# My UWA Landscape/Seascape Photos....



## B7fec (15 May 2011)

Hi All,

Seeing as Ultra Wide Angle photographs are a hot topic at the moment I thought I post up some of my own photos I have taken over the past week. I love tackling UWA shots in my day to day work. Let me know your thoughts....


















Had a few 4.15 am starts to catch these shots...  

Cheers Ben


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## George Farmer (15 May 2011)

Very nice, Ben.   

Are these HDR?

What lens mate?


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## B7fec (15 May 2011)

Cheers George, good question about the HDR, they do verge on looking like it, but no they're not, I use a sigma 10mm 20mm lens with Lee filters Great filters!!), these photos were all taken with a Lee big Stopper (Great piece of kit!!) except the last one, which really lets the camera grab the detail with exposures of 15 secs to 5 mins.....I have even tried some ridiculously long exposures but patience got the better of me.....


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## George Farmer (15 May 2011)

That was going to be my third question - what filters?!  

Nice one mate.  Lovely shots of a beautiful part of the world.


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## Mark Evans (15 May 2011)

Oh man, they're great images!

...even more impressive that they're not HDR!


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## B7fec (15 May 2011)

Thanks again mate, yeah to think I live 10 seconds away from that view..... the filters are simply the best! I tried and tried various other makes but boy these Lee filters seriously get your photos onto another level for Landscape/Seascape stuff. Mind....No good at all for Aquascaping!


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## B7fec (15 May 2011)

Mark Evans said:
			
		

> Oh man, they're great images!
> 
> ...even more impressive that they're not HDR!



Cheers Mate! Taken me ten years to learn how to take this sort of photos.... but think I've finally got the hang of it...


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## Antoni (15 May 2011)

I purely love those photos   

Thanks for sharing the technique!

Now I'm start dreaming of UWA lens and filters...


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## B7fec (15 May 2011)

Antoni said:
			
		

> I purely love those photos
> 
> Thanks for sharing the technique!
> 
> Now I'm start dreaming of UWA lens and filters...



Thanks Antoni!


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## John Starkey (15 May 2011)

Cracking photo's Ben,like George i thought they look HDR,i also think they have a fish eye lens look to them,i have a set of Lee filters (hard set graduated)i have been after the big stopper for ages and i just can't get one any where,

nice work Ben,PS: Ben how do you make the image stand off the page like that,element's or cs pp

John.


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## B7fec (15 May 2011)

john starkey said:
			
		

> Cracking photo's Ben,like George i thought they look HDR,i also think they have a fish eye lens look to them,i have a set of Lee filters (hard set graduated)i have been after the big stopper for ages and i just can't get one any where,
> 
> nice work Ben,PS: Ben how do you make the image stand off the page like that,element's or cs pp
> 
> John.



Hi John,
 Thanks..... They do have a fish eye look to them, I borrowed a fish eye lens in the past (testing it for a shop) and in some shots the distortion is just way to much, it is a lens I'd like to have in the bag for experimenting with.

Again the HDR look is from the long exposure and tweak White balance in raw along with contrast if needs be..... Get a big stopper!! They are totally worth it! a little awkward to get used to as you need to focus the camera first, then drop the filter in as it is simply impossible to see anything through it!! 

As for the photo standing off the page, I use photoshop, there are a few ways to do it but here is mine:

Highlight picture in the layers palette > double click it so it becomes a layer > then right click on the thumbnail of the picture in the layers palette > a menu comes up > choose blending options > then a new menu comes up > double click 'drop shadow' > change the setting in the sliders to suit > then the shadowing is done.

For the White surround goto :

Image along the top menu > in the drop down menu choose 'canvas size' > choose your surround size (typically 1" or whatever you want) click ok > flatten image and hey presto!! 

I normally record this as an action so it can be performed with one click on the mouse.

There are also keyboard short cuts for some of these actions which makes it quicker and easier but not sure if your a mac or pc man..... Give me a PM if you need anymore info......you can call me then if you like.


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## BigTom (15 May 2011)

Hi Ben,

Lovely scenes, and interesting PP. I shoot a lot of long exposure UWA myself.

Being hyper critical (as you seem accomplished enough to be able to take it!), the first three shots here suffer slightly from muddy midtones and some harsh exposure blends, in my opinion. Your techniques seem to have come together beautifully in the last shot however, definitely the best of the bunch.


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## B7fec (15 May 2011)

Hahaha cheers Tom, I am never one to hide from criticism, after all we can all learn from it most if the time, I'll take your comments on board, the last one is actually my least favourite.....

The pp is aimed at the final product, my trade is actually a canvas printer for the trade...... And I have 2 websites one for the trade the other retails photographs like this to the public aswel as retailing from my shop and trading from a unit....... Busy, busy..... So for some the photos may look a little over done..... But when I print onto canvas these strong tones can sometimes be muted.


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## foxfish (15 May 2011)

I love the pictures, they have a feel good romantic touch, they sort of look like, what a oil painter would like to capture but cant!


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## John Starkey (15 May 2011)

B7fec said:
			
		

> john starkey said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Thanks Ben for the tips on PP,i use lightroom 3 for the bit of editing i do,i have just recently got elements 9,but i am still finding my way around it,oh i use a mac,

take care
John.


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## Tom (15 May 2011)

Some great shots there


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## mlgt (16 May 2011)

Ive looked at the Lee filters before but never put much thought as I needed a Polarising and UV filter to start with. Is this the one with the fisheye feature? 

However I settled for a Tokina Macro lens instead. Price wise I think the lens worked out around £400. Will give the lens a try when I am in Singapore later this month.


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## B7fec (17 May 2011)

foxfish said:
			
		

> I love the pictures, they have a feel good romantic touch, they sort of look like, what a oil painter would like to capture but cant!



Thanks


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## B7fec (17 May 2011)

mlgt said:
			
		

> Ive looked at the Lee filters before but never put much thought as I needed a Polarising and UV filter to start with. Is this the one with the fisheye feature?
> 
> However I settled for a Tokina Macro lens instead. Price wise I think the lens worked out around £400. Will give the lens a try when I am in Singapore later this month.



Hi Migt,

No this isnt the filter with a fisheye, I used a 10mm 20mm lens so you can get a fish eye look with it, you would notice a huge difference if it was a true fish eye in the amount of distortion.


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