Lee "Big Stopper"

Joy of joys... my Lee "Big Stopper" glass filter has finally arrived! Pity it was just a little too late to capture some of the stormy weather we had during the second week of October. I'm looking forward to getting out and seeing how it all works and will give you a full review in due course.

First Dawn of Autumn

I like to think that 1st October is the first day of autumn when winter clothes are aired ready for the cooler air. How strange then to be on the coast of Anglesey near Penmon Point at 6:30 in the morning wearing a t-shirt! And what a start to my autumn photography, my favourite time of the year...

Click the image for the bigger picture

 No computer trickery here just a couple of Lee ND filters on the front of my Nikon.

And I'll Show You a Sunset...*

Last Sunday was a damp, cold and dreary day in Anglesey and we set off for home a little earlier than usual. As is often the case in Wales almost as soon as we got onto the mainland the weather improved and we drove home in lovely sunshine deciding to make for West Kirby to see if a sunset might develop. 


The best laid plans... roadworks delayed us and the sun was almost on the horizon when we finally reached the Wirral but Parkgate was within easy reach so we headed for the salt marshes there. There had been a very high tide earlier in the day and the marshes were still flooded in places giving some lovely reflections of the sunset.


The perfect end to a lovely weekend...

Click the image for the bigger picture

* Stay With Me Till Dawn by Judy Tzuke from the album of the same name.

Lee Filters

I've been wanting to get some filters for a while and have been kicking around various options. I finally decided that I had to opt for Lee Filters - I've added a link to their website in the Resources box on the right. They are the best and that means having to wait for delivery. I was lucky to find a dealer with a couple of the items I wanted in stock but I'm on a waiting list for the neutral density soft grads I really wanted.


I'd been waiting for the opportunity to try them out but had to wait until last Saturday afternoon. After doing the macro work I thought that a decent sunset might be in the offing and set off for Cable Bay on the west coast of Anglesey to see what developed. Sadly, clouds gathered on the horizon and quickly killed off any chance of a half decent sunset but at least I got to experiment.


Most filters I've tried in the past have worked pretty much straight out of the box but you have to work the Lee ones. And they are so adaptable. The ability to angle a filter, mix, invert and generally be creative is great. In the picture below I used a 0.6 ND but only on the sky. I took a few test shots to get everything right and, for a first effort, I'm quite pleased. 

Click the image for the bigger picture