A month or so back I got a magazine that was suggesting that for a modest investment in welding
glass, (£2.10 from ebay), you’ve got a decent imitation of a ten stop filter (currently retailing in
my filter thread size between £34-107). So I got myself on ebay, and bought some glass, then waited
for a decent day, and went down to the rocky shoreline just past Greyhope bay in Aberdeen. The sea
was pretty still, but at least it meant there was little spray, and wind.

Unwittingly the filter I’d bought, with a bit of manipulation would fit my cokin p filter holder. So
I brushed off some dust specks, and set up for a 30 second exposure (with noise reduction/dark frame
comparison performed in camera after the shot). Now I’m rocking the canon 350d which has a minute
screen, I could tell the colours were flat, and the contrast was low. But the screen was too small
to reveal much more. And I’m so technically inept that I don’t know how to access the menu that
allows me to set the camera up with more contrast (it took me months to find the black frame
comparison option).

Probably useful to detail the set-up?
350d, with a canon 17-85 IS
Manfrotto tripod + ball head. Don’t think the model numbers are really going to help, which is good
because I don’t know them.
Lowepro rucksack (the recycled one), hung off the bottom of the tripod to try and steady it.

So I took a half dozen or so shots, and headed home. I did a colour correction in RAW converter,
but even then the colours came out in pastel shades, whereas the light that day was strong, so
colours were pretty vibrant. In the end I decided the best option was to do a conversion using
calculations, red was the first, the second channel was changed to Blue.

And this is the result.

Lessons learned;
It works, it’s most certainly not perfect, but it works.
A bit of fine tuning could help me get a clearer exposure, i.e.
Polish the glass more, I’m not sure if the light flares were a result of dust, or a greasy mark on
the glass that I’d had a quick go at removing, but didn’t try too hard.
Shielding the glass means less flare, but risks my hand straying into shot.
Turn off the IS on the lens. I’d left it on thinking that although I was using a tripod, given the
wind the IS may still actually help. It didn’t.
A stormier day would give me less light, but means I don’t need a 30 second exposure to sufficiently
smooth the water movement.

So, I’ll be heading back there again, hopefully a bit better prepared, but as a first attempt, I’m
mildly satisfied.