Camber Sands deconstructed. Working with multiple exposures

the sea at camber sands on a cold february day

I have a new camera that allows me to make in-camera multiple exposures. Trying to make something worthwhile is my next challenge. I had a play with it at Camber Sands this weekend in the late afternoon as the sun was nearing the horizon.

There are four different settings for making the exposures, all with very different outcomes.

The most interesting results are not the 'additive' or 'averaging' settings , but those where the camera responds to light and dark contrasting areas in the different layers; the 'dark' and 'bright' settings.

beach house using the 'dark' setting

same house using the 'bright' setting

I enjoy both of the above effects.

The challenge lies in knowing which to use on each subject; too many bright areas on top of each other leave a washed out over-exposed image. I haven't yet worked this out. Not seeing the images under construction allows for a lot of experimentation, not all of which works.

I am quite excited about the potential of this, but so far my architectural images seem more interesting.  Multiple layers of the sea have a much more subtle effect because of the lack of structure.

the sea using 5 layered images on 'bright' setting

The potential for surreal effects gets greater when you try changing the camera angle between shots. I didn't notice the sea gulls in this photograph until I uploaded it.

gulls in flight. 'dark' setting multiple exposure

I am not sure where all of this will lead, but I had a lot of fun on a cold February afternoon.