvested into my photography. taking photographs?
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with EF24-70mm f/2.8L II USM at
38mm, 1/8sec at f/11, ISO 100, polariser
68 LEExposure
xposure

69

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with EF24-70mm f/2.8L II USM

at 24mm, 0.6sec at f/10, ISO 100
>

Háifoss, Iceland

“This was captured in some very adverse weather conditions, and the scene is so big
it required a 24mm panoramic. This was challenging as I had to fight ferocious wind
speeds and spray from the waterfall. It was a case of get the image and get out”

>> taking the image. If I go to all this trouble and the feel they have the time. However, if the content is good
photograph is terrible, it’s a complete waste of time, enough, most people will stick with a longer video.
so when I shoot, I make sure to look and really think
before taking out my camera. LF
Is it difficult to strike a balance between shooting what
Everything takes longer, but with experience I have now you like and what you know your audience will like – or
become quite efficient. The trick is to have very little are they both the same thing?
disused footage. The main improvements to my videos
over the years have not necessarily been kit related, TH
although the drone helps a little – it’s about knowing This is an important question; I only ever shoot for
what to film in order to tell the story and make the viewer me. I will never shoot what I think is on trend. This is a
feel as if they are there with you. downward spiral that leads to bad places. If I were to
shoot what I thought would do well, I would then be
In terms of video length, between nine and 11 minutes ‘working’ and it would all become a job. The joy would be
seems to be the magic number. People don’t tend to sapped out of me and it would become very contrived. I
like shorter videos, as they can’t fully get into it and am very selfish and, in the nicest possible way, couldn’t
sometimes, if the videos are too long, people don’t care less what other people want to >> see. I shoot what
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with EF70-200mm
f/4L USM at 94mm, 1/50sec at f/11, ISO 100
>

Star of the show

“This is an image of a fleeting moment in time. The window of opportunity was no more that five minutes as the sunlight
swept over the scene, melting the frost on contact. If I had shot this image any earlier, the tree would not have the beautiful
side light on it; any later and the frost would have melted and the background would be shrouded in harsh sunlight”
70 LEExposure

71

watch. The next best thing is to actually help people. LF

Videos offering sound advice and tips tend to do very What are your feelings about sponsorship and branding
well, especially when delivered in a way that is more than in terms of editorial independence?
just a basic tutorial.
TH
LF I receive a lot of offers from brands. Some are better
Do you ever look at your competition on YouTube to learn than others. I tend not to make branded content
from them? unless it is an excellent product that I believe in and
use myself, and it must pay really well. This is because
TH my audience does not take kindly to being advertised
I wouldn’t say learn, but I am certainly influenced. to. As I said earlier, I was disappointed to see that some
I try not to watch too much of the really successful photography videos were actually adverts in disguise.
channels through fear of being influenced too much and It’s important that I don’t go down this road. Any
essentially copying their style. It’s important that I don’t branded content I do has strict terms. I must have
drift too far from my own format. 100% creative control over what I shoot and what >>

>
Great Gable, Cumbria

“This abstract photograph was inspired by the constant ebb and flow of the clouds as they shrouded
Great Gable. I wanted to capture the mountain as she revealed herself for just a few seconds. A
four-stop ND filter slowed down my shutter speed enough to capture the motion in the clouds”

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 16mm,

four seconds at f/9, ISO 100, 0.9 ND hard grad, polariser
>

Dunstanburgh Castle

“This image required the use of a technique called focus stacking. This involves taking the same image three times, with
each exposure focused at a different point in the image. I used a polariser to remove the glare from the wet surface”

makes me happy. A single leaf on a tree will always win My audience is worldwide, with the two largest
over an over-edited, over-saturated epic mountain scene percentages being the US and the UK. I think I jumped
in the wilds of Patagonia. Don’t get me wrong, I love on the YouTube train at the right time, just as it was
shooting in the mountains, but I never worry about my seeing huge spikes in growth. When I started, there was
images grabbing enough attention. very little competition. I was featured in a few big online
blogs and forums, which certainly helped with growth,
LF but I believe it is down to searching and word of mouth.
Why have you managed to capture the audience, where YouTube is the second biggest search engine after
others have perhaps failed? Google, so keywords play an important role.

TH LF
If I knew this, I would be a millionaire, but the truth Why do you think some videos get a higher number of
is, I am just myself. I can’t stand false positivity and views than others?
over-polished videos. I simply take the viewer with me.
If I’m cold and miserable, trust me, my audience will TH
know, and if I am happy and excited they will also know. I can’t put my finger on this. It actually seems that most
I think it’s about being honest and real. People are more people like videos of drama and/or misery. Of course,
intuitive than you might think and can see through videos I don’t seek that sort of thing out, but should anything
if they are feigned. happen that is dramatic or depressing, people will

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with EF70-200mm f/4L USM at 200mm,

3.2 seconds at f/9, ISO 200, 1.2ND IRND ProGlass
72 LEExposure

73

I say, and I am always open and honest from the start

about my video containing paid content.

LF
Are you still able to take pictures just for fun?

TH
I do take photographs only for myself, but it’s quite rare
– mainly because I actually love making the videos. I am
always sad when I shoot an amazing image and I’m not
able to share my experience with viewers. That being
said, it is nice to wander for hours without the added
weight of all my video-recording kit.

LF
When did you start running workshops?

TH
Workshops are a recent venture, but when making
the decision to run them, it had to be something
that I personally would want to do. So they are quite
adventurous: trekking through the Swiss Alps, camping
in the Icelandic Highlands… Those are the only two trips
I have done so far, but both were quite full-on.

LF
You also sell prints and calendars – is it important to
produce something ‘physical’, as well as the videos?

TH
For the viewer to have something tangible in their
hands is very important – the calendars especially,
as this is a body of my work that can be recognised
from my videos. It’s also a great way for people to
support my channel, which means I am able to create
more content without the need for branded content,
which people really don’t like.

LF
You’re still young and already you’ve achieved a great
deal. Where do you hope to go from here?

TH
I have no idea where everything might go from here.
If I have a plan at all, it’s that I will simply continue to
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with EF24-70mm f/2.8L II USM at 65mm,
do what I do and take every opportunity that comes
212 seconds at f/11, ISO 100, 3.0ND IRND ProGlass my way. I certainly don’t have much of a business
strategy. The only strategy I have is to have fun and make
sure I am happy in what I am doing. ■
>

Cambois Beach, Northumberland Visit thomasheaton.co.uk or search for

Thomas Heaton on YouTube
“The sky on this morning was particularly beautiful. I am used to packing up immediately after sunrise, but on this occasion
the soft colours of dawn and sunrise seemed to stick around. I opted for a simple composition using a longer focal length.
I wanted the foreground to be as soft as the sky, so used a 10-stop IRND ProGlass filter to slow things down considerably”
Your pictures,
critiqued by the
professionals
Each month, LEE Filters invites a guest photographer to analyse
five images of their choice – submitted by you

Ever wanted feedback on your images from the top photographers in the business?
Well, now’s your chance. YourView showcases the best of our users’ pictures, whether
they’ve been shot using a polariser, an ND grad or a Stopper filter.

Critiques so far have come from names that will be familiar to readers of Xposure,
including Colin Prior, Jeremy Walker, Mark Bauer and Antony Spencer.

To be in with a chance of having your image featured in YourView, simply visit the
LEE Filters website and upload your chosen photograph.

Go to www.leefilters.com to submit your image

LOOK OUT FOR THE NEXT ISSUE

OF XPOSURE EARLY IN 2018
Editor: Ailsa McWhinnie
LEE Filters: Graham Merritt and Peter Sturt

To contact Xposure, email [email protected],

putting Xposure in the subject line

www.leefilters.com

© LEE Filters. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the permission of LEE Filters