Photographic film and digital cameras are not capable of seeing the broad range of light and dark that our
eyes can distinguish. This image is a perfect example of that. This image is exposed for the sunlit lighthouse
in the background. In the image at left, notice the great lack of detail in the foreground rocks. Film cannot
see the bright background and dark foreground together. To compensate for this a neutral density (ND) filter must be
used. The filter is half neutral density and half clear. A book on photography may help you here if you have trouble
following along. Go to my
'Equipment' page to see a list of my recommended books. By carefully placing the ND part of the filter over the sunlit part
of the frame I have compressed the range of light and dark to a level that the film can record.
The result is a photograph that more closely simulates what I saw with my eyes (image at right).
