April sunset....Just can't decide! eeek

[knickers71uk]

This photo was taken through my dining room window, I am two floors up, and this overlooks a local housing estate and factory where I live in the Cotswolds.

I loved the cloud formations and have quite a few different variations as the light gradually faded.

I just cant decide which one I like the best.

My ISO was quite low, but for the life of me i cant remember the settings (i must start writing them down!!) I had it on, I used my Canon



This is the original shot, I cropped, nothing else



This one has a one fix photo from paintshop pro 9 added to it.



I kept the one fix photo, then duplicated the layer, added a gausian blur, which i then overlayed and did a standard sharpen.

I love the original and i kinda like the third, not sure about the second but like the way its sharpens the clouds lines making it look almost menacing and severe.

What do you guys think

[Saralonde]

I think I like the original best. I prefer the slightly sharper trees on the first. The second shows the houses in the foreground too much. Of course, this is just MHO.
By the way, your ISO was set at 100, aperture f/11, focal length 55 and shtter speed 1/320.

[hpebley3]

>> My ISO was quite low, but for the life of me i cant remember the settings (i must start writing them down!!)

> By the way, your ISO was set at 100, aperture f/11, focal length 55 and shtter speed 1/320.

In case you were wondering how Saralonde figured that out, the settings are saved with the image. Since you're using the 350D, I assume you have access to the Canon utilities. They will show you the information when you display the image (may have to turn this display on via the menu). Also, after you upload the images to flickr, when you view the image, on the right side there's a section which says "Additional Information". One of the items under that says "More properties". If you click that, it'll show you the settings too.

Hope that helps.

[knickers71uk]

Hi Guys thanks for telling me that, I really didnt have a clue, I have only just progressed from using the standard stand and click settings on my canon.


I still havent a clue how half the buttons work and half the time i have no idea how I changed the settings, I wish they did a manual in laymans terms. All the techie talk makes me wanna fall asleep, when all i wanna do is get on with it before i lose me light lol!

I have found the info screen for the photos, was fairly easy to find, just not sure how i changed the settings in the first place lol like i said, i am learning lol

After sleeping I have to agree with you Saralonde I do prefer the first shot.

[jiminyClickit]

knickers71uk,

Do you recall where you read the light, or were pointing when camera set its necessary functions? Do you always put Sun in the center? You may get something unusual if you find a medium-toned subject, let camera get a read on it, then frame your Sun anywhere you like. Experimenting is the gift of digital, all free.

[knickers71uk]

read the light?

I set the buttons with my camera pointing down at the dining room table, the sun was very bright shining through the window, seriously jiminy i really haven't got a clue what I am doing when it comes to playing with the manual settings, i literally just play with them takes some photos see what they look like. then if i don't like them i change them again until i get the effect I am looking for.

I have only been playing with the manual settings for about a month and its taken me a year to be brave enough to try. Because the manual is in Japanese (well it might as well be). I really have no idea what they do and why. All a learning process though, will get there in the end. Just need to find a book, or something that explains it all in layman (thats for dummies lol) terms. I know eventually it will just click.

Because I was taking the photo through a small window I didn't have much room too move lol,but yeah i cropped it like that. I have one without the sun in it, taken from the same window. See below, the sun had just set, you can see the factory more in this shot. This one is not cropped or edited in any way. I do like this shot. edited for awful spelling

[jiminyClickit]

knickers71uk,

You're in good company here; when you read enough posts to get an overall character of DPS, you'll see how many of us are learning every day. Much of that is by having people at all levels tell us what our photo does or does not have worth looking at. And what would improve a good shot.

The experiment that cleared the question of lighting best for me was aiming at a snowbank. My Fuji S3100 uses the half-depressed-button method of setting the speed, exposure, aperture, white balance etc. When I line up the brackets in the viewfinder [ ] on a dark area to set those automatic readings, the shadows will have detail, but the light areas will be overexposed. Same if I point at the lightest part of scene, the darks will be too dark, underexposed.

So if you let the camera "read the light" in a middle tone, chances are better the photo overall will balance in exposure. Experiment and take notes for one hour a week. That won't seem complicated after a few weeks.

The last blue/red/black sunset is rich and has a quality the first three don't, mainly it's exposed better. The range was not as difficult for the sensor in the camera to decide how to balance.

Dozens of other tutorials can help explain most everything you may want to know. Most are layman-clear.

[jiminyClickit]

knickers71uk,

Also effective is to use Auto for a while, take note of what camera decides. Then switch to Manual for a few photos using settings you noted in Auto. Practice will show you a connection between the buttons and the photo, and you will soon develop a set of numbers which will get that great photo quicker, with fewer "guesses" necessary. Practice, experiment, study what others do. And enjoy.

[mikem12188]

JIminy,

You make it sound so easy.......

[jiminyClickit]

mikem12188,

I've got the "Enjoy" part handled. Sometimes the only way I can understand stuff is to try an explanation with someone who may not have heard it before. Then if they make it work, there's a good chance I have learned something.

And if I screw it up, I'll hear about it almost immediately. Fragile ego had to go for it to work.