MASTER LONG EXPOSURES

Variable ND filters can help you capture dramatic landscapes by enabling you to extend shutter speeds during the day. Jason Parnell-Brookes shows you how…

- Jason Parnell-Brookes

30 MINS

If you want to shoot long-exposure landscapes you need a set of neutral density filters of different strengths that screw on to the end of your lens, or slot into a holder, right? The problem with those is that you have to carry around a pouch of filters for use in different lighting conditions, plus a holder for the slot-in variety – but you can eliminate the need for all that by carrying a single variable ND filter in your kit bag.

To adjust the strength of a variable ND you rotate its front element to increase its light-blocking power. The optical quality of these filters generally isn’t quite as good as that of fixed-strength filters, but they’re good enough for most situations, and here we’ll show you how to use one to enable a long shutter speed for blurring moving water and clouds.

STEP BY STEP SHOOT WITH A VARIABLE ND FILTER

1 TRIPOD