Composition and general thoughts

[PhilLG]

Hi,

In the photo below I was trying to create some foreground interest with the rocks. Is there too much of the slightly hazy pale blue sky? Any other thoughts on room for improvement? You can just see the corners of the polarising filter I used stacked on the UV filter that I leave permanently on the lens. I'll try to get a thinner filter ASAP.

File Name IMG_2737.CR2
Camera Model Canon EOS 7D
Firmware Firmware Version 1.2.2
Shooting Date/Time 12/27/10 10:07:49
Shooting Mode Aperture-Priority AE
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/100
Av( Aperture Value ) 11.0
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
Exposure Compensation -2/3
ISO Speed 100
Auto ISO Speed ON
Lens EF-S10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM
Focal Length 10.0mm
Image Size 5184x3456
Image Quality RAW
White Balance Mode Auto
AF Mode AI Focus AF
AF area select mode Automatic selection
Color Space sRGB
File Size 22363KB
Live View Shooting OFF



Thanks,

Phil

[SwissJon]

Hi Phil,

Welcome to DPS.

As has been said elsewhere on this site, a CPL isn't a good idea on a very wide angle lens as it alters the colour of the sky in different places, on your picture it's brighter on the left than the right. I'm not sure what the minimum recommended focal length is for a CPL, but I'm pretty sure 10mm is far to short for one to give you pleasing results.

I don't find the rocks to be a strong forground interest, and find the branches encroaching on the right to be a distraction. Additionally the boat seems a little small for a subject too, and the horizon is at about mid point, which is a mistake.

My feeling is that you would have been better off using a longer focal length, turning the camera to landscape, zooming on the boat so it's a stronger subject, leaving that at about the bottom 1/3rd and putting the horizon at the top 1/3rd, so you've got all those lovely colours in the water, the sky is not very interesting, so can be mainly lost from this photo.

Oh, and don't stack the CPL on top of the UV filter. If you're using a CPL, you really don't need the UV filter, and doubling up at that focal length adds vignetting that you can see in the top left hand corner.

[Krusty79]

I was going to comment on your shot, but it says the image is unavailable and when I click on the placeholder image, it says it is private and I don't have rights to view it. Maybe that explains the lack of responses.

[PhilLG]

Hi Jon,

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll have a look for the articles you're talking about. The trouble in this situation is I wouldn't have got that amazing ocean without the CPL. Maybe a longer focal length with the CPL would be a better compromise?

I've tried various crops to experiment with your suggestions but in my personal opinion you end up with a smallish boat on a fairly plain dark blue ocean. Maybe I should have taken the photo from the bottom of the cliff instead of the top to change my perspective? This would have allowed me to get a lot more of the bright blue shallow water and still make more of a feature of the boat.

I was stacking the filters out of paranoia about getting dust or moisture behind them while changing. In retrospect I expose the camera to the same thing every time I change the lens so I'll just swap rather than stacking the filters in future.

Thanks very much for all the suggestions. I've been browsing the tutorials on this site for a while but only just signed up for the forums.

Krusty. Thank you for pointing out the permissions problems with the photo. I'm not sure how that happened. The photo was set to public and it would seem Jon was able to look at it but when i went back after I saw your post I noticed you're right. Anyway it's set to public again now and hopefully won't change again.

Cheers,

Phil

[Krusty79]

Sometimes you have to decide whether is it worth getting the gradient in the sky when you use a CPL. I don't think it is that noticeable in this case. I don't think the sky is interesting enough to merit taking up that much of your shot, so I would also recommend moving the horizon line up.

I think the foreground rocks are still way better than no foreground interest, but the boat is rather small for a focal point and has already moved most of the way through the image. So, if you were able to reshoot this, I would recommend taking it closer to sunset for the softer light, have the sky take up the upper 1/3 of the image, zoom in a little bit to make the boat larger and to take it a little earlier when the boat is still entering the scene instead of when it is leaving the scene. So, it's a good shot, but need some minor tweaks.

Most of the pros on this site do not recommend a UV filter, as a cheap one can degrade your image quality and a lens cap and lens hood will protect your lens.

[EOBeav]

To make good use of an ultra wide lens like this, your subject should be quite a bit closer than what it is here. The boat ended up looking too far off in the distance. Also, a polarizer works best in bright sunlight (like it is here) at about a 90 degree angle to the sun (I don't think that's the case here). Turn it until you get rid of the reflections in the water and you get better contrast. Keep shooting! This is a nice location and you're bound to come away with some winners if you keep at it.

[PhilLG]

Hi Krusty,

Thanks for the suggestions. At the time I was walking along the cliff top and saw the opportunity for the photo a bit late. Still it was well worth taking and with the tips from everyone here I've learned a lot from it. Now I've got an excuse for another long weekend in Bali!

With regards to the UV filters I'm currently using Kenko Pro1D on both my lens'. Are these likely to be significantly degrading my images? Particularly when shooting around the ocean or waterfalls I was concerned about how I'd clean salt spray and any other water and marks off the front of the lens without damaging it.

EOBeav,

I have been rotating the filter to minimise the reflections on the water before taking the shot but are you saying I should try to orientate the whole camera at 90 deg. to the sun if possible? I guess the fact that the reflections from the darker blue water further out are coming in at a similar angle to the sun is what's causing them to remain despite the CPL?

Phil

[EOBeav]

Originally Posted by PhilLG

EOBeav,

I have been rotating the filter to minimise the reflections on the water before taking the shot but are you saying I should try to orientate the whole camera at 90 deg. to the sun if possible? I guess the fact that the reflections from the darker blue water further out are coming in at a similar angle to the sun is what's causing them to remain despite the CPL?

Phil

You won't be able to get rid of all reflections, but yes, if your lens is pointing at a 90 degree angle to the sun, that will maximize your polarizer's effect. One way I've learned is to point your index finger at the sun, then wherever your thumb is pointing (no matter how you rotate it) will work.

[PhilLG]

Thanks very much. Great suggestion.

[Krusty79]

Originally Posted by PhilLG

Hi Krusty,

With regards to the UV filters I'm currently using Kenko Pro1D on both my lens'. Are these likely to be significantly degrading my images? Particularly when shooting around the ocean or waterfalls I was concerned about how I'd clean salt spray and any other water and marks off the front of the lens without damaging it.

Phil

I am not familiar with that brand, so I did a search and it seems to sell for about $45 US. So, it seems to be about a mid-level filter. Usually, the better filters are multicoated, but I'm not sure if yours is. I don't know if you will notice any difference if the filter is removed - you might try that as an experiment one day. Most of the pros on this site recommend a lens hood and lens cap to protect your lens. Since I don't use a UV filter any more, I haven't noticed my lens getting dirty. As long as I have a good lens cleaning cloth, I'm not worried about ocean spray getting on my lens (and I have taken beach shots since removing my UV filter).