LAND OF THE RISING SUN
Photography week|May 05, 2022
Do look directly into the sun! Adam Waring shows you how to use a reverse ND grad filter to balance a bright horizon
LAND OF THE RISING SUN

CRASH COURSE

ESSENTIAL PHOTO SKILLS MADE EASY

1 HOUR When you’re photographing landscapes, the sky will usually be much brighter than the landscape below. In this situation, it’s common practice to make use of a graduated ND filter: dark at the top and transitioning to clear at the bottom, these are used to balance the exposure levels in the scene so that both the land and sky are properly exposed.

But when you’re shooting at sunrise or sunset with the sun appearing in the shot, the brightest part of the scene is actually the horizon, with the sky above it markedly darker, so when faced with this situation, a different type of ND grad is called for.

For the above shot we used a NiSi Reverse GND8 (0.9) Filter. This specialist 3-stop reverse ND grad is clear at the bottom, in the same way that a regular graduated filter is. However, the transition to dark in the middle of the filter is much more abrupt, and this then gently fades towards the top of the filter.

This story is from the May 05, 2022 edition of Photography week.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the May 05, 2022 edition of Photography week.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM PHOTOGRAPHY WEEKView All
VILTROX AF 27MM F1.2 PRO
Photography week

VILTROX AF 27MM F1.2 PRO

A 'pro' lens with a consumer price tag

time-read
5 mins  |
March 28, 2024
HOW TO...MASTER SHADOWS AND HIGHLIGHTS
Photography week

HOW TO...MASTER SHADOWS AND HIGHLIGHTS

This powerful tool has more to it than meets the eye, and it's ideal for landscapes

time-read
1 min  |
March 28, 2024
PATCHWORK PORTRAITS
Photography week

PATCHWORK PORTRAITS

Mike Harris uses the Brenizer method to shoot and edit a bokeh panorama with a super-shallow depth of field

time-read
4 mins  |
March 28, 2024
PHOTO CONTEST CELEBRATES BRITAIN'S NATURAL WONDERS
Photography week

PHOTO CONTEST CELEBRATES BRITAIN'S NATURAL WONDERS

British Wildlife Photography Awards feature amazing images of fauna and flora

time-read
1 min  |
March 28, 2024
COMPLETE GUIDE TO LANDSCAPE POST-PROCESSING
Photography week

COMPLETE GUIDE TO LANDSCAPE POST-PROCESSING

Take your best scenic images further using natural editing techniques

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 28, 2024
INSTAX MINI 99 LETS YOU TAKE CONTROL AND GET CREATIVE
Photography week

INSTAX MINI 99 LETS YOU TAKE CONTROL AND GET CREATIVE

Fujifilm's most advanced Instax yet gets colour effects and new focus modes

time-read
1 min  |
March 28, 2024
LUMIX S 100MM F/2.8 MACRO
Photography week

LUMIX S 100MM F/2.8 MACRO

It ticks many boxes, but it's not a total success

time-read
4 mins  |
March 21, 2024
HOW TO...GET THE LONG-EXPOSURE LOOK
Photography week

HOW TO...GET THE LONG-EXPOSURE LOOK

James Paterson shows you how to use the Stack feature in Affinity Photo to combine a set of photos and blur choppy waters

time-read
1 min  |
March 21, 2024
FLASH FUNGI
Photography week

FLASH FUNGI

Master macro with off-camera flash to capture mushroom photos with James Paterson

time-read
5 mins  |
March 21, 2024
PORTRAITS AND PREDATORS: WPA ANNOUNCES OPEN WINNERS
Photography week

PORTRAITS AND PREDATORS: WPA ANNOUNCES OPEN WINNERS

Prestigious contest reveals its latest round of amazing winning images

time-read
1 min  |
March 21, 2024