Long exposures by the sea

I have delayed these images for a while, looked a lot at them, and tried to dress them in words. I can’t …
They were not quite as I hoped, but I must say that I love them.
It was extremely difficult to photograph at this time, it was storm in the gusts, and I had to anchor the tripod and camera properly to not get shake in the exposures which were more than a minute long.
The difficulties made me forget everything I knew about reciprocity effect … So most of the pictures I made was heavily underexposed unfortunately.
I had my border collie with me, and he refused to go out on the rocks, he probably thought I was crazy, hehe …

This may look peaceful, but I assure you it wasn’t….

Enjoy! 🙂

Hasselblad 503CX
Ilford Pan +
B+W 110 ND filter

Tags: analog photography, blackandwhite, film photography, Hasselblad 503CX, Ilford Pan+, long exposure, Medium Format photography, nature, photography, sea, storm, Sweden

49 thoughts on “Long exposures by the sea”

pjbrez on October 23, 2012 at 12:19 said:

I really like these photos! How many stops is that ND filter? I picked up a 6 stop B + W filter for the exact reasons of producing shots like these! I’m using it along with a pinhole camera to get super long exposures ^^

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- LightHouseBlues on October 23, 2012 at 19:37 said:
  
  Wow, I would like to see them, I love pinhole, and with that filter it must be absolutely gorgeous! Do you have them up on your blog?
  My filter is 10 stop, so I had about one minute of exposure time with a 50 ISO film, but had probably needed
  1 1/2 minute for more correct exposure.
  Thank you very much!
  
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  - pjbrez on October 24, 2012 at 04:11 said:
    
    Interesting stuff! I haven’t uploaded many of my super long pinhole exposures just yet. There’s only one uploaded so far. It’s the shot with bamboo trees. In bright daylight, I think it was about a three or four minute exposure.
    
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    - LightHouseBlues on October 24, 2012 at 11:00 said:
      
      Very interesting, I will sure have a look! Three to four minutes, wow, I believe even the “ghosts” will disappear during that long time, do they? Gosh, I want to try that….. THANKS a lot for the inspiration! 🙂
      
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      - pjbrez on October 24, 2012 at 12:14 said:
        
        Yes, even the ghosts disappear ( unless they happen to be still, lazy ghosts ^^ ) I found this method works best for landscapes with moving clouds. It gives a surreal, dreamy atmospheric look to the photo.
        
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        pjbrez on October 24, 2012 at 12:15 said:
        
        I’ll post some of my favorites in the days and weeks to come ^.^ )
        
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        LightHouseBlues on October 24, 2012 at 21:17 said:
        
        You know, I just ordered a Holga Wide Panorama Pinhole with a filter holder to it from Holga Direct. I sure want to try it myself, and I can’t wait to get the camera. They got a sale right now, so it was cheap too! 😉
        
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        pjbrez on October 25, 2012 at 06:14 said:
        
        Awesome, I hope you like shooting with it~! I just posted two photos I took with the holga pinhole wide and a 6 stop ND filter. Check them out : )
        
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grumpytykepix on October 23, 2012 at 12:43 said:

Well they may not be quite what you hoped but they are really great – I especially like the first one (and I’m not usually a fan of long exposure shots of moving water as they rarely look like water in my opinion). As you say, it looks peaceful, strangely calm and soothing despite the storm (good job you didn’t take the Wista on this occasion!).

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- LightHouseBlues on October 23, 2012 at 19:43 said:
  
  Hehe, that would have been quite an experience….. 😉
  Thank you very much! Happy you like them!
  
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  - grumpytykepix on November 26, 2012 at 16:03 said:
    
    I’ve come back to the first picture several times. My recent hectic life forced haiku out of my head but today, studying the photo again, one came:
    
    A deep thought minute
    click to click is time enough
    
    the wind raged sea calmed
    
    If you like it, would would you mind if I published it on my grumpytyke blog with your picture as one of my ‘picture haiku’ ? – picture credited of course.
    
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    - LightHouseBlues on November 26, 2012 at 19:30 said:
      
      Wow, I would love that! Thank you very much! 🙂
      Great haiku! I so wish I could myself…..but I enjoy others haiku greatly!
      
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      - grumpytyke on November 29, 2012 at 09:44 said:
        
        Very many thanks Marie. I’ve just published it on grumpytyke
        
        http://grumpytyke.com/2012/11/29/picture-haiku-time-cures-all/
        
        (where I was able to introduce the spacing ‘punctuation’ which is a (necessary) part of my haiku).
        
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mjculverphotography on October 23, 2012 at 15:01 said:

I think you did a great job in light of the stormy conditions. I too am not a big fan of “milk” water. However the detail you got in the rocks is superb. I like the second photo best because of the rocky horizon.

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- LightHouseBlues on October 23, 2012 at 19:49 said:
  
  Thank you very much!
  If the weather had been better I had been taken much more color images than I did. It is very beautiful there, the cliffs are mostly red granite, very beautiful. I took a couple of color films, but have not had the time yet to scan them all.
  
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Luddy's Lens on October 23, 2012 at 15:55 said:

Marie, they turned out beautifully! Very dreamlike, and I think the softness of the water against the sturdy rocks enhances this.

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- LightHouseBlues on October 23, 2012 at 19:53 said:
  
  Thank you very much! Yes, I agree, that contrast is so great for the images.
  Happy you liked them! 🙂
  
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janaobscura on October 23, 2012 at 17:19 said:

All of your efforts paid off, these are breathtaking. I love the sharp, smooth surface of the rocks with the white motion of the water. Wonderful.

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- LightHouseBlues on October 23, 2012 at 19:57 said:
  
  Thank you very much! That’s true, efforts pay off 😉 That was also the reason I hold them for while, to see if they were really good, or if it was just my efforts that made me like them….
  
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Clare Michelle on October 23, 2012 at 18:27 said:

absolutely gorgeous shots there! there are so many elements in these images that make them so wonderful to look at. good for you! 🙂

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- LightHouseBlues on October 23, 2012 at 19:58 said:
  
  Thank you so much for your kind words! 🙂
  
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Steve Osborne on October 23, 2012 at 19:14 said:

Your description of that moment lead me to the correct interpretation of these photographs in which the smooth rocks that continue to be shaped by wind and water.

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- Steve Osborne on October 23, 2012 at 19:15 said:
  
  Meant to write “the smooth rocks continue”
  
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  - LightHouseBlues on October 23, 2012 at 20:20 said:
    
    Thank you very much Steve. Most appreciated! 🙂
    
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Mirella Marie on October 23, 2012 at 23:41 said:

Gosh, these are amazing! The first photo is a little deceiving in that the water actually looks like clouds (or mist) sweeping over mountain tops (the rocks). This is truly art. Well done!

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- LightHouseBlues on October 23, 2012 at 23:52 said:
  
  THANK you, you are most kind! Happy you liked them! 🙂
  
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  - Mirella Marie on October 24, 2012 at 00:16 said:
    
    You’re welcome! Also, I have serious camera envy. How long have you had the 503? What’s it like to shoot with?
    
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    - LightHouseBlues on October 24, 2012 at 11:07 said:
      
      Hehe, thank you!! I have been the very lucky owner since 1990. She has been sleeping in a camerabag for more than 12 years though, during the time I morurned film, I thought film was dead and it was all over. I have never been happier to be totally wrong about something 😀
      She is absolutely gorgeous to work with! She, you say? Yes, Old Betty, she’s called, (or Gamla Bettan, in swedish)
      The prices are rising, so hurry and get yourself one of these, the 500C is a wonderful wonderful piece too!
      🙂
      
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      - Mirella Marie on October 25, 2012 at 01:07 said:
        
        Aww how sweet that she has a name (and origin thereof!). I’ve been shooting with the same camera for 5 years and no complaints, so I’ve never felt the need to get a new one. Glad you brought Old Betty back to life, she’s beautiful. 🙂
        
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John Pickles on October 24, 2012 at 08:29 said:

Great composition in both photo’s. I especially like the first one with the white light (water) contrasting with the dark rocks and leading the eye across the picture. Pan f+ is (I think) a tricky film to use anyway, especially for long exposures. I’ve been using these adjusted times for reciprocity compensation with Pan f – 2secs = 4secs, 4secs = 10secs, 8secs = 25secs, 15secs =55secs, 30secs = 2min 40secs. Metered time first and shot at box speed and developed for 10.5 minutes in D76 1:1 @20c. Seems to be working so far!

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- LightHouseBlues on October 24, 2012 at 09:49 said:
  
  Thank you John, great info!
  Then I really understand the under exposure, I decided on exposure times ranged from 30 to 60 seconds, and stuck with them. I suppose I was lucky to even have this result then….
  Thanks again, I will be much more thorough with time setting next time. 🙂
  
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orchid on October 24, 2012 at 13:18 said:

i love them too! they are perfect 🙂

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- LightHouseBlues on October 24, 2012 at 21:19 said:
  
  Thank you very much! I’m glad you like them. 🙂
  
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orofiorentino on October 24, 2012 at 15:26 said:

Mi piacciono molto queste foto!…very, very wonderful….Orofiorentino from Italy

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- LightHouseBlues on October 24, 2012 at 16:12 said:
  
  Molte grazie per le gentili parole 🙂
  Thank you very very much for your kind words, and for visiting my blog!
  
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writecrites on October 25, 2012 at 23:28 said:

My friends and I have been playing with soft-water shots, too—usually in the evening at sunset, but I am anxious to try with a ND filter during the day. I have an old film Hasselblad, but haven’t used it in years since going to digital. Places to develop film seem to have vanished from my island (Oahu, hawaii).

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- LightHouseBlues on October 25, 2012 at 23:43 said:
  
  Oh, you should try it, it is so fun! I had a film with 50 ISO, and I exposed for one minute, (should have exposed for two…) That was in the middle of a sunny day.
  Sad about developing labs… Why not pick up your nice friend Hasselblad, go out and shoot some film, order some chems online and develop your own film, It is actually quite easy. You do not need a darkroom, just a loadingbag and some other stuff.
  There is a podcast I often listen to, http://www.theartofphotography.tv He had a couple of shows lately about how to develop film at home, and he is good, very pedagogic and easy to understand. Then there is loads of videos on YouTube too. Give it a try, you’ll never know, you may just love it! 😉
  Good luck!! And thanks a lot for your visit and comment on my blog!
  
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jesusjoglar on October 27, 2012 at 15:52 said:

At first sight I thought these were pinhole shots!!

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- LightHouseBlues on October 27, 2012 at 16:02 said:
  
  I guess it is the filter and very small aperture that makes it look that way. It was very very windy too, so it may have shaked the camera a bit during that long exposure…
  Thanks for your visit and comment! 🙂
  
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Fergiemoto on October 29, 2012 at 01:04 said:

Soft and lovely!

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- LightHouseBlues on October 29, 2012 at 08:59 said:
  
  Thank you very much!
  
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Stacey on November 5, 2012 at 22:49 said:

Amazing photos! I’m glad that you told us there was a storm. It helped me imagine it all, the sounds, winds, feel of it when I looked at the photos. In the second photo there is a rock that looks like a wide open mouth ready to eat the storm.

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jsodphotography on November 9, 2012 at 01:58 said:

I like the first image quite a bit. The tonal range is wonderful, especially how the gray sky cuts through the top of the photograph lightening up the scene ever so slightly. The long exposure does well to exemplify the repeated pounding the ocean gives to the rocks, slowly smoothing and changing the shape of the rocks. Your right it does look peaceful, but I’m sure it was anything but.

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- LightHouseBlues on November 9, 2012 at 09:17 said:
  
  Thank you very much! 🙂
  No,it was a real battle, it was even hard to get there… Keep the camera and tripod steady and protected against salt water spray.
  I’m a bit disappointed that I underexposed all the images I photographed at the time, but these two I was able to rescue in Lightroom. But it is from the failures we learn, so next time I won’t do these mistakes anyway…. 😉
  
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janhass on November 18, 2012 at 12:48 said:

Tjusigt! På västkusten, eller?

Jan

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- LightHouseBlues on November 18, 2012 at 14:33 said:
  
  Tack!
  Kul att träffa på en landsman här, inte så ofta det händer.. Men du bor inte i Sverige, eller?
  Jodå, det är på västkusten. Ramsvikslandet närmare bestämt. Jag brukar åka ner till Smögen en vecka i september sisådär vartannat år, och i år när jag var där så blåste det så galet mycket hela veckan, så det var svårt att förankra stativet i blåsten… Min hund trodde jag blivit tokig, han nästan vägrade att följa med mig. Men blåsten och kaoset syns inte i bilden…
  Tack för påhälsningen och välkommen tillbaka! 🙂
  
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Gayle Alstrom on November 18, 2012 at 21:17 said:

Loved the top photo especially and the zen saying. I pinned the top photo to my b&w photography board on Pinterest http://pinterest.com/gaylealstrom/photography-black-white/. I hope you don’t mind. I would like to give you photo credit but don’t know your name.

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- LightHouseBlues on November 18, 2012 at 21:34 said:
  
  Thank you very much! It’s okey, you left my web address.
  Thanks again for your kind words! 🙂
  
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