SLR Photography Guide

.9 ND Lee Filter – Why it’s useful for slow motion water photography

A .9 ND (neutral density) filter darkens the overal scene by 3 stops. This allows the photographer to shoot with a much slower shutter speed that would other wise have been possible.

Take the image below for example. This photograph was taken at quarter to five in the afternoon, which is still quite sunny here in North Queensland Australia. Even with extreme camera settings of F/22 aperture and ISO of 100, I was unable to achieve anything that resembled slow motion water, until I added a .9 ND Lee filter to the setup.

Yes, some could argue that if I’d waited another couple of hours, I would most likely have gotten the same photograph without the use of filters. However, as most photographers understand, sometimes you have to take a shot while you can. In this particular place, waiting around till dark, we’d have been eaten alive by sandflies. Personally, I also like seeing a hint of sunlight within the photograph, that I would not have had the opportunity to capture if it were a later time in the day.