Only the Brave - Honest Photography Feedback

[Nik da Greek]

aazer89 said:

Not sure if you are actually from Worthing or commenting on the pic...

Yeah, you really can almost see my house from there.

I can't offer any technical advice on the pic because I'm hopeless with camera settings, but I've tried many times to take decent pictures fromt he pier and a) the buildings always come out too small and far-away looking and b) the pier railings/boards/etc always seem to be at an awkward angle when compared to the land. I don't know how to combat either of those problems, but if you find out, I'd love to know

[craig1912]

I guess it’s thumbsnap but those pictures aren’t in focus

[Lily the Pink]

craig1912 said:

I guess it’s thumbsnap but those pictures aren’t in focus

I think the focal plane of the first one is between the first two lamp posts; it's a shallow depth of field presumably because the low light level requires a large aperture. Needs to be shot on a tripod with a small aperture and longer exposure.

[C&C]

aazer89 said:

Decided I am feeling brave...

To me, it looks like the picture isn't straight - the lamp posts seem to be leaning to the left.

Also, as has been mentioned, it looks like focus is not accurate/too limited depth of focus, although this isn't helped by using Thumbsnap.

It really would help if people posting would use FlickR or similar, so we can see a larger version, and also more importantly, the exif information. Failing that, adding the camera. lens, aperture, shutter speed, and ISO used to the post would be useful.

[Craikeybaby]

Nik da Greek said:

Yeah, you really can almost see my house from there.

I can't offer any technical advice on the pic because I'm hopeless with camera settings, but I've tried many times to take decent pictures fromt he pier and a) the buildings always come out too small and far-away looking and b) the pier railings/boards/etc always seem to be at an awkward angle when compared to the land. I don't know how to combat either of those problems, but if you find out, I'd love to know

You need a longer lens.

[Drogo]

DibblyDobbler said:

Dave - it's a very nicely composed shot IMHO. The halo may be the result of the way you processed it - this can happen on high contrast edges (typically the top of a dark mountain against a bright sky).

Thanks Mike and Graham

No sharpening done in post but I did have to pull the shadows out a lot and I under exposed by three stops to try to rain the moon in, it was almost pitch black before I spotted the composition.
Try as I may I can't get it away in processing now so may just pop out tonight if the sky clears.
It's Bracklesham Bay

Edited by Drogo on Thursday 18th July 15:08

[singlecoil]

Drogo said:

DibblyDobbler said:

Dave - it's a very nicely composed shot IMHO. The halo may be the result of the way you processed it - this can happen on high contrast edges (typically the top of a dark mountain against a bright sky).

Thanks Mike and Graham

No sharpening done in post but I did have to pull the shadows out a lot and I under exposed by three stops to try to rain the moon in, it was almost pitch black before I spotted the composition.
Try as I may I can't get it away in processing now so may just pop out tonight if the sky clears.
It's Bracklesham Bay

Photoshop would give you a number of options, none of them automatic, but if you really needed to save that shot you could.

[Drogo]

Thanks, I've tried several things in ON1 Raw, but I'm not a post expert by any means. I resigned myself to trying again.

[DibblyDobbler]

Drogo said:

Thanks, I've tried several things in ON1 Raw, but I'm not a post expert by any means. I resigned myself to trying again.

Dave - if you're interested I'd be happy to have a go at editing the RAW file? Just pm me - no worries if you prefer not to.

If you try the shot again would suggest suggest exposure bracketing then combining the images in post

[Drogo]

Thanks for the most generous offer Mike but being a numpty I can't work out how to send you the raw file.

I have other images taken slightly earlier that look ok but I'm now on the hunt for the perfectly aligned shot so off out again in a mow, I need the practice!

[singlecoil]

If you are in to landscape photography you would be well advised to get Photoshop or even the inexpensive 'Elements' version. There are other photo editors you could use as well. Reason why I say you should do that is because as you can't always control the scene it's handy to be able to remove distracting elements which would otherwise spoil a good picture.

[Drogo]

I’m using ON1 photo raw as it seems to do all I need. The pic I posted has lots of stuff that I can remove but having seen the dark shadow behind the marker felt it not worth the effort.
I did try to clone it out but it was having none of it. I tried magic eraser and that just made a mess hence I’m currently lying on the beach hoping to get a better shot in camera. 🙏

[DibblyDobbler]

Didn't do much - just tried to get rid of the halo and reduced the noise a bit. Tricky one to do in a single exposure due to the brightness of the moon relative to the dark landscape - maybe exposure bracketing and blend the images in post might work. The halo I think has been caused by pulling back too much from the shadows

Before

Moon over water by Dave King, on Flickr

After

Moon over marker - Mike Edit by Mike Smith, on Flickr

[Drogo]

Many thanks Mike

You've managed to reduce it a bit but it proves that I should have got it right in camera. It's all good practice.

[DibblyDobbler]

Drogo said:

You've managed to reduce it a bit

Funny you should say that, I think I am right in saying the halo is completely gone - but it looks like it's still partly there... bit of an optical illusion!

If you pull the screen down so the horizon is at the bottom I don't think there's a visible halo, but it still appears to be there when looking at the photo as a whole

[Drogo]

I know what you mean. I've been working on it some more and as you say it seems to be some sort of illusion?
Maybe it's something an astro photographer could explain?

[singlecoil]

How about something like this

Edit of Dave's photo by Elliott and Nolan, on Flickr

[Drogo]

I'm beginning to think it's also to do with the screens we're viewing on.
As Mike said if you play with adjusting the screen view the halo goes away.

Anyhow I found a slightly different shot and processed differently, pulled a grad in from the top and I think it's made a difference? I may look into making a print to see if it shows on paper.
Either way I think it's the best it's ever going to get.
Thanks all!

Moon Light by Dave King, on Flickr

[Tim2k9]

Feeling brave, one of my shots from a recent holiday.

[singlecoil]

Tim2k9 said:

Feeling brave, one of my shots from a recent holiday.

Nothing to criticise there. You obviously put a lot of thought and effort into that, and it paid off.

Put it on Flickr, it will look even better on here.