Sorry, it has been a while again even though I said I wouldn’t be, so just like magic here is another post…

Just like you, I have found myself wondering what to do now that getting out and about is not really an option. 
So far I have cleaned my tripods, cleaned all the camera gear, played games on the PC, cleaned the van, played games with the family, played games on the PC, edited some old photos I have meant to do since I don’t know how many trips ago and I have even started some macro photography in the garden with some extension tubes.
But as the title suggests, this post is about my filters I would have to have if I was stuck on a desert island. 
This daft idea came when giving all my filters the massive clean they deserve while staying at home as advised during this pandemic…. 
Before starting, I got them all out so I could check and clean the filter pouch for sand and other rubbish that accumulates, it was then I noticed a few filters were immaculate and some not so.

It was then fairly evident what the most popular was.

In no particular order at all…

• 6 stop 1.8 Firecrest ultra 100mm Standard ND  
• 10 stop 3.0 Firecrest ultra 100mm Standard ND  
• 3 stop 0.9 Firecrest Ultra 100mm Hard Edge Grads 
• Firecrest 100mm Holder Kit  

And the reason for each one.

The 3 stop hard grad is my go-to filter for sunrise/set and during the day, making skies a lot moodier and allowing that dramatic and varying range between foreground and sky to be captured in full, it can also be used for bringing out the details in a very boring sky such as in the shot below of Norwich, the city I live in and the following shot at Caister on the sea, or even at Happisburgh Lighthouse. No other filters were used in these shots apart from a polariser due to the time of day allowing for the movement in the water when required. It goes without saying, this was the dirtiest filter of them all.

Then onto the 10 stop and 6 stop ND filters. 

These will be used after the sun has come up, the 6 stop 1st to get longer exposures, then the 10 stop filter probably an hour after sunrise. If used too early at sunrise the exposure times I feel are just too long. During the day you can then mess around with longer shutter speeds with the 10 stop filter, or as I would have plenty of time on my hands as I am stuck on an island, there is nothing to stop me doubling up both the filters to make a nice 16 stop ND,  but you can read loads more on when to use them and other useful information on this other post

It will be great to hear what your Desert Island Filters are, pop a reply in the comments if you want

As always please remember that any of the filters I have talked about in this post, you can get 10% off the basket total when you use my code DIBSM10

If you have any questions about any filters feel free to drop me a message