Sun Over the morning Water

[MikeBilsland]

Hi All

New to the site been a bit nervous about posting pictures as well mine are a little rubbish compaired to some!

But here is goes!

This was taken from a ferry in Norway, Appart from the Lens Flare on the right is there any thing else I could to to get a better Image? All feed back would be great!

Thanks for looking!!!

Camera maker- Nikon
Camera Model- Nikon D60
F-stop- f/16
Exposure time- 1/1000 sec.
ISO speed- ISO-400
Exposure bias- 0 step
Focal length 22mm

[navcom]

Sunrises/sunsets are high dynamic range situations. That is, there is a huge range between the lightest and darkest points in the image. Most scenes such as yours are well over 12 stops of range. Unfortunately your camera can only record about 9. This is why it's hard to get everything exposed properly...either the darks or the lights will have to suffer.

The best way to improve your shot would be to use a graduated neutral density filter to control the dynamic range. This will tame that sun and also allow a proper foreground exposure at the same time. Do a search on the forum for information on what and how to use one...tons of stuff out there.

Hope that helps some!

[MikeBilsland]

Hi Navcom

Thanks for that, I didn't know the D60 would only do the9 Stops. I have recently got my hand on a Nikon D200 so hopefully I will get a chance to go back and try again!

Where is the best place to get those filters?

[navcom]

Actually, most cameras (film or digital) can only record around 9 stops of light. Some of the newer digital DSLRs have "HDR" or "extended range" features which use software to try to overcome high dynamic range but 99% cannot, so it's not a limitation of a particular brand or type.

ND grad filters can be bought at just about any camera store or online retailer such as B&H or Adorama. I personally use Singh Ray filters but they are expensive. You don't need the most expensive when you are starting out but just keep in mind that when it comes to filters, you really do get what you pay for.

[Michael_2010]

Nicely composed shot, imo.

I would clone those lens refractions out of the water, which is pretty quick and simple. If you had started shooting a little earlier, the sun wouldn't of had that blown out look. You can watch the changing light of the sun as it peeps over the horizon and starts its climb up into the sky. At first you will get brilliant, soft colors running along the horizon. Next the sky will sort of explode with light, but the sun will keep some pretty well defined lines. Then it reaches a point where it kind of takes over and you end up with a bright white spot hanging up there. That is when you turn your back to the sun and see if it is lighting up any interesting subjects that were previously concealed with darkness.

Did you use a tripod and a remote of some sort? If so, select Manual Mode. Drop that ISO down to 100 or less if your camera supports lower. Dial back the f/stop to something between 8 and 11. Then let the shutter speed be the variable. You can leave White Balance on Auto and adjust it when processing the file. Otherwise, Shade and cloudy will give you warm, golden tones. Daylight will cool the colors down into the blues slightly. Tungsten will do some freaky stuff, but it can prove to be interesting at times. lol

What I have learned about this has all come from the good people on this forum, but that new knowledge has been put to use numerous times.

[Krusty79]

Welcome to DPS. That's a nice scene you have captured there, but shooting at that time of day causes problems. It usually helps to have a subject in the shot that you want to lead the viewer's eye towards. For folks getting their feet wet shooting landscapes, I find this post very helpful (especially Ken's post):

Landscapes - the Best ways to Shoot them. What to do and What not to do

[MikeBilsland]

Hi All

Thanks for the information and support! I have had a good read through the articles and I hope to put what have read to good use. Have a holiday planned to the USA so will have good vary of shots to take, Will share when I get back!

Cheers