Alex Wise | Alex Wise Photography

Posted on January 1, 2011January 1, 2011 by Alex Wise — 10 Comments

2010 Retrospective

All year I’ve felt like I haven’t taken as many photographs as I’d like. Looking back now maybe it wasn’t as quiet as I first thought. Here are a selection of images from 2010.

The year started off with a trip up Mt. Wellington with Carl Ashley.

I planned to revisit an old jetty that I had shot in 2009 however it had unfortunately been pulled down.

Desperate for new seascape locations, I began exploring Kingston for photographs.

But it was soon back to my favourite location, Clifton Beach even if without my tripod.

Walking along Howrah Beach, I noticed the water coming off these rocks nicely and had to stop for a photo.

My obsession with long exposure photography grew during 2010. This is one from Tranmere, Tasmania

Busy with uni, my camera spent a lot of time in the cupboard over winter. On my way home from uni I noticed this scene so made a quick dash home to grab the camera.

With the deciduous beech coming into season mid year. I was keen to get up to the Tarn Shelf to take a photo of this beautiful scene. Constantly looking for new locations to take photos of, I tried Blackman’s Bay for a change.

With amazing clouds rolling in one afternoon, I made the decision to skip class in the hope of the clouds putting on a nice sunset. I was lucky even if I did get drenched.

Not long after, I made my way to Park Beach for sunset photos.

I love winter and its fog. This is captured underneath the Tasman Bridge on a chilly early morning.

Probably my favourite find and photo of the year. Constantly looking for new locations to take photos of, I made my way to O’Possum Bay but left a little disappointed.

Next on the list is a drive to Remarkable Caves which was amazing and wild.

With large swells in Hobart, this meant otherwise quiet locations had swell for a change.

My obsession with long exposures continued.

Always looking for new locations, I came across this lovely stream on a drive.

More playing around with long exposures. Even looking at this photo now I’m still unsure about it. The moving jetty creates an interesting effect but whether it works is another question.

With heavy rain forecasted, I made my way up to the North West Bay River for some shots.

It was then off to Melbourne for some jumping on beds, catching up with friends and eating tasty food.

But before I could go to Melbourne. I had to shave my exam growth. Personally, I think the half half look could have worked but my Mum disagreed.

Finally I got around to meeting up with Mitch Pearson-Goff and taking some photos with him. This was from a trip to Snug Falls.

Visiting my favourite part of Tasmania, The Gardens I was greeted with terrible weather. I still managed to get a couple of shots in.

Having bought some Alienbee lights, it was time to use them by dropping tea bags into my lovely bodum cup.

Still wanting to play with my new lights more, I decided to bake some muffins. They look vile but were tasty and didn’t last long.

My cat decided to look cute for Christmas day.

Last shot to finish up the year. A self portrait from South Arm, Tasmania.

Hope you all had a great 2010 and thanks for your continual support 🙂

Posted on January 1, 2010January 1, 2010 by Alex Wise — 2 Comments

2009

It’s fair to say 2009 was the year of the long exposures for me. I’ve had a lot of fun with the Canon 5D Mark II and B+W 110 filter over the year and looking back am surprised how many photographs I actually took.

I hope 2009 was a good year for your photography!

Posted on December 18, 2009March 5, 2018 by Alex Wise — 3 Comments

Mounting your Photography

Eeek huge image, sorry!

Inspired by a thread on a photography forum I frequent, I set out to mount some of my favourite shots. The process is easy and also quite cheap so it works out a nice way of presenting your photography.

A few things are needed

Prints – 8×6″ prints from RgbDigital at $0.95 each.
Foamcore – $14 for a 40×30″ black sheet from Artery. You can find this at your local arts and craft store and is available in both black and white colours.
Stanley knife – This was already laying around but is available at most places including arts and craft stores, hardware stores and maybe supermarkets.
Self adhesive spray – $10 for a can and is available at arts and craft stores and hardware stores. This is used to stick the print to the foamcore.
Bluetac – $3.50 a packet and is used to stick the foamcore to the wall.
Ruler – A metal ruler works well to ensure you get a consistent and straight cut.
Something to cut onto like a kitchen chopping board.

Learn from my mistake and avoid the print from bubbling by putting the mounted print under a heavy book to smoothen it out. Also take care when placing the print onto the foamcore so you’re not stuck with fingerprints.

This wouldn’t be complete without a cheesy timelapse video with cameo appearances from my 7 year old cousin and dad.

Posted on December 1, 2009March 5, 2018 by Alex Wise — 5 Comments

Photography SEO Tips

I’m by no means an expert on SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) but I want to share some little things that I’ve incorporated which has helped boost my traffic and get my photography out there.

Continue reading Photography SEO Tips

Posted on July 23, 2009March 5, 2018 by Alex Wise

Neutral Density Reference Chart

neutral density exposure chart — One of my favourite long exposure photographs taken at Mortimer Bay, Tasmania

A common question I receive from people is about how long they should set the shutter speed when using strong neutral density filters such as the 10 stop B+W 110 filter or NiSi Long Exposure Kit. It’s a hard question to answer and I often point them to a chart (see end of post).

Rather than point you to a pdf file all the time I thought it would be more useful to point the information into a WordPress table to act as a quick reference for long exposure photography.

My Step by Step Process for Long Exposure Photography

I must be honest and tell you I’ve never used the chart and prefer to photograph a scene based on general feel for the scene. Over time you’ll learn how different conditions will need certain settings. For example the early stages of a sunrise (when it’s still dark) or the late stages of a sunset (when light is quickly fading) will require a significant exposure with the 10 stop attached. I’ll generally shoot around the 10 minute mark at F9 with a 100ISO. But if shooting during the sunset when there is more light available I’ll shoot more around F13 with a 2-5 minute exposure at 50ISO. If on the other hand you’re shooting day time long exposure photographs around noon, I’ll crank the F stop to around 20-22, lower the ISO to 50 and shoot a test shot around the 1 minute mark and adjust accordingly. But to rehash these are my rules of thumb when shooting with the B+W 110 10 stop neutral density filter:

Early stage of a sunrise or late part of a sunset (when there is limited light available) – 10 minutes, F9~ with a 100-200 ISO (never any higher due to a higher ISO increasing noise)
During sunset or sunrise when there is plenty of light available – 2-5 minutes, F13~ with a 50ISO
Day time light conditions (this can vary based on the scene being overcast or sunny) – 1~ minute, F20~ with a 50ISO

It’s not the most calculated way of doing things by any means but it’s a method that has worked well for me. My best advice would be to play around in these scenes (early stages of a sunset, late stage of a sunset and day time) noting the settings for each scene and use these as a guide for when shooting scenes. It will mean less stuffing around when you arrive at a scene which is important when shooting a sunset and great light is disappearing quickly.

More Long Exposure Guides on this Blog

If you’re starting out in long exposure photography you might want to have a read over my free guide that looks at taking super long exposures (even during the daytime) that includes a guide on long exposures with before and after photographs and some equipment I recommend. Also my waterfall photography guide also explores long exposures with the effect which long exposures can have when photographing waterfalls.

If you still have any questions after reading these articles please feel free to email me and I’ll be happy to help.

Free Neutral Density Exposure Chart

If you want a copy of this neutral density exposure chart to carry in your camera bag, attached is a PDF form that helps calculate long exposures with different neutral density filters. This will make a nice addition to any camera bag especially if you’re playing around with new filters.

Click (PDF 187kb)

Bare Meter Reading =	1/8000	1/4000	1/2000	1/1000	1/500	1/250	1/125	1/60	1/30	1/15	1/8	1/4	1/2	1s	2s	4s	8s	15s	30s
ND2 (1)	1/4000	1/2000	1/1000	1/500	1/250	1/125	1/60	1/30	1/15	1/8	1/4	1/2	1s	2s	4s	8s	15s	30s	1m
CPL (1 2/3)*	1/2500	1/1250	1/640	1/320	1/160	1/80	1/40	1/20	1/10	1/5	2.5	1.3	1.6s	3s	6s	13s	25s	50s	1.66m
ND4 (2)	1/2000	1/1000	1/500	1/250	1/125	1/60	1/30	1/15	1/8	1/4	1/2	1s	2s	4s	8s	15s	30s	1m	2m
ND8 (3)	1/1000	1/500	1/250	1/125	1/60	1/30	1/15	1/8	1/4	1/2	1s	2s	4s	8s	15s	30s	1m	2m	4m
2X ND4 or ND2 + ND3 (4)	1/500	1/250	1/125	1/60	1/30	1/15	1/8	1/4	1/2	1s	2s	4s	8s	15s	30s	1m	2m	4m	8m
(5)	1/250	1/125	1/60	1/30	1/15	1/8	1/4	1/2	1s	2s	4s	8s	15s	30s	1m	2m	4m	8m	16m
2X ND8 or ND64 (6)	1/125	1/60	1/30	1/15	1/8	1/4	1/2	1s	2s	4s	8s	15s	30s	1m	2m	4m	8m	16m	32m
ND100 (6 2/3)	1/80	1/40	1/20	1/10	1/5	2.5	1.3	1.6s	3s	6s	13s	25s	50s	1m 40s	3m 20s	6m 40s	13m 20s	26m 40s	53m 20s
(7)	1/60	1/30	1/15	1/8	1/4	1/2	1s	2s	4s	8s	15s	30s	1m	2m	4m	8m	16m	32m	64m
ND4 + ND64 (8)	1/30	1/8	1/8	1/4	1/2	1s	2s	4s	8s	15s	30s	1m	2m	4m	8m	16m	32m	64m	128m
ND400 (8 2/3)	1/40	1/20	1/10	1/2.5	1/1.3	1.6s	3s	6s	13s	25s	50s	1m 40s	3m 20s	6m 40s	13m 20s	26m 40s	53m 20s	1 hr 47m	3h 33m
(9)	1/15	1/8	1/4	1/2	1s	2s	4s	8s	15s	30s	1m	2m	4m	8m	16m	32m	1h 4m	2h 8m	4h 16m
(10)	1/8	1/4	1/2	1s	2s	4s	8s	15s	30s	1m	2m	4m	8m	16m	32m	1h 4m	2h 8m	4h 16m	8h 32m
(11)	1/4	1/2	1s	2s	4s	8s	15s	30s	1m	2m	4m	8m	16m	32m	1h 4m	2h 8m	4h 16m	8h 32m	17h 4m
2X ND64 (12)	1/2	1s	2s	4s	8s	15s	30s	1m	2m	4m	8m	16m	32m	1h 4m	2h 8m	4h 16m	8h 32m	17h 4m	1d 10h 8m
ND10000 (13)	1s	2s	4s	8s	15s	30s	1m	2m	4m	8m	16m	32m	1h 4m	2h 8m	4h 16m	8h 32m	17h 4m	1d 10h 8m	2d 20h 16m
(14)	2s	4s	8s	15s	30s	1m	2m	4m	8m	16m	32m	1h 4m	2h 8m	4h 16m	8h 32m	17h 4m	1d 10h 8m	2d 20h 16m	5d 16h 32m
(15)	4s	8s	15s	30s	1m	2m	4m	8m	16m	32m	1h 4m	2h 8m	4h 16m	8h 32m	17h 4m	1d 10h 8m	2d 20h 16m	5d 16h 32m	11d 9h 4m
(16)	8s	15s	30s	1m	2m	4m	8m	16m	32m	1h 4m	2h 8m	4h 16m	8h 32m	17h 4m	1d 10h 8m	2d 20h 16m	5d 16h 32m	11d 9h 4m	22d 18h 8m
(17)	15s	30s	1m	2m	4m	8m	16m	32m	1h 4m	2h 8m	4h 16m	8h 32m	17h 4m	1d 10h 8m	2d 20h 16m	5d 16h 32m	11d 9h 4m	22d 18h 8m	45d12h16m
(18)	30s	1m	2m	4m	8m	16m	32m	1h 4m	2h 8m	4h 16m	8h 32m	17h 4m	1d 10h 8m	2d 20h 16m	5d 16h 32m	11d 9h 4m	22d 18h 8m	45d12h16m	91d 32m
(19)	1m	2m	4m	8m	16m	32m	1h 4m	2h 8m	4h 16m	8h 32m	17h 4m	1d 10h 8m	2d 20h 16m	5d 16h 32m	11d 9h 4m	22d 18h 8m	45d12h16m	91d 32m	182d 1h 4m
ND1000000 (20)	2m	4m	8m	16m	32m	1h 4m	2h 8m	4h 16m	8h 32m	17h 4m	1d 10h 8m	2d 20h 16m	5d 16h 32m	11d 9h 4m	22d 18h 8m	45d12h16m	91d 32m	182d 1h 4m	1 year