October 17, 2014
Bandon Report
I’m having a great time in Bandon. The weather is wildly mixed, hard rain one day and beautiful sun the next. I’m working hard to look for the image that presents itself…yes even in the rain.
Today I solved a small but persistent problem: how to get a long exposure when it’s raining. Raindrops on the ND filter are in focus enough to ruin the image. I’ve tried shielding the lens with my hat, but the driving rain still got through.
Finally I came up with a crazy but effective solution: during the exposure I would look for any drops that landed on the filter and then quickly and gently wipe them off with a microfiber cloth. A fast 1/3 of a second swipe has no effect on a 30 second exposure and I do not press on the filter, just lightly brush the surface with the absorbent cloth.
Crazy, but effective.
I think this allowed me to get a couple of images that might not otherwise have been possible.
So far, it’s a good trip.
Cole
Great capture in the rain. I tried this on a video I took on Johnson Mesa, NM. After a while I just gave up and let it rain.
http://youtu.be/CObIqmGuc70
Mark Goebel
Lovely image, and great tip about wiping! I’ve always wondered what to do about rain for LE!
Wonderful image Cole and yes it may sound crazy but after thinking about it I ask – why didn’t I think of that! 🙂 I am now anxiously awaiting the solution to keeping the drops off my eyeglasses during long exposures……….
Cheers and Happy Shooting!
Beautiful image!
I was so chilled in Bandon when I was there a few summers ago, that I couldn’t spend much time shooting.
Enjoy the rest of your time there. I’ve no doubt you’ll capture the essence of Bandon’s beautiful coast, no matter the weather.
A great LE image but remember not to work to hard looking for the right shots, let them come.
A fast action saves an image which needs a long time to be captured… What a nice contrast.
And a beautiful image.
Great image, love the contrast…and what a brilliant solution to using NDs in the rain! Enjoy the rest of your shooting in Bandon, don’t force that muse 🙂
Nice image Cole
Yes, Yes, Yes. And thank you, Lisa, also. Bandon has Biblical rains, and the wind has blown many photographers and their gear out to sea. The cold will make Iceland seem tropical. The only tripod that will hold is a commercial crane.
If anyone is thinking of going there, Hawaii is a better place, where the above image was taken-NOT Bandon. Nothing in Bandon, so let’s all move on.
Really, Cole, glad you are making the best of it, and for that elegantly simple tip.
Awesome tip, necessity is the mother of invention I suppose!
Cole,
I am glad to hear you are getting some weather events to give you plenty of lighting conditions to work in. Rain is always a challenge but it can also provide a mood for some interesting images. When we were there a couple of weeks ago it was nothing but two weeks of cloudless skies. Each day I was hoping a small trace of clouds but nothing showed up. Good tip on wiping away the rain on the filter. I learned after dropping my new slim line screw in ND filter to use the lens cap snapped into the filter to screw it on and off the lens. Have fun out there. John
Hi Cole, maybe an umbrella solved the problem! 😉