Posted by John Williams on April 5, 2008 at 10:20 AM
This is a photo taken at sunset on the first day I arrived at Organ Pipe National Monument early last month. I’m posting this to show what I would like to have brought back from Arizona, as opposed to what I actually brought back . The wind was really whipping when I took this, so the photo fights flower motion and a bit of noise from the higher ISO.
This photo also has focusing issues. I took this with a Tokina 12-24mm lens that I rented for the trip and I had some problems with poor focus of distant objects at 12mm. This was likely operator error; I needed more time experimenting with the lens before the trip.
Sadly, looking through my AZ shots, there are others that I like a lot that have similar technical issues. I guess I brought back more knowledge than keepers , so now I have to go back and put that knowledge to use in the future .
Nikon D80
Tokina 12-24mm at 12mm
1/4, 1/15, and 1/60 sec. at f/4 and ISO 800
Blended both by TuFuse and hand.
Beautiful sunset. You were definitely there at the right time. The range of colors is really pleasant. It sounds like you've properly analyzed this and figured out ways to improve it. It's tough to fight the wind with flowers. I wonder if it would look too unnatural if you were to take a shot a little earlier with more light on the foreground and blend it with one a little later when the sun started to go down. This would require some time and patience but if I recall correctly, I've seen a shot of yours where you did this quite successfully with a Mt. Hood scene.
Great job on the blend.
Posted by Darren White on April 5, 2008 at 7:19 PM
John, I like this but it does seem soft....the colors are great and I like all the wildflowers.....
can you tell me more about that lens......I busted my 10-20 and am looking for a replacement.......I may just cough up the $$$ for the Nikon.....still unsure!
Despite the softness, it's still enjoyable; we'll just pretend those fence posts out there are cactus . The light on the Cholla or whatever it is in the FG is nice as is the carpet of wildflowers. Thanks for posting, John.
Posted by John Williams on April 9, 2008 at 12:55 AM
Actually those fence posts _are_ cactus (or am I missing a subtle joke ?).
Darren,
The Tokina seemed to be soft with distant objects at 12mm. To be fair to it though, I didn't take the time to really explore the lens in a controlled environment before heading off on the plane. Lesson learned, In addition, searching the internet I found several folks who described getting a Tokina that wasn't sharp, but that they were able to trade with Tokina for another, and that the replacement was great. If I buy a Tokina, I'll be sure to buy where I can return it.
I'll be renting the Nikon later this month, and will test it before taking it into the field.
Man, that is a nice sunset. I've got a sister down in Arizona and I've yet to visit her - it seems like a trip s/b in order... :-)
Even with the problems you've pointed out, the image is really pleasing to look at, easy on the eyes for sure, and the backlit cholla adds the visual interest to compensate for other issues. Experimenting a little bit with some cropping, I feel like the image is better balanced with a bottom crop to just below the trunk of the cholla.
This shot to me is full of potential. All aspects of the shot are quite solid. The only issue is the darkness of the foreground in light of the sky. A split ND filter or some dual exposure blending would tighten this very worthy shot up quite nicely and take it up a few notches.
Discussion
6 repliesThis photo also has focusing issues. I took this with a Tokina 12-24mm lens that I rented for the trip and I had some problems with poor focus of distant objects at 12mm. This was likely operator error; I needed more time experimenting with the lens before the trip.
Sadly, looking through my AZ shots, there are others that I like a lot that have similar technical issues. I guess I brought back more knowledge than keepers
Nikon D80
Tokina 12-24mm at 12mm
1/4, 1/15, and 1/60 sec. at f/4 and ISO 800
Blended both by TuFuse and hand.
Great job on the blend.
can you tell me more about that lens......I busted my 10-20 and am looking for a replacement.......I may just cough up the $$$ for the Nikon.....still unsure!
Darren,
The Tokina seemed to be soft with distant objects at 12mm. To be fair to it though, I didn't take the time to really explore the lens in a controlled environment before heading off on the plane. Lesson learned, In addition, searching the internet I found several folks who described getting a Tokina that wasn't sharp, but that they were able to trade with Tokina for another, and that the replacement was great. If I buy a Tokina, I'll be sure to buy where I can return it.
I'll be renting the Nikon later this month, and will test it before taking it into the field.
Even with the problems you've pointed out, the image is really pleasing to look at, easy on the eyes for sure, and the backlit cholla adds the visual interest to compensate for other issues. Experimenting a little bit with some cropping, I feel like the image is better balanced with a bottom crop to just below the trunk of the cholla.
Roman