Although I keep following this forum I'm afraid I have not posted for some time.
Anyway, inspired by the many excellent landscapes I've seen I have decided to have a go myself. This was taken close to where I live. It is of early dawn over flooded fields.
I want to learn so please feel free to say what you think. Specifically I have used a 3 stop ND hard grad and set -2/3rds compensation but still seem to have blown the sun rise and its reflections. In fact I find it very difficult to position the filter accurately by looking through the viewfinder of my 20D. Any tips would be most welcome.
Techs are:- 20D, 17-40L @ 17mm, f16, 1sec, iso 100, 3stop hard NDgrad, tripod.
Hi David,
nice shot. I would set the horizon a little bit lower. I love the cold warm contrast.
Bertl Menegoni
www.innsbrucknaturfoto.com
Posted by Ian Andrews on January 5, 2008 at 4:05 AM
Hi David,
You asked, so here goes... Please remember that I do not class myself as a landscape photographer!
Composition is everything and I think you have missed slightly here. I would have zoomed in slightly, leaving the lower left corner as it is and bringing the right corner in to eliminate the distracting bush. It would have the effect of raising the skyline and fenceline, putting them approximately on the thirds.
It would also have put the two leftmost fenceposts on vertical thirds and the sun off centre to the right, rather than the left as you have here.
That would also have made the bright area a tad larger in the frame, making the exposure of it easier to manage. I am not a filter user, so can't offer advice there, but I am sure someone will come along and offer theirs. If it was me I'd have taken multiple exposures and blended them by one means or another.
The idea of using something in the foreground to add interest is all very well, but it needs to add to the image rather than distract from it, which is the problem with the bush in this image.
Very good suggestions have already been made. If you dont already I'd suggest you use the histogram and check the exposure to see if the highlights are clipping. If they are then you can adjust the exposure until they are just held in but the rest of the image may end up very under exposed. Such small areas of intense light like this can be a real problem for grads - taking two exposures and blending would be a very good solution for a situation like this. Tristan
Posted by Elliott Neep on January 6, 2008 at 1:58 PM
I think it may be the grad. You can get 'hard' and 'soft' grad filters. Here, as the sun and brightest spot was so close to the horizon, you would need a hard grad with a more defined margin (as opposed to a soft grad with a wide margin). It is more tricky when the bright zone is so small in proportion to the frame.
When I use grads, I use the tip mentioned above - with the depth of field preview. I also set my exposure manually and spot metre before adding a grad. If you leave it to the camera with the grad in place, then your exposure will be too bright as the metering is compensating for the darker grad area.
If you don't want to fiddle around with this (I know it can be tedious especially when the sun is setting with cloud and the exposure is changing every second), just use your histogram and preview. Remember to zoom into the bright area of the image on camera and see what is actually blown. If you do not zoom in, the flashing highlights are quite vague and not entirely accurate.
Another option is to take two exposures - expose one for the foreground and another for the highlights or bright sky. The blend the images together in photoshop. Make sure the exposure are in quick succession otherwise you may have overlap on moving clouds near the horizon.
Yes it's the cold warm contrast that I like most about this image. It gives the reflections a ghostly feel.
Ian
Thanks for your comments regarding composition, which all make sense to me. I have cropped another image taken at the same time which I hope answers some of the points you make. Does the foreground look more interesting? However, I feel that the scrub behind the fence now detracts. Better if it did not exist. Not much I could do about that though.
Pete/(Guy)
Thanks for the tip about dof preview button. I tried it out this morning. Works a treat!
Tristan
I have only just started using grads, and thought they would solve the highlight problem. Thanks for putting me straight. I'll consider blending next time I face a similar situation.
Discussion
6 repliesAnyway, inspired by the many excellent landscapes I've seen I have decided to have a go myself. This was taken close to where I live. It is of early dawn over flooded fields.
I want to learn so please feel free to say what you think. Specifically I have used a 3 stop ND hard grad and set -2/3rds compensation but still seem to have blown the sun rise and its reflections. In fact I find it very difficult to position the filter accurately by looking through the viewfinder of my 20D. Any tips would be most welcome.
Techs are:- 20D, 17-40L @ 17mm, f16, 1sec, iso 100, 3stop hard NDgrad, tripod.
Thanks
David
nice shot. I would set the horizon a little bit lower. I love the cold warm contrast.
Bertl Menegoni
www.innsbrucknaturfoto.com
You asked, so here goes... Please remember that I do not class myself as a landscape photographer!
Composition is everything and I think you have missed slightly here. I would have zoomed in slightly, leaving the lower left corner as it is and bringing the right corner in to eliminate the distracting bush. It would have the effect of raising the skyline and fenceline, putting them approximately on the thirds.
It would also have put the two leftmost fenceposts on vertical thirds and the sun off centre to the right, rather than the left as you have here.
That would also have made the bright area a tad larger in the frame, making the exposure of it easier to manage. I am not a filter user, so can't offer advice there, but I am sure someone will come along and offer theirs. If it was me I'd have taken multiple exposures and blended them by one means or another.
The idea of using something in the foreground to add interest is all very well, but it needs to add to the image rather than distract from it, which is the problem with the bush in this image.
HIH
Ian
A neat trick when using ND Grads... If you press the dof preview button, the gradient line becomes much clearer, allowing you to position it better.
Tip courtesy of Guy Edwardes excellent book!
When I use grads, I use the tip mentioned above - with the depth of field preview. I also set my exposure manually and spot metre before adding a grad. If you leave it to the camera with the grad in place, then your exposure will be too bright as the metering is compensating for the darker grad area.
If you don't want to fiddle around with this (I know it can be tedious especially when the sun is setting with cloud and the exposure is changing every second), just use your histogram and preview. Remember to zoom into the bright area of the image on camera and see what is actually blown. If you do not zoom in, the flashing highlights are quite vague and not entirely accurate.
Another option is to take two exposures - expose one for the foreground and another for the highlights or bright sky. The blend the images together in photoshop. Make sure the exposure are in quick succession otherwise you may have overlap on moving clouds near the horizon.
Yes it's the cold warm contrast that I like most about this image. It gives the reflections a ghostly feel.
Ian
Thanks for your comments regarding composition, which all make sense to me. I have cropped another image taken at the same time which I hope answers some of the points you make. Does the foreground look more interesting? However, I feel that the scrub behind the fence now detracts. Better if it did not exist. Not much I could do about that though.
Pete/(Guy)
Thanks for the tip about dof preview button. I tried it out this morning. Works a treat!
Tristan
I have only just started using grads, and thought they would solve the highlight problem. Thanks for putting me straight. I'll consider blending next time I face a similar situation.
Thanks again
David