Twilight shots with a long exposure

[yakkosmurf]

Lanikai beach in the evening. F13 with 13 sec shutter. The surf was really rough, and it was very windy. I had to hold the camera still on the tripod. I like how the long exposure smoothed out the water. It was so dark, I could barely see what I was in the shot when I took it.


Opeaka'a falls in the evening. F8 with a 20 sec shutter. I couldn't see the falls because it was so dark.

[Photo-John]

All of your photos that I've looked at so far can use some post-processing. They have very little contrast or color saturation. Of course, that's somewhat a matter of personal taste. But there are general rules and your photos are much too flat, in my opinion. They lack that snap and punch that gives them life. My guess is you're using a digital SLR at the default settings. Digital SLRs are set up so that they deliver photos with lots of potential. But they don't really look good right out of the camera. You can either change the image quality settings (contrast, sharpness, saturation) in your camera, or you can adjust them later. But you need to do something. You're going to some effort to take creative, interesting photos. And they're suffering because the image files aren't set up well.

[GB1]

Interesting that you did these shots w/ such a long exp and at night and that they came out looking almost normal. The bottom one, I think I would like to build a house just next to the waterfall spray to see and hear it all the time (sort of like Falling Water). I like the muted colors of the top one, but also feel that it needs some PP.

If I were you I would bump up the contrast and sharpen both, see what you get.

GB

[Coastal Flyer]

At the risk of being repetitious, I also see a color shift but perhaps this is due to the lack of depth in contrast, color, sharpness settings. I recently bought the XTi and am constantly playing with the image settings to get the look I want. It is a challenge and time consuming at the moment but lots of fun to sit in the backyard and just shoot.

Keep 'em coming.

CF

[yakkosmurf]

All of your photos that I've looked at so far can use some post-processing. They have very little contrast or color saturation. Of course, that's somewhat a matter of personal taste. But there are general rules and your photos are much too flat, in my opinion. They lack that snap and punch that gives them life. My guess is you're using a digital SLR at the default settings. Digital SLRs are set up so that they deliver photos with lots of potential. But they don't really look good right out of the camera. You can either change the image quality settings (contrast, sharpness, saturation) in your camera, or you can adjust them later. But you need to do something. You're going to some effort to take creative, interesting photos. And they're suffering because the image files aren't set up well.

You are correct that I'm not playing much with the contrast, sharpness, etc. in the camera. I have RawShooter right now, and both of these photos were simply converted to jpegs without changing the settings you mentioned. I hope to pick up a copy of PhotoShop for Christmas or my upcoming birthday, and find some time to play around with them. I posted them as is for critique to get an idea of what sort of things I should try when I have the time and capability. Thanks a bunch for providing that info. I look forward to using it soon.

[yakkosmurf]

GB1 and Coastal Flyer,

Thanks for the input. One of things I have enjoyed with my camera so far is the ability to take low light shots at low ISO and have them come out fairly normal looking. (Tripod required, of course). As soon as I am capable, I want to play around with the settings you guys mentioned as well. When that time comes, I'll be sure to post some before and afters (the befores being above) to get more suggestions on the details. For now, you've both provided wonderful feedback. I'm going to see what I can do with these in RawShooter since it has some of the settings you've mentioned. I took so many pictures on this trip, so far, I've been trying to sort out the better ones. Thanks again.

[trog100]

i dont want to be funny but why not just let the camera produce them in jpeg form.. something is well wrong with all your shots.. it has to be the raw proccesng cos no camera would make such a poor attempt left to its own devices..

at least let the camera have a go with what it thinks an image should look like.. those all look like they have been shot thru a badly fogged lens to be honest..

forgive my bluntness but i think it needed saying.. something is badly wrong.. u need to find out what and put it right..

trog

ps.. i am not just refering to the pics above.. more a general comment based on several i have just seen..

[yakkosmurf]

I'll have to give that a shot. The camera jpegs look very similar. The haze was there in person as well. I was wishing the whole trip for clearer weather, but it didn't happen.