Welding Glass

[Black Pearl]

I've been meaning to try this for ages but never seemed to get organised - until this week.

 

I know long exposure/blurry seas aren't everyones cup of tea but I rather of like them. Thing is a decent 10 stop ND big enough to fit all my lenses was going to set me back knocking on a £100.....and that was never gonna fly. So I went onto eBay and bought a bit of welding glass for £1.20.....delivered!

Now I'm not going to sit here and argue that it is optically perfect and it has a rather unusual colour cast and mounting it on the lens is compromised at best but it was £1.20 so I shall ignore any protests. 

 

Took the camera out for a wander this morning for a play....yes I have a weekend off....Yeah!

 

Fitting the filter was a simple case of reversing my petal shaped lens hood and using two elastic bands to hold it in place - so far so good.

Exposure - well I stuck my finger in the air to judge the wind, scratched my nose, sucked my teeth and decide that 4 to five minutes at f16 would be about right - it was too.

 

The K30 has two Bulb modes:

One fires as long as you hold the shutter button down - not an option - I'd get bored and introduce camera shake.

The second lets you press once to open the shutter and again to close it - job done.

 

As I siad there is a colour cast to the images.........actually "a colour cast" may be the under statement of the year.........ok everything is GREEN!!!!!

 

Mono it is then.

 

Shot RAW - processed in LR5 - popped over into CS6 and fettled with Nik Silver Efex - tweaked with a bit of dodge/burn etc.

 

As is:

 

Fettled - best viewed large:

 

As is - including weird flare:

 

Fettled - best viewed large:

 

Needs a bit more experimenting - I might glue the welding glass to an old filter ring to get a better fit - I might create some sort of hood - it cost me just over a quid and I've had a bit of fun - give it a go.

 

 

[ChrisLumix]

I love your fettled shots - especially the second one   

[FUJI]

It is great to see someone experimenting photographically, especially with DIY alternatives to what can be very expensive accessories...... Your welding glass solution to N grad filter, reminds me of my cheap......plastic pudding basin.....Garry Fong-like flash diffuser for macro work.

Your fe titling here has worked a treat.....I rather like the originals, as quirky as they are too.

Keep at it BP.

FUJI

[Black Pearl]

Got the cloud blur I was hoping for in this one:

 

 

 

 

[Leon]

Got the cloud blur I was hoping for in this one:

 

Mars.jpg

stunning......

[Black Pearl]

If anyone wants a go: Welding Glass

[Korky]

That sounds like a lot of fun for £1.20 - the version with the cloud blur stands out for me.

 

A brilliant surreal look that's made me gawp at it for a long time.

 

Korky

[bugmeister]

The cloud blur for me as well, that just jumps off the screen.

 

Great experimentation, and to paraphrase.... "don't you just love it when an idea works?"  'cos it worked well

[Jon]

I thought about the welding glass option - I'd used it to look at the eclipse in the distant past - but I got a hitech 10 stop filter for a fiver so never tried in the end.

 

Have to say they are cracking shots - I like the ones with the "green tinge" as much as the mono versions :-)

[NannyFerret]

I love the cloud one too.
I wonder of it works the same as using a green filter with black and white film or a green filter when editing b&W digital on the PC.

[Martyn]

Ooh, I've got a pack of grade 10 welding glass in my tool box at work; think I need to "borrow" one!  

[Black Pearl]

A wider shot from the top of the beach.

 

 

The sun has solarized a little round the edges which is a shame but I love the water and the line of the surf.