# Snowdonia Panoramics



## buckas (Jun 13, 2008)

Hey all, some shots from our 4 day weekend at the end of Feb. Did loads of walking, about 8 miles a day :car: Plenty of snow knocking about as well :thumb:

Day 1

Walk up to Cwm Idwal, mega cold and windy! dry though 

Tryfan 









Llyn Idwal









Llyn Idwal Panoramic









then walked up higher to ridge on the right of the lake, could hardly stand up due to the wind - shame the photo doesn't portray the snot running across your face, eyes watering and non feeling of fingers, even in gloves LOL

Cwm Idwal Panoramic









Dropped back down to the lake and went around up the path towards Devil's Kitchen, path made up of boulders was lost under slush and ice and we lost the path someway up causing us to scramble across the face of the hill, pretty scary but a big achievement once at the top!

Cwm Idwal and Pen yr Ole Wen Panoramic









Day 2

Headed off to do the Miner's Track, it's one of six paths which go all the way to the summit of Snowdon. We knew we wouldn't make it to the top as weather was low and conditions under foot wouldn't be good enough.

Llyn Lockwood and Carnedd Moel Siabod









Llyn Teryn and Carnedd Moel Siabod









Llyn Teryn and Carnedd Moel Siabod Panoramic









further up the track met another lake

Llyn Llydaw Panoramic









circled the lake and carried on going up but weather closed in, heavy snow settling over the path about 1 inch in 3 mins ~ decided it was best to head back :thumb:

Craig Penlan to Carnedd Moel









Day 3

Another route up Snowdon this time the Watkin Path, pretty tough going on the knees, very pretty with waterfalls and rivers though 

Watkin Path I









Afon Cwm Llan









Afon Cwm Llan Panoramic









Watkin Path Panoramic









Watkin Path II









headed back down again due to weather, rain this time! lol

Thanks for looking and shall be back up that way in the summer to conquer the mountain! :thumb:

drew


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## spitfire (Feb 10, 2007)

Been waiting on these.:thumb: Very nice, love no five in the set.


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## Mixman (Dec 18, 2007)

These are pretty amazing pictures mate!!


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## buckas (Jun 13, 2008)

spitfire said:


> Been waiting on these.:thumb: Very nice, love no five in the set.


Cheers fella, appreciated :thumb: 



Mixman said:


> These are pretty amazing pictures mate!!


Thanks MM :thumb:

drew


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## adam87 (Dec 11, 2008)

wow, amazing quality pictures!

They look so real and high res that they don't look real! :lol:

Stunning snaps thanks for sharing :thumb:


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## jimbo1 (Nov 24, 2007)

some very nice work drew.:thumb:
Love panos. 2,3,4 and 8 work for me. 

are they stitched?


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## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

Always like your pictures Drew... I should really buy some for my office to help calm me down.... oh wait...I have!

:lol:

Keep up the great work!

:thumb:


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## AndyParker (Feb 20, 2010)

Brilliant pics! takes me back to when i did the 3 welsh peaks challenge - less now then though!


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## Auto Detox (Dec 22, 2007)

Lovely shots mate, takes me back to when I walked up Snowdon when I was a kid 

Baz


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## buckas (Jun 13, 2008)

adam87 said:


> wow, amazing quality pictures!
> 
> They look so real and high res that they don't look real! :lol:
> 
> Stunning snaps thanks for sharing :thumb:


Thankyou 



jimbo1 said:


> some very nice work drew.:thumb:
> Love panos. 2,3,4 and 8 work for me.
> 
> are they stitched?


Thanks Jimbo, yeh usually about 6 or 7 shots stitched in CS3 Photomerge



The Cueball said:


> Always like your pictures Drew... I should really buy some for my office to help calm me down.... oh wait...I have!
> 
> :lol:
> 
> ...


:thumb::thumb: Cheers fella 



AndyParker said:


> Brilliant pics! takes me back to when i did the 3 welsh peaks challenge - less now then though!


Thanks Andy, bet that was tough!!



Auto Detox said:


> Lovely shots mate, takes me back to when I walked up Snowdon when I was a kid
> 
> Baz


Cheers Baz :thumb:

drew


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## robz (Apr 18, 2006)

Love No.6 , What kit are you shooting with these days ?

Edit: Lyn Idwal is nice too, i like the way the wall leads into the water.


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## buckas (Jun 13, 2008)

Thanks fella  - All these were shot with 7D + 17-40 f/4L in portrait orientation, and also 2 and 3 stop soft graduated neutral density filters stacked 

drew


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## robj20 (Jan 20, 2009)

Im not a fan of heavy HDR images but the actual pics are nice.

Done Watkin Path on my mountain bike makes for a great downhill ride.


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## buckas (Jun 13, 2008)

You're nuts doing that on a MTB! lol

no HDR used matey, GND filters


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## robj20 (Jan 20, 2009)

My mistake GND filters are something i have never used might have to give them a try.

Yeah it was nuts I came off once or twice but we had the full kit on so knee, elbow and chest plates.
Worst I did was snap a brake lever but I always have spares.


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## buckas (Jun 13, 2008)

Ouch! wouldn't want to fall off on some of the boulders along there, fairplay! :doublesho


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## Steve Burnett (Apr 21, 2009)

What Kodak disposable did you use? ha ha.
The pictures are amazing.


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## rich-hill (May 13, 2008)

did you jump the stones at the top of trafan?


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## bretti_kivi (Apr 22, 2008)

ha, induced some serious jealousy in the office with these this arvo. Thanks. I really must get myself some grads...

Bret


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## DLC (Feb 19, 2010)

Awesome pictures! :thumb: Don't think I could easily pick a favourite. 

Seeing them really makes me miss the "hills". Have to sit tight until May when I'm off to do the 3 Yorkshire peaks. The pics also made me think it's time to go back to Snowdon & Glydders - last time I was there was almost 7 years ago!!! Too long!


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## Phil H (May 14, 2006)

excellent photos!! these mountains are on my doorstep


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## buckas (Jun 13, 2008)

Steve Burnett said:


> What Kodak disposable did you use? ha ha.
> The pictures are amazing.


Heheh! Thanks Steve :thumb:



rich-hill said:


> did you jump the stones at the top of trafan?


Nah, didn't walk upto that part, did plan on coming back and doing that part but run out of days



bretti_kivi said:


> ha, induced some serious jealousy in the office with these this arvo. Thanks. I really must get myself some grads...
> 
> Bret


Hah, cheers matey :thumb: definitely get some, the feeling of finally being able to keep the sky in check and expose for the foreground is great

check out www.formatt.co.uk for filters 

http://www.speedgraphic.co.uk/prod.asp?i=6831&1=Lee+Foundation+Kit

http://www.speedgraphic.co.uk/prod.asp?i=12306&1=Lee+Wide-angle+Adaptor :thumb:



DLC said:


> Awesome pictures! :thumb: Don't think I could easily pick a favourite.
> 
> Seeing them really makes me miss the "hills". Have to sit tight until May when I'm off to do the 3 Yorkshire peaks. The pics also made me think it's time to go back to Snowdon & Glydders - last time I was there was almost 7 years ago!!! Too long!


Thanks v.much - Good luck with that :thumb: Hopefully get to the Lakes this year, and a warmer visit to Snowdon :thumb:



Phil H said:


> excellent photos!! these mountains are on my doorstep


Thanks Phil :thumb:

drew


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## butterbean (Mar 10, 2010)

amazing pictures


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## rich-hill (May 13, 2008)

> Hah, cheers matey :thumb: definitely get some, the feeling of finally being able to keep the sky in check and expose for the foreground is great
> 
> check out www.formatt.co.uk for filters
> 
> ...


SO when buying the lee foundation kit and adapter ring. IS i 100mm filters that are required? I don't quite understand the stacking options:

The Foundation Kit consists of a backplate, filter guides to *create 1 x 1mm and 3 x 2mm filter slots, and 4 x No 1 (1/2") and 4 x No 3 (3/4")* screws, together with a padded case and a screwdriver with which to assemble it.


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## rich-hill (May 13, 2008)

and where would you stack a polorizer?


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## Multipla Mick (Feb 5, 2006)

I'm liking them, love numbers five and eight in particular :thumb:


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## buckas (Jun 13, 2008)

rich-hill said:


> SO when buying the lee foundation kit and adapter ring. IS i 100mm filters that are required? I don't quite understand the stacking options:
> 
> The Foundation Kit consists of a backplate, filter guides to *create 1 x 1mm and 3 x 2mm filter slots, and 4 x No 1 (1/2") and 4 x No 3 (3/4")* screws, together with a padded case and a screwdriver with which to assemble it.





rich-hill said:


> and where would you stack a polorizer?


100mm filters are square, you really want 100mm x 150mm as the grad line is in the middle on the filter and where you're going to use isn't always going to be in the middle of the scene, so you slide up and down as desired, or spin on the diagonal...for instance when there's a mountain angle-ing down and you don't want that darkened.

my circular polariser is a Hoya 77mm (screw thread on my 17-40 and all my other lenses) screw in.

so it goes:

lens > CPL, which you adjust and rotate to suit > Wide Angle adaptor ring > then clip in the Filter Holder

I only used the CPL on the one's with water in on the Watkin Path, rest are just Adaptor > Filter Holder....can stack 4 in it 

drew


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## buckas (Jun 13, 2008)

Multipla Mick said:


> I'm liking them, love numbers five and eight in particular :thumb:


Thanks Mick :thumb:


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## robz (Apr 18, 2006)

Sorry to drag this further off-topic with Grad filter talk, But, Is there a difference (noticeable) between Cokin/Lee ? I know there will always be fan's of each 

How about a pic of your 7D setup with the CPL/Stacked grads ? Curious as to how it all comes together size-wise.

~Rob.


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## buckas (Jun 13, 2008)

No worries, happy to help - Cokin are mean to have a colour cast and not be neutral in colour

Lee filters are bloody brilliant but expensive, Formatt (or Hitech) filters are meant to be in the middle, and they're great ~ for neutral-niss and price. All of mine are formatt/hitech 

Hitech 0.6 Soft ND Grad filter 6" x 4"
Hitech 0.6 Hard ND Grad filter 6" x 4"
Hitech 0.9 Soft ND Grad filter 6" x 4"
Hitech 0.9 Hard ND Grad filter 6" x 4"
Hitech 1.2 (4 stop) ND filter 4" x 4"
Hitech 3.0 (10 stop) ND filter 4" x 4"

So went for the better holder and the mid range filters 

not mine, but roughly what it looks like, you then slide in the filter in each slot 









drew


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## Flaming Dragon (Apr 9, 2007)

Simply stunning pictures, I love them!:argie:


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## robz (Apr 18, 2006)

Cheers Drew, i'll have a look at that site and see what options they have.

At a guess, for your standard landscapes, a 0.6 , 0.9 , 1.2 would be sufficient? Would a 10stop filter be used often ?

Having read about them, the major bonus seems to be that if you change lens, you just change adapter ring.


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## buckas (Jun 13, 2008)

Flaming Dragon said:


> Simply stunning pictures, I love them!:argie:


Thanks :thumb:



robz said:


> Cheers Drew, i'll have a look at that site and see what options they have.
> 
> At a guess, for your standard landscapes, a 0.6 , 0.9 , 1.2 would be sufficient? Would a 10stop filter be used often ?
> 
> Having read about them, the major bonus seems to be that if you change lens, you just change adapter ring.


Absolutely :thumb: 10 stopper allows you to make blur shots in broad daylight, haven't used it for a while but should get some use in the coming months. Use my 4 stopper quite a bit as you don't need the shutter open as long as the 10 - used on this one http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=124934&highlight=skomer

i had the 2 + 3 stop hitech nd grad over the sky, and the 4stopper on the whole scene, makes the water smooth and also boosts colour saturation over 
time 

found this site a while back, some great articles to read up on 

http://www.nd-magazine.com/

http://www.nd-magazine.com/articles/art1.php

drew


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## rich-hill (May 13, 2008)

Looking at your above thread, the landscape is very nice. 

Was the sky really bright then to require the 2 and 3 stop filters?

In regards to the image merge, how do you decide what exposures to take or bracket? Did you expose for the sky, then just keep stopping down?

I wouldn't know where to start, as i would normally expose for sky then foreground, But is that not why you use GND?


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## bretti_kivi (Apr 22, 2008)

I'd say test each one seperately and see just how far apart they are (i.e. Av and then check the time differences or Sv 1/100 and check the apertures with builtin metering); then add NDs and test and see what happens. I suspect shooting in RAW is a good idea and also that essentially you want foreground and the ND should stop blown highlights ONLY.

Something like that, anyway.

Bret


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## KKM (Dec 10, 2007)

Nice shots Drew. Your work never fails to impress me. 

:thumb:


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## buckas (Jun 13, 2008)

KKM said:


> Nice shots Drew. Your work never fails to impress me.
> 
> :thumb:


Thankyou :thumb:



rich-hill said:


> Looking at your above thread, the landscape is very nice.
> 
> Was the sky really bright then to require the 2 and 3 stop filters?
> 
> ...


Overcast skies very bright suprisingly, so if I'd exposed for the ground without the filters the sky would be completely white and blown. You use the filters to bring them back, and then stack another to moody it up a bit or make it stronger 

You're not bracketing anything as you're not shooting for HDR, one shot bang.

Also, live view was invented for filters (imo) looking on the back, get your f/ stop high ~ 16-22, your ISO low 100 and then find the shutter speed to perfectly expose the foreground, then slot in the filters to suit and then maybe add another for more effect and bang, turn on the 3 grid so when rotating the camera you're overlapping on a 3rd of the screen everytime and jobs a goodun 

From my RAWs I haven't actually changed any E/V value from the original, just maybe dodged up parts of dark hills/rocks where the grad line has overlapped it 

drew


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## rich-hill (May 13, 2008)

Sorry i miss interpreted the bracketing and the shots you used for the pano.


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