INTERVIEW

Long exposure photography teaches you to slow things down

 

 

Z: Hi Brian! Thanks for being with us here! Firstly, could you share us three random facts about you?

B: Happily married to Julie for 43 years.

I love water and the coastline, although we live 70 miles from the nearest sea.

Favourite colour is green.

 

The Red Roof

Taken in the Mumbles, Wales

With NiSi GND (3 Stops) + ND (15 Stops)

 

Z: What got you into photography and particularly black and white/long exposure photography?

B: When I first started photography some 13 years ago I was an avid wildlife photographer, but I slowly got disillusioned with that side of photography.

Black and white images have always appealed to me for many years, so it was a genre that I slowly fell into, plus my wife always jokingly says that I am colour blind, lol.

The lure of the sea won me back.

 

Elements of Separation

Taken in West Kirby, England

With NiSi GND (3 Stops) + ND (15 Stops)

 

Z: How would you describe your approach to landscape photography? Could you share some details about your workflow?

B: Long exposure photography teaches you to slow things down, so once I am at the location I take my time to get the right composition, nothing is rushed.

Then with the correct filter for the sky in tposition I get my base exposure, once I have that and are satisfied this is when I use the NiSi App, the App will calculate your exposure time for any given neutral density filter, care must be taken at this point as this is only a guideline, experience will come over time.

I generally leave viewing my images for a couple of days, then when I am ready to process them I import them into Lightroom where minor adjustments are made, then finally into Photoshop.

 

End of Season

Taken in Saltburn, England

With NiSi GND (2 Stops) + ND (10 Stops) + ND (3 Stops)

 

Z: Do you have some messages you would like to deliver through your photographs?

B: I would like to think my images bring a sense of calm to the viewer. The long exposure smoothes the water and calms the racing clouds, while the tone of the complete black and white image is easy on the eye.

 

Artoo Deetoo

Taken in Venice, Italy

With NiSi ND (10 Stops) + ND (3 Stops)

 

Z: When did you start using NiSi filters and why?

B: I was first approached by Mark Andreas Jones (U.K. NiSi Distributor) a couple of years ago, and Mark asked me to try NiSi filters, I instantly fell in love with them. One big advantage for me was no colour cast, although I mainly process my images in black and white, occasionally I like to produce a soft pastel image, and when the image is viewed in camera, to have a neutral image is a real bonus.

 

View down the Canal Grande

Taken in Venice, Italy

With NiSi GND (3 Stops) + ND (10 Stops) + ND (3 Stops)

 

Z: Which NiSi products do you usually use in your work?

B: This all depends on the time of day and the conditions, but the 0.6 medium edge graduated filter (for the sky), along with the 10 stop and 3 stop neutral density filters are my “go to” pieces of kit.

 

Punto della Dogana

Taken in Venice, Italy

With NiSi GND (2 Stops) + ND (10 Stops)

 

Z: Among all the photos you took with NiSi filters, which one is your favorite? What went into creating it?

B: My image “Empty Spaces” must be one of my favourite images taken, to be in a magical place such as Venice, and to wake up to find the city covered in fog is a photographer’s dream. By the time we had walked to St. Marks Square the fog was just starting to lift. I had this image in my mind whilst walking around the previous day, and to my surprise I was the only photographer there that morning. Filter wise I used a 0.6 grad to just take down the sky slightly, and a 10 stop ND would be enough to slightly smooth the water and blur any people walking through the image, I love photographing in these conditions, the fog/mist combined with the black and white processing brings a timeless quality to any image.

 

Empty Spacers

Taken in Venice, Italy

With NiSi GND (2 Stops) + ND (10 Stops)

 

Z: Any advice for new photographers who want to enter the field?

B: Buy quality not quantity, and do your homework when visiting locations. If you go to the coast, study the tide times, don’t get caught out by a rising tide. Enjoy your photography, and don’t be too hard on yourself.

 

Defiance

Taken in Brighton, England

With NiSi GND (3 Stops) + ND (15 Stops)

 

Z: What plans do you have for the months to come, photographically?

B: Unfortunately travel at the moment is cancelled due to Covid 19, but when all the restrictions are lifted I will return to Venice, the coastline of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire will also be high on my list.