Prancing with Filters
I'm not sure about you but when I hear that photographers are 'hand holding their graduated filters', I'm a little suspicious that they can get the accuracy that is required for any sort of creative placement. i.e. If I find it hard to position a grad using a filter holder and depth of field preview on my 5D, how the hell are you doing it by just waving the thing around. Well it seems that I was underestimating the condition that some of these photographic technicians suffer from. I was looking around some photographic video tuition on youtube and found one by Steve Kossack where he demonstrates this "art". Have a look from 3'51" to 4'15"
Now from what I can tell, this is a 2 stop soft filter on a 24-70 lens which means that the graduation is covering more than the whole of the frame. Effectively, there is about a 1.5 stop filter and whilst he moves it up and down he is just adding and removing about a third of a stop (twisting it around is not doing anything more than adjusting the average angle of the graduation by a ten degrees or so). What he is doing by this maneuver is gradually digging is way through the filter causing scratches and potentially some nasty veiling flare.. I can imagine the conversation when he goes back to Singh Ray with it...
Steve: Hey Mr Singh Ray, Why do I get so much flare with your filters? Mr Ray: If you look carefully, you may be able to see where you've WORN THROUGH THE BLOODY FILTER YOU IDIOT
No disrespect to Steve intended, but I think even if you don't rub your filters to death, some of the facts of hand holding need to be addressed.
1) "I can dodge and burn certain areas" - no you can't.. the only shape you can make by twisting you grads is potentially a X but with the top quadrant at 2stops, the side quadrants at 1 stop and the bottom at 0 stops.. Some variations on this are possible (i.e. smaller angle for the top V, smoother graduation between the quadrants) but they all essentially add up the the same. However, if you want to do this sort of configuration (and it can potentially come in handy, I've used in the Glencoe valley but with two grads - see below for image) the accuracy you need potentially requires proper mounting anyway (bluetack may be a possibility?!).
2) "I can soften the edge of the grad" - yes you can but if you need to adjust the edge then you must be working with a fairly hard edge grad and if you are working with a hard edge grad you probably need to be placing it to an accuracy of about 5mm or so. Can you guarantee that sort of accuracy hand holding whilst "adding a bit of movement to blur the edge"? Just buy some extra grads.. (If you want to save money then it's probably worth playing with but you probably want to buy some extra hard grads from Lee so that you have better control).
3) "It means I can work quicker" - yes potentially, although if you have lee adapters on your lenses, I think you'll find working more accurately is worth the extra 20 seconds to slide a filter into a holder and stick it on the lens.
I don't suppose I'll convince anyone to change their behaviour and it seems a trendy thing to do. I make one concession to the technique though.. If you can only afford one graduated filter and no hardware, getting a Lee 2 stop hard and hand holding is probably better than buying a Cokin to save money.
Highlight this Comment Eddie Butt20/08/2009, 20:11
Hi Tim
Strange "technique"! I have seen others hand-holding a filter in front of the lens, but generally trying to keep it still. I'm not sure why, though, since it takes very little time to stick a holder on, surely?
I'm off to Arizona in September for 2 weeks holiday. I'm having a couple of days in Page and the guide is booked for a visit to South Coyote Buttes (picked up at 3.00 a.m. and a 3 hour drive into the wilderness...). I don't think I'll be adding this method to the checklist... :-)
Best regards
Eddie
Highlight this Comment Dav Thomas20/08/2009, 22:58
Sometimes you can talk with such authority you can convince others you know what you're talking about.
He does appear to be wasting his time (with his technique and his composition). There might be some point to prancy dancing I suppose if it were a very hard grad but with a soft, utterly pointless.
I've had to hand hold a filter before with my Agfa Isola because it can't take a holder (until I get round to making an adaptor for it) – I tend to hold it as still as possible though. The other problem with holding a filter, particularly if you're going to prance about with it, is light gets in behind it and causes big flare, so you need to have it right up against the lens, which, as you say, is going to scratch the filter and also stands a chance of nudging the camera causing shake.
I'm not sure what 'It'll darken the saturation and that's a good thing' means either?!
Nice vest though.
Dav
Highlight this Comment Dave21/08/2009, 08:13
I've handheld filters before when trying to work concurrently with 2 systems (digital and 35mm) because it is genuinely quicker, and the COkin holder I was using at the time is fidly to make fine adjustments with (not a problem with Lee holders). However I don't do it these days. The main problem if you need to hold the filter very close to the lens to avoid getting flare round the side, but if you actually hold it onto the lens you're likely to cause vibrations - I know some people swear blind you can do this and still keep the camera still but for me if I'm going to the effort of using a tripod I would rather just avoid touching the camera during exposure thanks. Also holding them onto the lens will scratch the filters eventually.
Holding the filters in the same position isn't too bad. Lee hard grads aren't that hard really so a few mms either way for a fraction of a second over a multi-second exposure isn't a big deal. Its almost a valid technique to deliberately move and soften a hard grad during the shot though since the Lee soft grads are uselessly soft on anything but a wide lens with a huge front element.
The main problem with handholding filters though is repeatability. You can't guarantee the same result again. It might be ok for digital landscape shooters who may take 1000 photos of one scene and evenatually cull them down to one that they're happy with, but its not for anyone approaching the "less is more" school of shooting.
Highlight this Comment Julian21/08/2009, 08:42
Hi Tim!
Well, yes it does look like he hasn't got a clue about how to use grads properly. However, it does remind me of something I was told about Jack Dykinga's technique (he, apparently, never uses grads) of waving a darkslide over the part of the image that needs shading during a small part of the total exposure duration - similar to dodging during wet-printing. Perhaps with Kossack its a case of old habits dying hard?
Just a thought. ;^)
Highlight this Comment Tim Parkin21/08/2009, 09:09
@Jools - Well you learn something new every day. I could have sworn he mentioned grads in his Large Format Nature Photography book (worth a buy if anybody doesn't have this). I'm impressed he can target this well enough to work with transparencies. It makes more sense with a darkslide as you have an ultra hard edge to play with. It still sounds like lunacy to me though :-)
Highlight this Comment Gordon M21/08/2009, 09:10
I almost never hand hold grads as it seems a bit hit and miss. The last time I did so was in a situation with an 'X' exposure just as Tim describes -a steep wooded river valley with dark foreground rocks in river, lighter L and RHS banks, and bright sun through overhead canopy - I used two grads at right angles to each other and had to hand hold one as the Lee filters are not square, so you can't get them both in a holder if at right angles.
I heard same thing about Dykinga, and I'm pretty sure there are no grads in his 'how to' LFP book; however, despite his excellent results, I can't see myself following suit.
Incidentally, what does this Kossack guy mean by 'colour intensifying filter' - not a polariser as this is separately mentioned - 81 series?
Highlight this Comment Tim Parkin21/08/2009, 09:17
I think he's talking about Singh Ray's Color Intensifier. which use a rare-earth combination of praseodymium and neodymium to filter parts of the colour spectrum. There is a good article on it on wikipedia here.
How did your 'X' filter experiment work btw?
Highlight this Comment Gordon M21/08/2009, 09:54
Don't think I'll be rushing out to get a colour intensifier! These ad pictures look garish to my eye, and would defeat the point of using a subtle film like Velvia, although I get the impression this filter is aimed at digital users.
The 'X' filter experiment work pretty well actually - was quite pleased as it was all a bit tricky, especially as I was grovelling around in the river at the time. I'm still to invest in film scanning kit (the learning curve looks a bit daunting) so can't yet point you at the result.
Highlight this Comment Dave21/08/2009, 11:37
Coincidentally I have Dykinga's Large Format Nature Photography book in my hand (just happen to be taking it back to the library today, thought it was OK but not amazing) and he doesn't really cover grads. Which is odd as there are some shots in that book that would have done with them.
I've also read an english translated version of a book on pano photography by Arnaud Frich. he covers real-time dodging of a high contrast scene using some blakc card when shooting with a Noblex swing-lens camera. You can see by the results he's got it can work very extremely well, especially on a camera like that when you've got no other option.
Highlight this Comment Tim Parkin21/08/2009, 11:44
@Dave - I have heard about people 'cutting out their own grad' out of black paper and then using this to dodge live pictures.. I might have to play with this sometime....
Highlight this Comment Tristan21/08/2009, 12:16
If a technique works for an individual and they get the results they are after then it doesn't really matter how they go about it. I know a couple of photographers who hand hold their filters and their work can be absolutely outstanding in my opinion. I believe Galen Rowell handheld grads on occasion - probably to cut equipment and weight down to an absolute minimum.
Highlight this Comment Tim Parkin21/08/2009, 12:39
@Tristan - I have no doubt it can be done and to good effect however, like I said, I'm suspicious that hand holding (as performed by Mr Kossack) can accurately place a hard grad. In most situations, Lee hard grads actually cover most of the frame anyway and so a little wrong placement won't do much more than apply a little more grad across the whole frame or adjust the exposure in the transition zone a little. However, using a hard or very hard grad with a wide angle lens (e.g. against the water on a coastal shot) needs precision.
I just did a couple of tests. Using a 24-105, the range of movement from placing the grad at the top of the screen to the bottom is 30mm. The transition is about 3 or 4mm .. hence eif your hand moves by any more than 2 or 3mm then your error in placement is noticable. (for the 24-105, this 30mm range is the same across the whole range of focal lengths).
Using the 17-40 at 40mm however, the range of movement needed to change the grad placement from the bottom of the frame to the top of the frame is only 15mm. That means if you hand moves 1.5mm, the grad moves 10% across of the frame size! I tried hand holding in ideal conditions (i.e. not tired and in a nice warm room sitting down) and my general hand shake was about 1.5mm (yeah I'm getting old I know). So potentially, you are softening your hard grad by 100% and having a 10% error in placement across the frame (potentialy).
I also did another check to see how close to the lens you really have to hold the grad.. I was up in the attic and shotting through one window with another window to my back. If I held the grad against the lens, I didn't get any flare (obviously) if the grad was any more than 3 or 4mm away from the lens then I could see significant flare.
So.. If you are hand holding grads and you want to make sure you can get the same level of accuracy and flare avoidance as using a holder, you need to make sure the grads are touching the lens and hold them in some way so they don't move. I would certainly be worried about tripod shake if I was placing enough pressure on the grad against the lens to stop my hand from moving.
However, like you say some people manage fine even with these disadvantages and I don't condemn the idea (I do say I'm just suspicous about the accuracy, which I am) although I do think mr Kossack is wasting his time waving and twisting his grad around.
I suppose my point here is that if you are hand holding because you've read that it's just as good as using a holder, you are probably being mislead. If you know the risks and are hand holding because you want to reduce equipement because of hassle/weight/cost then I've no problems with that at all!
Highlight this Comment Richard Childs22/08/2009, 21:53
This makes sense to me. I mount my ND grads in a clamp on my tripod and hand hold my Ebony, moving it up and down to create the same effect. Always wondered why my images were out of focus!!
Highlight this Comment Tim Parkin22/08/2009, 21:59
@Richard - Thank you, thank you, thank you! Although I've just had to clean the sofa because of the mouthful drink I just spat out... :-)
Highlight this Comment Steve15/09/2009, 16:37
Hi Tim, I agree this practise is a little time wasting and doesnt work half the time. But I have had some success with it when time has allowed me to have a play. There is no chance what so ever though, that I would do this using my Pentax 67II, only using my 5dmk2 do I do this, so I know I can retake the shot without being wasteful, and throwing money down the loo :)
Highlight this Comment Jao van de Lagemaat22/09/2009, 01:51
That was very funny! Thanks for posting that. A friend of mine always handholds his filters (his stuff is here: http://www.benjaminparkerphotography.com/) and he is surprisingly good at it, but it looks nothing like this when he does it.
Highlight this Comment Juraj Jakubik24/09/2009, 11:31
Hi Tim, thanks for the video. I tried to handhold a filter few times myself: once a sudden gust took it off my hands and smashed it into pieces, second filter slipped of my hand and fell into a river and third time (using full 81B as a grad moving it up and down a bit during a long exposure) I touched the lens and the image was blurred. Then I said “enough”, invested into LEE filter system and never danced around my camera/lens during the exposure. I just do not see the point of having a camera tripod mounted, using a cable release, mirror lock up and then just waving a filter in front of a lens. If you are using a wide angle lens, it means dancing with the filter very close to the front of the lens and this almost certainly guarantees touching the lens and causing blurred images. I know this, I have tried it.
Highlight this Comment Fraser04/10/2009, 21:25
Another thing I don't think anyone has mentioned - In cold weather, wearing some powerstretch breathable gloves results in fogging if I put my hand anywhere near my lens/filters.
Maybe I'm just a sweaty git though...
Highlight this Comment Bob Garrigus19/10/2009, 06:45
Hi guys,
I try to use the holder whenever possible but I use this technique occasionally to good effect. Steve Kossack, Tony Sweet, Tim Fitzharris, Galen Rowell and Jack Dykinga have all applied this technique (sometimes called 'feathering') when circumstances dictated. I'm sure there are many more. For me it is most often woodland conditions or coastlines to better hide the transition and I use soft grads. I reckon situations where a hard grad is called for are probably best done using the holder. It takes practice and a steady hand but it can be a useful tool in your tool box. I supose its the same for any technique or bit of advice - assimilate what works for you and disregard what doesn't.
Cheers!
Bob G.
Highlight this Comment Jim Goldstein11/05/2010, 22:19
The technique is certainly not for everyone. It has its merits, but is limited. I agree if you placed the filter at a 45 degree angle for the exact same amount of time you'd get the impact to the exposure you've noted, but in reality he's being inconsistent in his placement and duration. I liken this to the inverse of light painting. Certainly not for everyone, but it has its uses. I have to admit most of my moments where an equivalent technique was used have been "happy accidents".
Highlight this Comment Douglas Griffin26/05/2010, 12:57
Very interested to read your comments above re. the 24-105 lens. I have this lens (and a 5D Mk. II), and I've been tempted to try to hand-hold my Lee filters when using them with the lens at 24mm. Even with the Lee wide-angle holder, I can't avoid a small amount of vignetting at this focal length. More than a bit annoying!
Highlight this Comment Tim Parkin26/05/2010, 13:02
Hi Douglas,
I don't have a problem with mine but I removed the last filter slot so I only have two slots..
Do you have all three on yours?
Highlight this Comment Douglas Griffin26/05/2010, 13:37
Hi Tim,
That could be it - I'll check when I get home tonight!
Cheers, Doug.
Highlight this Comment Adam Burton09/09/2010, 08:57
Hi Tim,
Stumbled across this today. Had to chuckle. I'm completely with you on the hand holding thing. On the rare occasions that I have had to hand hold a filter, I find its either too far down, too far away, too close (bash!), and always with no control over where I want the graduation to be. How some people hand hold through long exposures of up to 1 minute is completely beyond me. Filter holder all the way!
Adam.
Highlight this Comment Tim parkin14/09/2010, 07:59
Hi Adam, it's definitely a wierd affectation that some photographers have - I suppose it gives them the feeling that they're adding some artistic creativity into their pictures (probably carving some into their grads too).. :-)
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