Stones are pretty fascinating when you think about it.
They move from place to place, their form changing at a speed so slow that we humans can't really comprehend it.
Thousands of years ago, these stones were somewhere else, a different shape. In thousands more they'll have moved on, perhaps worn down by the sea to fine sand on a beach, or ocean floor somewhere.

This particular set of stones caught my eye as I was photographing a waterscape on some rocks in Guincho, one of the most westerly points of Europe.
I noticed them because in this area, the rocks are hard and jagged, sharp and unforgiving. So the presence of these small smooth stones was particularly noticeable. They'd been pushed up this small gap between two large rocks by the ocean here.

As the tide was receding, they'd become visible, and every time the waves crashed through the narrow channel between them and the open Atlantic ocean, there was a beautiful clinking, popping sound as the water ran between them and rolled them against each other.

I set up my tripod low to the ground to capture as much texture from the stones as I could, and as close to the point where the waves were reaching as I dared (sadly I misjudged this, and the result of getting too close to the waves can be seen here [link])

I used a Hoya ND400 to close down the light by around 9 stops, enabling me to keep the lens at it's optimum aperture for sharpness (f8-f11) and still have a long exposure of 13 seconds to blur the water.

With this filter it's impossible to see through the viewfinder when it's in place, so it's necessary to compose first.

The rock at the back was very dark, and I knew I'd lose a lot of the shadow detail there, so I zoomed to 14mm to get a tighter composition with less of the background rock dominated the shot.

I then put the filter on and took a meter reading, adding another two stops as the camera is prone to meter a little under with the filter in place.

I've learned that in shots like this, the water always looks better and is easier to predict if you make the exposure when it's receding away from the camera, rather than rising towards it, so I opened the shutter (using a cable release) just as the water was at it's highest.

Taken in Guincho, Portugal
Nikon D80 | Sigma 10-20 | Hoya ND400 filter | Nikon cable release.
f8 | 13 secs | 14mm
Shot RAW, processed, b&w conversion, contrast and sharpness in Apple Aperture



I've not been sure about submitting this piece as it's quite different from my usual work, and I'm not sure whether people will like it.

In the end I decided it would be nice to submit something a little different...I'll be back to the water/landscapes next week