Caliso Bay

Caliso Bay is located west of Ardmore, County Waterford. To get there, take the turn off to Clashmore on the N25 and drive south all the way. Check out the interactive map on the indispensable OSI website www.osi.ie and put in these coordinates on the search facility: X: 613556 Y: 576695.

I arrived there around 7pm on 14th July. There was a high tide and nice evening light. Ideal for photography.

I took this test shot - using a Canon 17-40L on a Canon 5D Mark 11 -  to check the perspective:

I then fitted a B+W ND110 Neutral Density10 stop filter. This is an opaque filter so when fitted to the lens you cannot see anything through it. You therefore have to compose the shot before putting it on, set the focus and then switch to manual mode as the camera's AF system will not be able to function. A remote trigger or cable release is also recommended as the exposure time will be quite long and camera shake is a real possibility if pressing the shutter in the conventional way. Needless to say, a good sturdy tripod is also necessary. (I use an old battle-scarred Manfrotto144).

I set the aperture to f/16 and took a series of exposures to gauge the correct shutter speed. Strictly speaking, it will be 10 stops less than the unfiltered shutter speed but the ambient light conditions will invariably mean that this will not necessarily be the case. As a rough rule of thumb, at 100 ISO start off at 15 seconds and you won't be far off the mark. I found that 25 seconds produced the most pleasing result and this is what I got:

The long shutter speed has resulted in a smooth, fleecy water effect. That belied the actual situation as there were some hair-raising waves crashing around me as I took the shots. It's worth going to the trouble though as I think the slow motion effect is particularly attractive and is uniquely photographic.

For anyone interested in purchasing a B+W ND110 it can be found at www.speedgraphic.co.uk A 77mm standard Canon fitting costs £81 sterling before postage.