Wow! First go using graduated ND filter

[Harlz]

Here's a sunrise I shot this morning. I was immensely satisfied with the colours that came up nicely even though it's a single exposure (I have previously been utilising mostly HDR for my images) - no saturation or curves done at all, straight from the camera! It was taken on top of a nicely positioned foot bridge over a busy road. The only hassles was when a jogger came by the bridge shook slightly so I had to wait till they were off the bridge.

I was using a tripod obviously, as well as a remote and mirror lockup setting to reduce vibrations. I used a Singh-Ray Color Combo polarising filter to ensure the sky had deep colours. I used a 3 stop reverse graduated neutral density filter (also from Singh-Ray) to hold the sky back and keep everything exposed nicely. The polarising filter was a screw-in while the grad ND filter was hand held. It took a few goes to hold the filter in exactly the right spot.

[Gonzo13]

That is a great shot. Curiously, why don't you have a holder for the filter?

[Harlz]

Originally Posted by Gonzo13

That is a great shot. Curiously, why don't you have a holder for the filter?

I do have a holder for the filter but for this shot I also wanted to use my polarising filter which is screw-in. I read about others that usually hand hold all their filters. I doubt I can do it for much more than 10 seconds though. Maybe with practice! I've also read that a polarising filter can add 1-2 stops in itself which is handy to know as well as cutting glare and bringing out the blue sky.

[Quazology]

Great Job!! That is a fantastic sunrise.

[Repty]

Nice shot there, i've been trying to find a spot like that in my country.
Good idea about using holding one of the filters. i've never thought of that so far.