Sydney Parade

Today I had to go to Dublin to visit one of the guys who I am Supervisor to in work. Unfortunately he suffered from a stroke on Friday night and ended up in St. Vincent's University Hospital, where I found him this morning in very good form and making a marvelous recovery. I traveled part of the way by car and continued on by train as far as Sydney Parade Station, which is an easy walk to the hospital. This shot was taken on the station platform while waiting for the return train.
N.D. Filter News
A few of you have expressed interest in having details of the Neutral Density filter set which I purchased recently. Now that the bedroom is back in one piece and beautiful new sliderobes adorn one entire wall, I have been putting my life back in order and finding all the things I had to remove from the bedroom in order to make life easy for the workmen. Hence the delay. Here we go :
The August issue of "Digital SLR Photography" magazine ran a feature on ND filters and how to use them. The article was part of their Budget Photo series in which they investigate ways of saving money. They went out and bought a set of XC Source filters and gave them a stringent test, comparing the performance against filters from famous makers such as Lee Filters and Kood. Let me quote you one or two of their findings : "Neutrality is important with ND Grads. They're supposed to tone down the sky without changing its colour. Our tests show that they are pretty good in that respect with just a very faint red cast showing in shots taken on a very flat, grey day. We were actually shocked by the neutrality of the ND Grads given their price. Some brands costing many times more aren't as neutral..." Summing up they said, " Having shot dozens of images in different locations and weather conditions, we're surprised and impressed by the quality of the filters supplied in this kit. Okay, they're not in the same league as Lee Filters, but then a single Lee ND grad will set you back almost £75, which is five times the cost of this entire kit of six filters, nine adaptor rings and a holder. Considering what you get for the money, the XC Source kit represents amazing value and we'd have no hesitation in recommending it to any photographer who's working on a tight budget or just wants to try out ND and ND Grad filters for the first time without breaking the bank"

So, what do you get for your money then? One filter holder, a close enough copy of the Cokin ones. Into this goes one of nine adaptor rings to match the filter thread of your camera lens. These come in 49,52,55,58,62,67,72,77 and 82mm diameters. This covers the entire range of popular sizes. Then in a neat nylon carry case comes the filters. 85x95mm in size, these come in Graduated strengths of ND 2,4,and8 and also in solid grads, also of ND 2,4, and 8.
All you need is a camera and a tripod and some inspiration. The filters reduce the amount of light entering the lens by 1,2 and 3 stops and they can be combined for minimal light transmission and especially long exposures. Because the light is reduced in your viewfinder I would suggest that you compose and focus first of all and then switch your autofocus off. Make sure to switch your image stabilisation off too when working on a tripod. Now,without upsetting the focus, slide the filter or filters into place, take your meter reading and make your exposure. The long exposures which result are great for recording all sorts of movement, especially fluffy water.
Where to get them: Go to www.amazon.co.uk and search for XC Source Full and Graduated Filter Set. You should find that the Sterling price is around £15 or 20 in Euro.
Hope you find this useful and that it helps you get some exciting shots.