Oyster River Bowls

Photographing moving water has been a theme for me this year and I’ve really been enjoying experimenting with neutral density filters to slow down the shutter speed and blur the flowing water. It’s also been a good excuse to get out and visit new locations.

Sandstone Abstract #2
Sandstone Abstract #2

This weekend I followed up a suggestion by George Bowron and checked out the Oyster River “bowls.” The Oyster River cuts through what looks like sandstone at this location and the water has sculpted the rock into a series of bowls of all different sizes. The landscape is stunning and surreal.

Sandstone Abstract #4
Sandstone Abstract #4

Since my Nikon D600 is being serviced for a second time with Nikon Canada (more dust and oil spots appeared despite a shutter replacement back in April —don’t be tempted by the current low price of this model, it’s not worth the hassle) I had the opportunity to try out my Fuji X100S. It definitely limited what I would normally do  in terms of composition in comparison to using my 16-35mm lens and B+W filters.

Sandstone Abstract #6
Sandstone Abstract #6

In this case, I was forced to think with a 35mm equivalent field of view rather than going super wide and use a fairly “thin” ND filter  (a Hoya ND8 – equivalent to about 2.5 stops) rather than the 6 or 10 stops that my B+W filters provide. I started looking for smaller scenes and more abstract combinations of water, stone, and rounded bowls.

Sandstone Abstract #7
Sandstone Abstract #7

The Fuji X100S performed extremely well. I couldn’t figure out how to access the longer shutter speeds so ended up using the Bulb mode. Holding the shutter down manually for 10 to 15 seconds with the camera on a tripod didn’t produce any noticeable camera shake and the image quality of the X-trans sensor was excellent.

At the end of the afternoon I was really happy with what I had captured. Sometimes photographing a small part of a place reveals more than the larger landscape!

More photographs of the Oyster River bowls can be viewed and prints ordered via my SmugMug site at Dave Ingram Photography: Oyster River Bowls.