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Oyster Beds, Île de Ré

Posted by
Ian Bramham (Manchester, United Kingdom) on 16 October 2008 in Landscape & Rural and Portfolio.

We stayed in a house on the beach on the Île de Ré this summer and I was lucky enough to be able to take a series of photos of the oyster beds.

The photo was taken with a 10 stop nd filter on my Nikon D40. For some reason Gimp has stripped the exif but this was a 80 second single exposure at f22 and iso 200.

Like what you see here and are interested in photographic composition?.....the blog section of my website now has a complete set of 5 articles covering my personal approach to the subject: Ian Bramham Photography - Blog

For purchasing high quality archival prints of any of these photos you can send me an email by clicking here or by going to my website Ian Bramham - Fine Art Photography where prices are listed in the gallery sections under each individual photo.

Barbara from Florida, United States

Excellent capture, I like the perspective and softness.
Appreciate the exif info, I have been attempting to become more familiar with capturing night photography and love the results if taken well. Like you did here.

16 Oct 2008 5:28am

@Barbara: Thanks Barbara....I love night photography too although this particular photo was taken late evening just before sunset using a 10 stop neutral density filter that I got recently.

(For those who are unfamiliar with neutral density filters they are a piece of dark glass that screws onto the front of the lens to allow a slower shutter speed to be used)

Marzia from Italy, Italy

this sky is stunning!!

16 Oct 2008 7:13am

@Marzia: Thanks Marzia!

Daryl from Amagasaki, Japan

What amazing tones, classic b/w work.

16 Oct 2008 7:18am

MadScientist from Düsseldorf, Germany

Your excellent pictures make me want to purchase some nd filters for myself. This is really stunning.

16 Oct 2008 7:39am

Frida from Sweden

The sky is great. I think I would like a ND filter myself :-)

16 Oct 2008 7:47am

Zion from France

i love this one !
The sky is beautiful and the b&w too !

16 Oct 2008 8:01am

akarui from Kagoshima, Japan

Beautiful long exposure, it gives a nice blur on the moving clouds. 10 stops down... wow.

16 Oct 2008 8:28am

Simon Hawkings from Reading, United Kingdom

Excellent long exposure! I love the blurred sky, very atmospheric!

16 Oct 2008 10:09am

Veronelle from Lens, Afghanistan

tres beau paysage en n&b, belle ambiance

16 Oct 2008 10:11am

Lorraine from Gatineau, Canada

Unimaginable Ian, each of the photo's layers is precious, reminds me of a fine line between the ethereal world and reality, wow, I love this

16 Oct 2008 10:28am

Rob from Mount Joy, United States

beautiful shot! the clouds must have been moving quite well for the way they came out in the photo for a 80 sec shot... what are the rows actually of?

16 Oct 2008 11:49am

Rob from Mount Joy, United States

Um... yeah, I'm an idiot... they're oyster beds - LIKE THE NAME OF THE PHOTO! :) my bad. :)

16 Oct 2008 11:57am

Viewfinder from Bradenton, United States

I've never seen oyster beds like this. Really interesting; I like the rows, and the deep perspective you've pictured here Ian. It seems to go all the way into the sky.

16 Oct 2008 12:39pm

Betsy Barron from Glenmoore, United States

gorgeous... thanks for posting your exif info - this is stunning.

16 Oct 2008 12:46pm

GJC from Kyoto, Japan

Lovely softness throughout. And the oyster beds make wonderful parallel lines with the clouds in the sky. I'm impressed you could "see" what it would look like at such a slow exposure. That's talent!

16 Oct 2008 1:15pm

bluechameleon from Vancouver, Canada

I love how this image moves in silence....it takes my breath away.

16 Oct 2008 1:41pm

timothy from Tokyo, Japan

i was gonna say, this has to be a bit over a minute--and with 80 seconds you got a fantastic blur of the clouds--just enough where there is still a certain amount of distinct shape and shadow, but where there's enough blur to make the foreground pop out. fantastic image.

16 Oct 2008 1:49pm

Jeremie from Colombo, Sri Lanka

Congratulation man, I did a tour on your blog and I definitely love your urban (or less urban) landscapes, great technique using long shutter speed, nice post-treatment, great conversion in B&W... I'll be back!!

16 Oct 2008 2:37pm

sorter from tehran, Iran

wow

16 Oct 2008 3:31pm

ruben latre from Terrassa, Spain

Stunning capture as usual, lovely B&W and great perspective !!! It remains me a bit the work of another of my favorites photographers 'Josef Hoflehner'. www.josefhoflehner.com do you know his portfolio ? Great capture !!

16 Oct 2008 6:15pm

Batkoï from Salon de Provence, France

very nice, well done

16 Oct 2008 6:51pm

Emily Ng from Studying in: Adelaide, Australia | Home:, Singapore

This feels like a moment frozen in time, never changing as the world goes by... impression from the moving clouds and static beds....

love the feel and the diagonals.!

16 Oct 2008 9:35pm

_____ H o M o _____ from Tehran, Iran

nice , very nice ,realy well done

16 Oct 2008 9:52pm

Polydactyle from Montréal, Canada

Beautiful view here, great work on this sky!

16 Oct 2008 10:19pm

Nataly from Santa Monica, United States

The sensation of movement is great here, Ian. And the tones are superb as usual.

16 Oct 2008 10:28pm

Laurie from New Jersey, United States

Excellent work. I've never actually seen oyster beds.

17 Oct 2008 12:18am

Laurent from Lyon, France

a truly superb shot. the long exposure effect is superb.

17 Oct 2008 3:48am

Disoriented from Grinnell, IA, United States

Wow. This is a really amazing shot!

17 Oct 2008 3:48am

Michael Skorulski from Cigel, Slovakia

The image has a silkiness about it. Just fabulous, Ian.

17 Oct 2008 4:15am

Vink from Grasse - French riviera, France

L'île de ré is a magical place specifically in winter ! You shot is marvelous ! Congratulations !

17 Oct 2008 2:10pm

Ana Lúcia from Leiria, Portugal

Wow great perspective.

17 Oct 2008 9:26pm

Alun Lambert from cheshire, United Kingdom

very good image, fantastic perspective

17 Oct 2008 11:52pm

Giovanni from Milan, Italy

Excellent b/w! Love the b/w, the long exposure effect and the perspective.

18 Oct 2008 7:12am

LGB from Portugal

Amazing composition and tones, great b&w. Great picture!

18 Oct 2008 9:34pm

Paco Díaz from Palma de Mallorca, Spain

Good shot. I like very much that sky and the depth of the image.

19 Oct 2008 6:14am

amy from Nanaimo, BC, Canada

Absolutely phenomenal.

21 Oct 2008 3:28am

dj.tigersprout from San Bruno, CA, United States

just superb work -- the motion in the clouds is magical!

27 Oct 2008 4:02am

ZmAjEvA from Belgrade, Serbia

I told you your work is perfect, but now I can say this is really art. I'm breathless.:]

2 Nov 2008 1:47am