Moonlight Sonata

[LeeIs]

The image came out too soft. I tried sharpening but became a little grainy. I had tripod flat and perched it on top of the wooden sun guards atop of the beach chairs on the beach. On the little camera screen it looked ok. but was soft when i came back home and opened it up large size. Other than that, i think this image breaks some rules. lol. does it still work despite it being so centered and the moon being so blown out? I have mixed feelings about this image. let me know what u think.

[armando_m]

I think it is fantastic !!!

ar this resoulution I can't really tell if it is soft from the beginnign or from downsize and web upload

I do not mind it is centered, the moon would be nicer if not so blown out

[NKP68]

I like it a lot. The light source from the right looks warm and incondesent while the clouds, sky and water are much higher on the K scale. I think the moon positioning here works because of the boat. I also get the feeling of the moon, because it's so blown out, is a kind of 'midnight sun'. Too bad the boat is so soft, but any chop would cause it to move around too much during a time exposure. By the way how long was the exposure.

[Overbeyond]

Sunsets and moonlights are two a penny and for me anyway, something special and unique is required to lift them out of the ordinary. Liban. you have easily managed this here by the inclusion of such an unusual foreground. The blown out moon heightens the drama here but if I was to find fault, well I would like the boat to be a bit clearer/sharper.
However, I love this shot anyway.

[Greg McCary]

I agree with Tom. I think you should PS in a perfectly exposed moon into the shot but nothing wrong with this.

[arne saknussen]

I love it the way it is. I would have to see a perfectly exposed moon in this shot to say if it would be better or not. In this shot, it has the appearance of being like fireworks, the way the light splays out. Which makes it more interesting to me.

[erikzen]

This is a fantastic shot. It doesn't look too soft to me at this size, except for the boat. I agree I'd like to see it a bit sharper. The moonlight looks great, very natural.

[n8]

I'd be interested to see a version with a proper moon, however I think the effect you achieved in this one is super cool. It looks like it was placed in after wards, but the lighting on the clouds saves that concern. Nice shot.

[draymorton]

Killer image. There are a couple of minor issues for me, but I would sound like a tool for even pointing them out in the midst of what is a captivating landscape. They're just not that important in the overall scheme of things.

I LOVE the moon the way it is - it's my favorite part - and would not put a properly-exposed one in there. Doing thus would succeed only in taking the surrealism right out of this shot.

(The clouds rule, too.)

Incredible work.

[GB1]

I tried cropping out the moon but think it's a stronger image with it. It is a tad bright though.. Maybe you can dim it down a bit?

It looks fairly sharp but I guess the tripod wasn't stable enough on the logs. Arrgg.

The centering is OK, but I wish the boat in the center was sharp! Seems like it was rocking in the waves during exposure.

My only real wish was if the moon was just going behind the clouds... It would be more mysterious like that, but also darker.

GB

[LeeIs]

Armando, It's soft from the begining. I tried to sharpen it a bit but I can only do so much before it gets artifacty.

NK, you're right. On the right was an incadescent light source.
The info of the shot is:
exposure: 8 seconds
F: 4.5 (this could be the culprit of the softness)
ISO: 400
Focal Length: 12mm

Tom, Yeah the boat was moving in the semi rough waters.

Greg, thanks for the suggestion

Arne,
I noticed that also, i wonder why the moon has those rays falling off in that way.

Erik,
yeah the boat would've been impossible to expose properly, unless I bracketed at really high iso for a crisp shot then put it in afterwards. but hindsight is 20/20 lol

n8, yeah maybe i should try a different kinda moon, but i never seen a moon transplant go perfect. something about them always looks fake, and i hate that :-)

seth, You GOTTA let me know what those minor issues are man. lol It's not nitpicking as it is hopefuly something I can learn from and not repeat the next time out :-)

GB,
yeah the softness i think was more of my F stop choice and maybe slight wind instability and probably bad focusing by me. lol I can never focus in the dark. it's like something i need you guys to help me out in ;-) how do i focus when i can't look through the viewfinder??? I just put it at infinity and walk away.. i don't know how.
Yes a hidden moon could've transformed this shot in to one i wouldn't have 2nd thoughts about . thanks for the suggestion, I shoulda hung around for a bit more. those clouds move fast down there.


THANK YOU ALL for the comments :-)

[draymorton]

"Put it at infinity and walk away." Now THAT's detachment. A metaphor for a life well-lived.

You want nitpicks? Okay... it's tooltime: 1) the boat being out of focus (which I'm not sure really matters) and 2) the sun guards somehow giving the (false) impression of a crooked horizon (which doesn't really matter, either).

[Greg McCary]

The boat can be sharpened in post. I usually use the clone stamp around objects to sharpen them up. In the Harbor at Dawn shot I sharpened the bird. Can be done.

[daq7]

Absolutely stunning. Sun or moon or whatever needs to be a bit less centered, but this is a great shot.

[LeeIs]

seth, yeah the boat! Funny, it the wood thing doesn't give me any impressions of the horizon being a bit tilted.

ok. that's a nice suggestion Gary. I'll try that. manual sharpenin eh!? It seems the soft boat is the most complained about in this one and I have to address it.

thanks daq!