Ask Jason
Ask Jason...
Jason solves your problems, from updating the firmware in Sigma lenses to finding a small flash
Our resident Nikon expert Jason Parnell-Brookes answers your questions and solves your problems. If you’d like Jason to come to the rescue regarding your Nikon-related question, email it to mail@nphotomag.com. Please note that we reserve the right to edit queries for clarity or brevity.
I’ve bought a filter kit that contains coloured and full and graduated ND filters. What subjects will give the best results? Craig Wallace, via email
Jason says... Your filter kit sounds ideal for landscape photography, Craig. Orange filters can boost the colours of sunrise and sunset, while graduated ND (Neutral Density) filters are designed to darken bright skies without affecting the landscape below, enabling you to capture, say, sunrises and sunsets without the sky blowing out. Full ND filters, meanwhile, reduce the amount of light reaching the sensor, which means you can set a long exposure even in very bright light – ideal if you want to blur moving water or passing clouds in the middle of the day.
When using coloured filters, use the preset white balance setting that best matches the lighting conditions, for example Daylight, Cloudy or Shade. The Auto setting won’t work so well, as it will try to counteract the colour of the filter. Matrix metering works fine with full ND filters and, to some extent, with ND grads too.