Lighting up the heart of Central Australia - Uluru

[Jill H]

Hi everyone - I am just back from my first trip to Central Australia. Uluru (Ayers Rock) is a place that attracts thousands of visitors from all around the world. The colour of the Rock changes throughout the day. Many people go out to see the sunrise and sunset when the rising or setting sun lights up the Rock. Of the four nights we were at Uluru, we only had one good sunset viewing due to the amount of cloud cover. On our last night as we waited, just as the sun was about to disappear below the horizon it found a crack in the clouds, and as we watched the light crept across the red dirt, scrub and spinifex and lit up the Rock.

I used a tripod and shutter priority. And other than a tiny adjustment in levels in Photoshop Elements this is straight from my camera. I would be interested to hear your thoughts. Could I have made this photo look even better? I used a tripod - perhaps I should have used a cable release - I must admit I didn't think of it at the time. I took quite a few shots in about the 30 secs that the sun was lighting the Rock, and I thought for drama this was the best.

Canon 450D
Shutter Priority
F/7.2
1/250 secs
ISO 800
Spot metering
No flash
Auto white balance

Thankyou in advance for looking and for your comments.

From Life Images by Jill

[DravensHalo]

I really like this photo of Uluru - the only suggestion i would have is to expose it a little longer so it isnt as dark in the foreground.. but if i saw this on a postcard i would buy it...

[Jill H]

Originally Posted by Dravens.Halo

I really like this photo of Uluru - the only suggestion i would have is to expose it a little longer so it isnt as dark in the foreground.. but if i saw this on a postcard i would buy it...

I very much appreciate you commenting on my photo. If I were to expose longer, wouldn't it mean that the Rock would end up lighter? Would that loose the spotlight like effect of that burst of sun lighting up the centre of the Rock and make it more washed out?

Does ISO 800 seem correct in this instance? What white balance should I have used? Thanks!

[DravensHalo]

i hardly ever shoot at ISO800 so i am unsure, i might have tried lowering the ISO to max 400 and exposing for a little longer (not much though) ... but i dont know if it would keep the Spotlight effect... hmmm... oh well i guess you say the perfect settings are what you used, since you got the spot light effect and captured a one of a kind photo!!!!

[Jill H]

thanks again. It is so tricky when it all happens so quickly - so I kept changing the exposure and clicking and hoping I had the right settings! It was all over within a minute!