Stockton - Sunset and Long Exposure

Hi again everyone!

Well I must say that I have had a fairly busy week!

The winter weather we had been having had cleared a week ago and although the ground was a little soggy underfoot, the weather has been perfect!  The days have been glorious; blue skies and mild temperatures.......until today!  Today is a return to the gloomy, cloudy, rainy, cold of winter.

Luckily I got out on Sunday afternoon for a Photo Safari to Stockton.  I had been there before but this time I had some ideas I wanted to try.

The Sun sets over the Hunter River and the resultant silhouettes and shadow from the mangroves on the Wetlands really make great subjects, not to mention the odd Pelican or two!  There is also an Oyster Farm in the Wetlands on the eastern end of the Stockton Bridge.  I knew that if all worked well then I would get some lovely sunset shots but that if I added an ND8 filter to the mix that I would also get some silky smooth water from the Hunter River. The ND8 filter would also enhance those golden sunset colours.

The first part of my safari was spent a little further up the Stockton Peninsula where there are a couple of shipwrecks.  I have been there before also, but I have a new camera and kit since that original visit,  and wanted to see what else I could achieve.  The shipwrecks are on the eastern shore of the Hunter River and at the time I was there the Sun had not quite set. It was difficult to get good shots at that time of the afternoon; the Sun was just screwing up the exposure all round to get detailed shots of the wrecks. I will have to return there on Sunrise when the light will be more compatible.

I did manage to get some photos from that area though, the mangroves and some old rail lines plus a makeshift jetty that no one in their right minds would ever try to use. The area apparently used to be the ballast drop off area for shipping which would explain the rail lines and other old equipment lying about.

As the Sun got lower into the sky, I packed up and drove a little further down onto Nelson Bay Road.  Once the Sun gets low in the sky it is amazing how quick it can disappear. However, when armed with an ND8 filter and small aperture settings for long exposures, it is surprising just how much light the camera can capture even after the Sun is below the horizon.

One thing I am yet to purchase to add to my kit is a remote control for those shots in Bulb Mode.  I found that I had to change the ISO settings to keep some of the exposures within the 30 second time frame of the camera.  It worked well though with very little grain from the high ISO.

I hope you are all well and have not fallen foul of the winter sniffles and sore throat! For those of you in the Northern Hemisphere who are enjoying Summer; I wish I was there!

Regards

Jordy

Note: The photos on this blog entry are for sale as a print or, I can email you a high resolution file to you to take to a printer of your choice.  All photographs on this blog are © Life with Jordy Photography 2013