NiSi Saves

10-stop Explorer

Long Exposure at Crab Harbor Oregon

After roaming the beach at Crab Harbor on the Coast of Oregon, keeping a close eye on the potential salty doom crashing just yards away, I find a few different compositions that are free of other travelers. We spent close to an hour, wandering down the beach towards the large set of three rocks that extended out towards the Pacific. As I got more comfortable I traveled closer to the rocks, attempting to find an image that might not be blown out from the very bright afternoon sun. While not ideal conditions for landscape photography, I had a secret weapon.

Days before departure I do a search online, I’m looking for a new filter for this trip. I’ve had my eye on the NiSi 10 and 3 stop filters for some time now. While trying to decide between the two, I find the 6 stop for a slightly lower price, so I jumped on it, and made my order through Adorama. Next day while checking on the status, I see that its now backordered. Well that does me no good since I am leaving town. Cancel said order and give up. Couple days later I convince myself to give it another go, I really want to play with this filter. Finally after doing some searching, it appears that most places are sold out. Then I see the Explorer series coming through and its even cheaper! Minimal reviews, but I watch a video where dude drops the glass filter over and over again, annoying and noisy, but wow. Clearly these are extremely durable, and with my anxious and rushed shooting style on the road, that might not be a bad idea. So I was able to find someone with a 10-stop in stock and able to get it shipped to me before leaving on the trip.

Once I felt like I had a few images worth while, I decided to gather the troops and continue our journey along the coast. While cautiously making my way back up the slick rocks, I had my Z6 still attached to my extended tripod, with the new filter attached. The final step to reach the railroad tracks was a large one and required both hands to hoist myself up. While struggling, my wonderful fiancé reached out a hand to take some gear. As I was raising the tripod up to her from the lower end of the legs, the weight of the camera making it highly top heavy, my exhaustion got the better of my grip and before Noelani could grab hold of the camera, in slo-motion it toppled, falling nearly six feet straight to the lens and filter.

That was a waste of time and money, I thought. I wonder if this can be claimed under my equipment insurance. I thought I just broke my new camera and filter because I was too lazy to properly secure it before hiking back to the car. I was in a rush, for no reason really. When the tripod was recovered and the damage inspected we were all shocked and elated, other than a small dent on the filter holder, everything was fine!