Long Exposure Landscapes Workshop at Seacliff

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Fujifilm X-T4 + XF10-24mm f4 - Haida 15stop ND + 3 Stop ND Grad - 480 seconds@f8 ISO160

Yesterday I hosted another MacLean Photographic 'Long Exposure Landscapes' workshop at Seacliff beach, a location I tend to take most of my guests to because of the immense variety of images available in a relatively small location.


Located a couple of miles east of North Berwick, Seacliff features a small sandy beach looking out towards Bass Rock one mile out in the Firth of Forth.  At this time of year the small island is covered in gannets as up to 150,000 birds call this part of Scotland home from March until October.  We were treated to some fantastic diving displays as the birds fished just off the beach for most of the day.

Fujifilm X-T4 + XF50-140mm f2.8 - Haida 15stop ND + 3 Stop ND Grad - 480 seconds @f11 ISO80

On the headland looking west is the ruins of Tantallon Castle, which is still an imposing sight high on the cliffs across the bay.  Just off the beach is the small working harbour, which is reportedly Scotland's smallest harbour.

On the other side of the bay is St Baldred's Cross, which is the outer marker that indicates to shipping where the Firth of Forth ends and the North Sea begins.


The Long Exposure Landscape workshop is designed to show my guests how to take stunning landscape images by letting the shutter stay open for anywhere between 30 seconds and 8 minutes so anything in the image that is moving, such as the sea and the clouds, smooths out to give a very distinctive and ethereal effect.

To do this the guests need to have a camera that has a Bulb setting and a remote cable release or a long exposure setting on the shutter speed dial.  A sturdy tripod is an absolute must, as is a Neutral Density filter to slow down the amount of light hitting the sensor and allow long shutter speeds to be used.

The recommended ND filters are either a 10 stop, which turns a shutter speed of 1/30s into 30 seconds or a 15 stop, which turns a 1/125s into 8 minutes.

I have recently switched to the M10 Haida filter system, which uses drop in ND filters.  The M10 system makes composing an image and recalculating the exposure time an absolute doddle because the filter can be removed and place back in the holder really easily and quickly.

When I used slot in ND filters like the Lee or Firecrest, I was always upsetting the composition by knocking the camera while trying to remove or replace the ND filter, and if I had an ND graduated filter fitted as well, which I normally have, then this would have to be removed as well to get the ND filter off.  So the Haida M10 system is a big plus for my landscape photography.



I used the new 3 Legged Thing 'Billy' Carbon Fibre tripod during the workshop.  Because it is lighter than the Manfrotto 055 aluminium tripod I have been using for the past few years, I have to be careful to make sure it is steady in the high winds that are usually a feature of the East Lothian coast. I have a small bag that I can attach to the bottom of the tripod that can be filled with rocks to add weight or I keep the tripod set low with the legs splayed out to provide a much more stable platform for the camera.

I was using two Fujifilm X-T4 bodies with a selection of lenses.  The X-T4 I was using for the long exposure shots was fitted with a SmallRig video cage as this will become my primary video camera, but it also has an ARCA plate built into the cage so it makes fitted the camera to the tripod head quick and simple.

The lenses I used were the XF10-24mm f4, XF16-55mm f2.8, XF50-140mm f2.8 and the XF200mm f2, which was fitted to my other X-T4 which I used for general shots while the main camera was shooting the 8-minute exposures.   These longer exposures also give me time to check on my guests to make sure they are setting their cameras up correctly and helping them with their compositions.  My images are then used to help my guests understand what they are looking for and how I achieved the images I have taken.

One of the other things to do when working on the coast is to know when the low and high tides will occur and plan the positions accordingly.  I use a website called www.tidetimes.org.uk to work out when the best times for certain shots will be and also for safety so we don't get cut off by a rising tide.  On this day Low Tide was at 09:15 and High Tide at 15:26.

Fujifilm X-T4 + XF10-24mm f4 - Haida 15stop ND + 3 Stop ND Grad - 480 seconds @f13 ISO250
With the rising tide in mind we headed over to the rocks below Tantallon Castle for the first set of shots.  The rocks in this area are covered at High Tide and therefore can only be accessed at certain times. So we walked around the headland and set up on the rocks to shoot across the bay towards the castle and towards Bass Rock, while keeping one eye on the water levels around us.

We moved several times in the same location before the high tide had us heading along the beach to the other side of the bay to capture some shots of Bass Rock and St Baldred's Cross.

The tide also retreats quite quickly so for the last two hours of the workshop we were able to take shots of the rocks as they emerged from the water.

For more information on MacLean Photographic workshops, which are designed for photographers of all levels, CLICK HERE

Here are some of the other images from the workshop at Seacliff

Fujifilm X-T4 + XF16-55mm f2.8 - Haida 15stop ND + 3 Stop + 2 stop ND Grads - 480 seconds@f8 ISO640

Fujifilm X-T4 + XF10-24mm f4 - Haida 15stop ND + 3 Stop + 2 stop ND Grads - 480 seconds@f11 ISO500

Fujifilm X-T4 + XF10-24mm f4 - Haida 15stop ND + 3 Stop ND Grad - 480 seconds@f11 ISO500

Fujifilm X-T4 + XF10-24mm f4 - Haida 15stop ND + 3 Stop ND Grad - 480 seconds@f11 ISO400

Fujifilm X-T4 + XF200mm f2 - 1/2000s @f3.6 ISO80

Fujifilm X-T4 + XF200mm f2 + 1.4x converter - 1/4000s@f2.8 ISO80



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Jeff Carter is a Haida Filters Co-Photographer - CLICK HERE to see his profile

MacLean Photographic runs Photography Workshops in East Lothian and the Borders of Scotland.  
CLICK HERE for more details and availability. 

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Location: Seacliff, UK

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