Day 155, Long Exposure, Turtle, Turtle Beach, North Shore, Oahu,

Long Exposure, Turtle, Turtle Beach, North Shore, Oahu, Hawaii, Sunset, originally uploaded by solostandfound.

I have been planning on a long exposure shot for a while now. I just have not had the chance, so where better to give it a shot then Hawaii. I was going to find some rocks or a jetty or a pier to try this. The long exposure of the waves while using the Neutral Density filters so that I can cut the light will give a misty almost surreal feel to the water.  It seems to work best if there is a sharp constant, i.e. rocks or a pier.  This shot was about 4:30. Yes that is 4 minutes and 30 seconds. But it was right as the sun was just set or setting for the others so there was a lot less light to begin with.

This turtle had come up to sleep and bask, He didn't move hardly the whole time I was there. Every now and then he would open an eye and then go back to sleep. We were as much a worry to him as the sun set or the calm ocean.  

It seemed a little poetic to do these long exposures as he just ignored us and went on with his life. The world was rushing buy just yards from the beach on the highway. Tourist and locals hurrying along to see the next sight and check off the next spot on the list or deal with the next task. The sea in its rhythmic pattern of waves breaking continued on, a subject of motion for the camera, a source of constant change. He was just basking, and would eventually just go for swim and eat some algae. No worries. What a constant.

The other shots came out really well, but this one just seemed more peaceful.  The first of the out takes has a Cokin Tobacco Grad filter on top of the ND filters and the second has a Cokin Sunset 2 filter added to the stack.  That is why they have a different look to them. they were both closer to the 30 to 45 second exposure.  They actually needed the extra filters to contain the light that was still a little bright.  The first was just after the sun had set, so it did not need the extra help.  

The Cokin filters worked well, and they give a little more freedom with the graduated filters, but they scratch easily, and are a pain to put on and off the holder that attaches them to the front of the lens.  I am using all "A" size, but I had to crop everything since I used a wider lens and the edges of the holder was in all of the exposures.  I will either need to switch to higher quality filters or go to the bigger "P" size.  

Thanks for looking,
EXIF data

Camera:	Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi
Exposure:	271 sec (271)
Aperture:	f/22
Focal Length:	22 mm
ISO Speed:	200
Exposure Bias:	0 EV