Image Michael Marten.

I spend a lot of time waiting for the tide to come in, especially with my ongoing 'By-Coastal' series. But I never thought to show the same area with the tide in and then out. Michael Marten has done this very well with his series 'Sea Change' and I can only respect his commitment to such a project.

The more I think about this in and out business with the sea, the more I realise I don't like either. What I like is the tide moving, in or out, never full or empty. That old trick of long exposure and flowing water is a cliché I have come to master and love.. However I am getting a little tired of everyone slapping on a Big Stopper (a ten stop neutral density filter which sold out faster than a Take That get together concert) to every picture they make.

Just for fun;
If your exposure for a seascape was 1 second at f45. (about right for 100 asa film on a cloudy day) With a 10 stop ND filter your exposure would be 20 minutes (17 minutes plus 3mins for reciprocity failure).