This 12-second shot made with the Kolari neutral density 3-stop filter shows how the long exposure creates a dreamy ethereal fell to the water flowing over the dam. In comparison, the image below was taken without an ND filter at 1/200th of a second.

Digital photography is invitation to minimalist fine art images

I’ll admit that I have not used neutral density filters all that often. I mean, growing up shooting Kodachrome 25 and 64 as well as Fujichrome 50 meant there was not a whole lot of need to put darkened glass in front of my lenses to get an even slower shutter speed.

But that was long ago and times have changed.

Today’s modern cameras boast ISO settings that easily reach into the thousands and some cameras don’t even offer ratings under ISO 200. So, using neutral density filters has become increasingly important in order to create certain in-camera creative effects.

A waterfalls, for example, takes on a beautiful soft look with a slower shutter speed. Even a simple stream looks better when a slow shutter speed has been used to create a soft ethereal look.

An long exposure of anywhere between 10 seconds to several minutes or more creates a dreamy, ethereal look as ocean waves crash against the rocks. The results can easily transform a typical tourist shot into a work of art anyone would be proud to hang on their wall.

The image below – although admittedly not very exciting – illustrates how a long exposure (16-seconds) can remove wave action and create a minimalist image with an ethereal look. (I’m going to work on finding better subjects for a future post on maximizing the 10-stop filter.)

A 10-stop neutral density filter was used to create this 16-second exposure of a rock in the lake. The long exposure flattened out the water, removing the waves and helped create this soft, ethereal feeling.

These are the more obvious, and popular, uses of neutral density filters. There are, however, so many more uses that photographers might want to explore.

One of the benefits of digital photography is that there are no longer excuses to not experiment with your camera. In the past, experimenting with a roll or two of film cost real money, especially if you were not happy with the results. Today’s digital cameras, however, take the cost factor out of experimentation and leaves photographers with the incentive to pursue a more creative, experimental approach to making photographic images whether in the garden, in the forest or even by the lake or ocean.

Kolari magnetic ND filters are well made, nicely marked and a well-priced system compared to other similar filter systems. My package of three filters 3-stop, 6- and 10 stop filters with magnetic step-up ring came in a plastic case that easily slips into a camera bag. (see image below)

Filters in original case

*The three Kolari ND filters are nicely packaged in a quality case with the magnetic adapter ring.*

Kolari kindly offered me a set of their magnetic-based neutral density filters (a 3-stop, 6-stop and 10-stop filter) to use in the garden, in the woodland and in the field. In the short time I have been able to put these filters to the test, I have to admit that I am impressed. Not only with their ease of use, but with their neutral colour profile and exceptional clarity.

That should not come as a surprise since Kolari is using Schott glass – considered the finest in photographic glass – for their filters.

Let’s take a look at some of my early results employing these filters.

The three images above illustrate the effects of a slow shutter on moving water. The top image shows a 12 second exposure while the small image below shows a typical 1/200th of a second exposure. A tripod was a necessity for the 12-second exposure.

Better Bokeh, create a softer background

One of the important uses of neutral density filters is how they allow the photographer to create a softer, more pleasing bokeh or background in their images. This is especially important if you are photographing in brightly lit areas where your camera is calling for small f-stops like f8, f11 or f16.

By adding one or more neutral density filters to the lens, you are able to choose f-stops like f5.6, f4 and f2.8. This is especially important for portraiture to help the photographer “soften” the background.

If you are looking to get the most out of your fast prime lenses, like an f1.4 lens, it is vital to cut the light entering the lens in situations where you are looking to create a soft bckground.

In the image below, I used a fast f2.5 macro lens to capture the spotted bee balm. By using the lens wide open, I was able to get the main subject in focus while keeping the flower at right soft and out-of-focus. A faster f-stop (f8, F11, f16) would have brought the second flower into focus and made the image too busy to be successful.

One of the benefits of neutral density filters that often gets overlooked is the ability to create images with less depth of field. This is particularly effective for portraits when the photographer wants to blur the background. With today’s micro 4/3rds cameras, coaxing a shallower depth of field is important. By using neutral density filters, photographers can open the f-stop even on bright sunny days. This image was taken at mid-day but I was able to open up the macro lens to f 2.8 despite the bright conditions.

Giving water a soft, ethereal look

A sturdy tripod is necessary for long exposures, including this image (below) of a small waterfalls along a stream. The slow shutter allowed me to soften the water and create a more pleasing image. The amount of softness depends on a combination of how fast the water is moving and how long the shutter remains open. In this case it was only a matter of a few seconds.

By experimenting with different strength ND filters, you can create very different effects, but you will likely find the 3-stop filter will be the most used.

A slow shutter speed of several seconds was used to create this soft ethereal look to the small waterfalls at a nearby stream. The low light levels in the forest allowed for the Kolari 3-stop filter to slow the shutter enough to capture the image. Under brighter conditions, a 6-stop filter may have been necessary to slow the shutter to the desired speed.

Taking creativity to a new level

Getting into the more creative potential of using neutral density filters affords the photographer an opportunity to create interesting impressionistic images.

The image below, for example, of Proven Winners’ Bubble Gum geraniums growing in a hanging basket takes advantage of a 3-stop neutral density filter and a long exposure while intentionally moving the camera (ICM). By moving the camera in a diagonal direction while pressing the shutter, I was able to use the colour in the flowers to create strong diagonal lines in green and fuchsia.

Since these images are more creative than documentary, pushing the post processing to bring out colours and textures seems appropriate.

Whether you like ICM images (I love pushing the boundaries creatively) or prefer to use the filters in a more traditional way, there is no denying that the potential of combining ND filters with digital cameras provides endless creative potential.

Below are a number of ICM images taken in the garden by slowing the shutter speed using the Kolari magnetic ND filters.

Once the magnetic base is screwed on to your lens, changing filters and experimenting with different filter effects is quick and simple with the Kolari filters.

A polarizing filter can also be used with the ND filters.

*This image of Proven Winners’ Bubble Gum geraniums was taken with the 3-stop neutral density filter and post processed in Lightroom adding texture and vibrancy.*

*This image of Black Eyed Susans in motion, combines a documentary approach with a more impressionistic one. Again, post processing was used to create more vibrant colours and textures in the image.*

This image of a group of rotting apples was taken using the Kolari 3-stop ND filter. I love the colours and the very sensual feeling the image evokes. It is the result of many attempts to capture a successful image.

Let Mother Nature do the work

A similar effect that can be fun to experiment with is letting Mother Nature create the movement. Pick a subject like flowers in an open field, slip on an ND filter and hold your camera steady on a windy day. The result will be an image that captures the joy of flowers blowing freely in the wind.

Removing people with neutral density filters and very long exposures

Neutral density filters can also be used, for example, to eliminate people at popular tourist attractions or in landscapes. This is another example where the 10-stop ND filter comes into its own. As long as the people are milling about, an exposure of 10 minutes can actually make them disappear in the image leaving the photographer with a more minimalist image. Different ND filters combined with the movement can result in either the complete elimination of the people, or ghost images of the people, which can also be effective.

Kolari Vision is more than just ND filters

One look at the Kolari Vision website and you know that this American-based photographic company is so much more that a filter company. There is little doubt, however, that the company is a leader when it comes to photographic vision and leading-edge technology.

Not only are they leaders in clip-in internal magnetic filters for mirrorless cameras, the company is also breaking new ground when it comes to full spectrum, infrared, astrophotography, action photography and drone camera conversions.

If any of these filter systems or conversions interest you, be sure to go to the company’s highly informative website at Kolarivision.com for more information.

Kolari neutral density filters put to the test