Sunrise Solutions

[Michael_2010]

This morning before daybreak I took a drive a few miles down the road to a clearing along the western shore of the bay and took a few pictures. There was a bit of a haze in the sky, but not a cloud in sight. Have not seen any clouds in this area for a couple of weeks now. Getting way too dry and a little dangerous to tell ya the truth.

Anyway, did I break all the rules with this one? Does it still sort of work? Does it look noisy?

The camera was in landscape mode and flying on auto pilot. I cropped it in a faux pano format, duplicated the layer and used soft light as a blending method, then I ran the digital noise removal function. It still looks a little noisy to me and it doesn’t have that glossy, finished appearance I would like to achieve. Can those things be done in post? Or did I blow it by not using Av mode and closing down the aperture at the time of the shot?



Camera: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi
Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0 EV

[navcom]

Actually, I rather like the composition on this one. The centered sun works because of the symmetry and smooth blending of the sky. Combined with the water, it's a rather interesting negative-space sort of thing. It's not overly compelling but it's not boring either.

Not sure what to say about the noise. It doesn't look too bad on my end. My preference would be to stop down the aperture from f/5.6 but it doesn't appear to have limited your DOF too much for this composition.

[Michael_2010]

Yeah, I think I am going through a minimalist phase. I like simple, straight lines more and more. Too much clutter does not rest my eyes or my mind. lol

I took this the same morning and I like it for some reason (and I'm probably the only one). There is really nothing to it, but the calm waters, soft colors and lonely pilings kind of work for me.

[navcom]

It doesn't look all that bad. Might have helped if you were in a bit closer but you are right...it's calming. And if you like it, who cares what anyone else thinks.

[RecurrentNerve]

I like them both but I think the two combined would be a much better shot, i.e. getting the posts in alongside the sunrise would make for a much more interesting result. I would have got into a position where the posts were leading away towards the horizon I think.

While the sunrise shot is well executed (despite f5.6!) and has nice colour, it's just another sunrise after all.

[Michael_2010]

Unfortunately, those pilings are what's left of private piers and boat houses adjacent to a public park. So, I was standing in the park and shooting just east of north to get those while the sun was rising about 5 degrees south of east.

Yeah, just another sunset. I'm having a hard time finding interesting foreground material. Very rare to see the water in the bay that calm, the sky void of shorebirds and absolutely no clouds. Maybe that is why they interested me.

[Michael_2010]

A little off topic, but I don't really know where to ask. lol

What's the deal with the copyright most people place on their photos? Did they actually go to the trouble to copyright them, or is it some type of implied ownership?

[dbevisjr]

Originally Posted by Michael_2010

Yeah, I think I am going through a minimalist phase. I like simple, straight lines more and more. Too much clutter does not rest my eyes or my mind. lol

I took this the same morning and I like it for some reason (and I'm probably the only one). There is really nothing to it, but the calm waters, soft colors and lonely pilings kind of work for me.

I like this one Michael. I work in aviation and things (even currently) are always hopping. Always in a hurry to finish one job so that we can start another. Frequently working in high noise with lots of people around. When I look at this image, I want to BE THERE! TFS.

[Michael_2010]

I hear ya Dan! Life is typically busy, hectic and often a pain in the arse. Landscape photography is a great escape from that routine.

[navcom]

Originally Posted by Michael_2010

A little off topic, but I don't really know where to ask. lol

What's the deal with the copyright most people place on their photos? Did they actually go to the trouble to copyright them, or is it some type of implied ownership?

Most likely they are not registered. I'm not a lawyer but I believe an item is copyrighted the moment you produce it. By stating so, you are "marking your territory" and letting everyone know that it's yours and that you would like that copyright respected. It's a good idea to mark your photographs...and I don't necessarily mean with watermarks. The best is to just include it in the EXIF data.

There are no guarantees of protection but the more you do immediately upon creating the image, the better chance you can prove your ownership if it should ever be necessary.