Experiments with Tilt-Shift and Ultra Long Exposure
2016.01.18
Day Two Hundred and Thirty Nine. Today was all about experimentation. I started at the beach to get what I call a "long draw" shot, i.e. one where both the foreground and background are completely in focus. With a traditional lens, this requires stoping way down (f/16 - f/22) or focus stacking (really hard/almost impossible with anything other than stationary subjects). The purpose of tilting the lens is to change the plane of focus, so instead of being parallel to the sensor, it can, in this case, run along the ground. Compare the first and second images. Both were shot wide open at f/3.5. In the first image, the background is in focus, but the foreground is completely out of focus. In the second image, both the foreground and background are in sharp focus. Magic :D
The second image is my first 4 minute long exposure. I shifted to keep the buildings standing up straight and stacked 10-stop and 6-stop ND filters to achieve such a long exposure. I really like the cloud streaks in the sky and just how smooth everything is. I think I'll be doing quite a few more exposures like this in the future :)
