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Photo of the Day (January 2008)

pdxflint

pdxflint

macrumors 68020
Aug 25, 2006
2,407
14
Oregon coast
Salmon River (Oregon) and Cascade Head

The title says it all. Cascade Head, a Nature Conservancy protected area in the background.

DSC_2324-1.JPG


Model: NIKON D50
ISO: 200
Exposure: 1/125 sec
Aperture: f/10.0
Focal Length: 55mm w/18-55 kit lens
 
N

Noted

macrumors regular
Mar 13, 2006
100
1
pdxflint said:
The title says it all. Cascade Head, a Nature Conservancy protected area in the background.

http://lh6.google.com/pdxflint/Rb3fg6yFrvI/AAAAAAAAAOg/zSPIYqavgDA/s800/DSC_2324-1.JPG

Model: NIKON D50
ISO: 200
Exposure: 1/125 sec
Aperture: f/10.0
Focal Length: 55mm w/18-55 kit lens
Click to expand...

How do you get a photo like that so sharp? I'm using a digital point and shoot camera, a Sony Cybershot DSC-W200, and my pictures will never come out as sharp as that. What am I doing wrong.. I can't afford a DSLR so thats not an option.
 
Father Jack

Father Jack

macrumors 68020
Jan 1, 2007
2,481
1
Ireland
Your P&S is more than capable. Strong side-lighting will emphasis texture etc. making the picture look sharper. Set your camera on Aperture priority at f8 (ish) or landscape mode if you can't set the aperture. Make sure you either use a tripod or a fast shutter speed to ensure you don't get camera shake.
 
S

schreck

macrumors regular
Oct 21, 2007
191
0
New England
Doylem said:
Looks like an interesting (and photogenic) bridge. I have just one suggestion, for this and other night shots where the sky is black. Try shooting when there's still some light in the sky; that's after sunset, but before the sky gets too dark. Tripod... of course.

You'd have another colour to play with, to contrast with the streetlights and lights inside the bridge. More 'ambient light' will also help with the lights... and stop them being rendered as burnt-out highlights. Your shot is OK... but, if you pick the right moment, it could be really magical...
Click to expand...

I agree. The timing was certainly poor last night, and, unfortunately, it was one hundred percent grey until roughly 7pm (darkness at this point). Friend wanted to go out, so I tagged along.

About the highlights- those bother me too. I quite enjoy night time photography, but there are some definite drawbacks.

Anyway, thanks for the feedback. It is much appreciated.
 
Maldini

Maldini

macrumors regular
Nov 21, 2007
216
1
Riyadh
A valley in the middle of the desert

20080109-cmikfcxnm42w2532qdcy9e4f78.jpg


How can I minimize the effect of the sun in similar pictures?
 
pdxflint

pdxflint

macrumors 68020
Aug 25, 2006
2,407
14
Oregon coast
Noted said:
How do you get a photo like that so sharp? I'm using a digital point and shoot camera, a Sony Cybershot DSC-W200, and my pictures will never come out as sharp as that. What am I doing wrong.. I can't afford a DSLR so thats not an option.
Click to expand...

Father Jack said:
Your P&S is more than capable. Strong side-lighting will emphasis texture etc. making the picture look sharper. Set your camera on Aperture priority at f8 (ish) or landscape mode if you can't set the aperture. Make sure you either use a tripod or a fast shutter speed to ensure you don't get camera shake.
Click to expand...

Father Jack is correct. I used aperture priority, and set the aperture to f/10 to hit the "sweet spot" of the kit lens, which is a very sharp lens stopped down BTW, and while I didn't use a tripod, I had great side lighting from the late afternoon sun and steadied myself carefully, let out my breath, and gently squeezed off the shot. My shutter speed (as noted in the EXIF info) was only 125, but for a landscape shot was fast enough. For post-processing I did apply a bit of edge sharpening, but that was at full size (3000+pix wide.) What I posted is a jpeg of 800pix which was linked from my picasaweb gallery where it was a 1600 pix shot, so I'm glad it turned out as decently as it did here, considering it's a couple generations of jpeg away from the original...:)
 
pdxflint

pdxflint

macrumors 68020
Aug 25, 2006
2,407
14
Oregon coast
minitrialer said:
Any comments would be appreciated :)
Nikon D70 - 50mm 1.8
F/1.8
1/40
ISO 200
Click to expand...

Needs more contrast, more sharpness, and some apparent reason (point of interest) for looking at it. So, there are two areas of criticism - compositional and technical. Keep shooting lots of pictures, frame things in various ways, different angles, etc. and then just spend time looking for the ones that grab your eye for some reason. Try to figure out why they interest you, and go from there. I don't know if you use Photoshop or not, but it's not too difficult to adjust the b/w levels to achieve a nice, contrasty image (set a white and black point, adjust mid-range.) Make sure where you want the eye to go is sharp, in focus. Just a few thoughts for now. Cheers, and keep shooting and posting! :)
 
srf4real

srf4real

macrumors 68040
Jul 25, 2006
3,001
26
paradise beach FL
I learn so much in here... thank you everyone for sharing your knowledge and talent!

I switched lenses under an umbrella in the rain to get this wider angle shot.:eek:
rainow.jpg

click for large version

Panasonic L1 + Leica 14-50mm
 
W

wwwdotcomdotnet

macrumors member
Dec 27, 2007
91
0
not that i could compete with any of these pictures in the thread, but here is one i took today:

P1090920.jpg


ISO: 400
Exposure: 1/40 sec
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 14mm
 
6

66217

Guest
Jan 30, 2006
1,604
0
srf4real said:
I switched lenses under an umbrella in the rain to get this wider angle shot.:eek:
Click to expand...

That rainbow is amazing. I always enjoy your surfing photos, but this one of the rainbow is amazing.

wwwdotcomdotnet said:
wwwdotcomdotnet Photo
Click to expand...

Good photo, but maybe showing more of what is to the right would improve it.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My image of the day screams "post-processing", but I liked how it ended.:)



Nikon D40x
Nikkor 35-135mm​
 
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