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How to use long exposures to create mystical black and white images

In Black & White, Equipment & Technique, Landscapes, ND Filters, Scenes & Scenarios by Cole Thompson

I have always been intrigued by monoliths, first by the statues on Easter Island, then by the monolith in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey and most recently by Stonehenge in England. In each case, seeing these monoliths prompts the question; Who built them and for what purpose? I’ve always loved visiting Bandon Beach in Oregon because of the natural monoliths strewn along the coastline. Randomly placed, it is as though the earth were God’s chessboard and the monoliths the …

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The “motion” in emotional water images created by stretching exposures to the limit

In Equipment & Technique, Landscapes, ND Filters, Scenes & Scenarios, Water Features by Cole Thompson

I believe that long exposures and water are a natural match. Portraying water as fluid seems so much more natural to me. My Singh-Ray Vari-ND lets me easily explore exposures of varying durations by simply adjusting the density from about 2 stops up to 8 stops, or anywhere in between. My strong attraction to long exposures came about because of water. I was intrigued by the way moving water looked at different exposures; a 1-second image looked so completely different …