Denisse Ariana Pérez Reviews the ND8

I had never used a lens filter on my analog camera before using Urth’s ND8. One could say that I am a bit of a purist in that I typically respect a lot of the idiosyncrasies of photographic film. I don’t really do too much editing in post-production unless it involves minor changes to lighting or tonality. Especially when it comes to colors, I prefer following the nature of the film.

So to be honest, I was a bit apprehensive to use a lens filter at the beginning due to these “purist tendencies” of mine.

To my surprise, the Urth ND8 Lens Filter became a perfect first trial for the filter novice that I am.

As I traveled through the Delta del Ebro region in Catalunya, I found beautiful landscapes and volatile weather. Strong winds, harsh sunlight, overcast cloudy skies, you name it.

The filter became a great ally to better condense the light. It also brought more depth to the details in the images, like in the water reflections and the clouds in the sky.

I was most nervous about how it would affect the colors of the final image as I am so emotionally attached to the colder tones which are emblematic of Fujifilm films. I used a roll of Fujifilm Superia X-tra 400, and combined with the filter, it preserved and intensified those deep greens and blues I love so much from that particular film. Overall, I think the Urth ND8 Lens Filter is a great introductory filter, it is subtle enough to not drastically change the envisioned image and yet intense enough to add depth and texture to light that would otherwise feel too diffused.

I am looking forward to experimenting more with this and other Urth filters and see how they can complement and push my compositions into unexplored dimensions.

This series was shot with a Nikon F2 and a 50mm 1.8 lens.