Cobble Beach rock, Yaquina Head

[Dave Johnston]

I missed sunrise, but I still got to Yaquina Head pretty early in the morning. The light on this sea stack off Cobble Beach was outstanding. I used a 6-stop Dark CPL by Breakthrough to get the effect of both polarizer and ND. (BTW, when I was there I swear I saw a name for this rock on a map or visitor center display, but darned if I can find it now. Anyone know?)

As with several others recently, I think both the color and B&W version have merit each in their own right, so I'm sharing both.

Sea Stack Yaquina Head BW

• Dave Johnston
• Mar 25, 2018
• 3

Sea Stack Yaquina Head Color

• Dave Johnston
• Mar 25, 2018

Comments and suggestions always welcome!

Dave

 

[Jameel Hyder]

Very nice. I normally prefer color but in this case it’s B&W all the way.

 

[AlanLichty]

For this scene and shot I am firmly in the B&W camp as well.

 

[BarryHamilton]

Me, too. B&w for this scene! And very nice as well!

 

[Alisa]

I really like the black and white image. very nice!

 

[JimFox]

Hey Dave,

I really like the light in this, it really allows the sea stack to stand out. I will go with B&W as my favorite.

 

[Leslie Hunter]

This is great, I like both.

 

[JimFox]

Hey Dave,

A question. Have you used this ND/CPL filter on a Wide Angle? A few years back I tried a couple of Vari-ND's and what seemed to be a common issue with them is that at a WA they would introduce a "X" dark shape. If one shot tighter, say 35mm and longer it didn't happen, but the wide the focal length, the worse the effect was.

I realize this is a fixed ND, so it shouldn't be an issue. But I am liking the idea of a 3 or 6 stop ND combined with a polarizer in one unit so I want to make sure.

 

[Dave Johnston]

Thanks, everyone. I also gravitate toward the black and white as do most of you, but the colors were also hard to pass up!

Jim, yes, I used the same filter on my 16-35 mm on the last two trips without any issues, and the fact that it combines PL and ND avoids needing to stack filters and the resulting vignetting risk. I should point out that these Breakthrough filters have a problem in that they are just slightly too large in diameter to allow you to put the lens hood back on, at least for my Canon lenses. They say they are working on manufacturing a new version as a replacement, but I haven't seen that yet.

The X pattern happens because of the interference pattern between TWO polarizers, which is how variable NDs work. This isn't a result of the wide angle per se, but the wide angle makes the X more apparent since it is in the middle of a big view. With a longer focal length you are basically shooting through the middle of the X, so it isn't as apparent. This "dark polarizer" only includes one polarizer and darkened glass to add the ND effect, so there is no risk of the X.

Interestingly, I did try stacking my 3-stop and 6-stop dark polarizers to see if I could get 9 stops. I did not get the X (because both are circular polarizers) but I did get some weird color shifts that I wasn't sure how to handle, so I decided not to use that until I have tried it out under controlled conditions.

Dave

 

[Jim Dockery]

Nice work. B&W for me too - I find that to be true for many of my long exposure seascapes since that takes them into more abstract territory anyway.

 

[Ben Egbert]

I will go against the grain and choose the color, and its a lovely image.