Long Exposure
I had always wanted to go to the Devils’ Pulpit, having seen pictures from other photographers I follow. The purpose was to not only shoot what is a spectacular and spiritual place, but to also hone and refine my long exposure skills.
If you have never been, then this place is a must for a plethora of reasons: waterfalls, long exposure, composition and the trek getting to it. I would recommend only the fit and healthy attempt the steep climb into the pit itself.
The colours once within are rich and vibrant, with shafts of light penetrating the high, tree-laden ridge line. This allows you the ability without the use of ND filter, to shoot with a relatively long shutter (time of day dependent).
The pulpit was used by Druids for their worships centuries ago. In more recent times, it has been used for fashion shoots, with the likes of L’Oreal having used it for one of its commercials as well as being used as a location for the popular T.V. programme, Outlander.
The photographs I captured were taken at 18:00 hrs in the middle of July last year. The weather was fantastic, with sun still high in the sky. The water, I have to say, was still surprisingly high in parts and a wee bit cold in the nether regions.
With the growth and popularity of photography pages on Facebook, more people are getting to know about these places, and they can become a wee bit busy. That certainly was the case when I visited the area, and this was mid-week in the evening. I have heard of it being swamped at weekends.
The first image was taken at 4 seconds, f10 with ISO at 100.
The second picture, as I have said was taken in the early evening, however I still managed to shoot this at 10 seconds at f18 with the ISO at 100. All without a filter.