Green Sand Beach, Hawaii – ND filters
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For a change from working in the rain in Hawaii Volcanoes NP, I drove to South Point, the southern tip of the island of Hawaii.
The access to Papakolea Beach consisted of a maze of badly rutted vehicle tracks, along the coast, alternatively sandy and rocky. A four wheel drive was definitively necessary. Hiking would have been 6mi round-trip with no shade.
Papakolea Bay is a collapsed cinder cone. Olivine crystals within the cone give the beach its green color. There are only two such beaches in the US (the other is in Guam).
I tried different exposure times. The two images above were shot with just a polarizing filter, resulting in fast exposure times (1/125s and 1/50s respectively).
To better capture the surf movement, I added a 1.2 (4 stop) neutral density filter, exposure time 0.5s.
The 10 f-stop “big stopper” neutral density filter from Lee rendered the water as a dreamy blur in an exposure time of 25s.
I then went to the southernmost point in the United States.
There was not even a marker, only a light and the ruins of an ancient Hawaiian temple.
More images of Hawaii South Point.
Cool! I love South Point. I got bit by a centipede while camping near here in 2000. It was so painful that I had to go to the hospital.
Great images QT. I’ve been to South Point as well and did the hike! Very cool place.
Beautiful images–all of them. I’d love to go to Hawaii some day.
Regarding the image made with the Big Stopper–I like the water movement a lot, but I prefer the WB in the 0.5s image. Do you notice a shift in WB, or a color cast with Lee’s filter?
Also, if I may ask, which 4-stop ND did you use?
Yes, the Big Stopper yields an image with a blue cast, at least when used in AWB. I have reduced it a bit but not eliminated it entirely (although it would be a single eyedropper click on the ocean foam) because we are used to associate long exposures with dawn/dusk, which produces that kind of WB. My other filter is the Hi-Tech 4 inch square which fits in the same holder as the Lee.
QT – Great shots, I like the 0.5 second one the best.
I like that your imagery is not necessarily just about chasing down pretty pictures but that you seek out subject matter that photographers with a less developed eye might pass up. I prefer #3 over #4, but also like #5 and #6 especially since it breaks the rule.
Thanks David for the kind words. Indeed I am less after the “epic” shot than capturing some mood and truth about the places I am fortunate to visit, even if this results in images that can sometimes appear unassuming.
Hi Tuan, I love all the images! As for the Poll, I’d have to say the 0.5 second is the best.