Foggy day in the Park

[GDP2012]

This is a first attempt at shooting in the fog. The sun was slightly to the right of directly in front of me. I'm shooting with a Sony SLT-A55V, f/22, 1/80 sec, ISO 400, focal length 52. I cropped the image for final composition and applied an unsharpen mask as well as desaturating it. This was completed in Gimp. I would appreciate comments specific mood of the image and any pointers to improve quality. This is my first image to submit so don't pull any punches, I am in an intense learning mode.

[EmyB]

I really like this image, very cool. I don't have specific comments about focus (it's a bit too small in my mind to comment on that). But what I would say is that it looks like it leans a touch to the right and I think it should be straightened. But perhaps I am unusually anal about that!

[Krusty79]

I think it's a pretty good shot, but it does have some issues. The light poles do not look vertical to me either. The sky is blown out pretty bad. You may like that look, though. I like the view down the path, but the image feels a little cut off on the right side to me. I'd like to have some more space there.

I've read that if you use an aperture smaller than around f/13, you can start getting diffraction, which degrades sharpness. You'll still get good DOF at f/11 or f/13.

[GDP2012]

Thanks for the input. I was definitely struggling with the sky being blown out. Since I was facing the sun is there any way I could have avoided that? We will no doubt have more foggy days here, so I hope to get back there and reshoot the scene with the advice I receive.

Thanks,

[GDP2012]

I started with different image I had taken of the same scene on that same day. Taking the advice I received I was able to correct some of the issues with the previous image. After post production of this image with the first I realized how washed out the first image was. As for the blown out sky, there is no sky. That is all 'white' fog. I would still like some advice on what I could do to improve the image of the fog itself. I would also like input about the improvements to the image.
Image information
Sony SLT-A55V
f/5
A/2000 sec
ISO-400
focal length 35mm
Post production included:
Cropping
Un-sharpen mask
Desaturating
Minor adjustment to levels

Thank-you for taking the time to critique this image.

[EmyB]

I don't like this image nearly as much as the first one. You say the first one was "washed out" but I think that was the effect of the fog, and the whole point. The second one is far too dark in my opinion. All I would have done was straighten the first image a bit and Bob's your uncle.

I actually liked the blown out sky of the first, I think it looks fantastic combined with the foggy ground.

This is all very personal opinion though and I am not a pro.

Addit: note the light pole on the first photo is still almost black, so it's not washed out at all. Got just the right amount of blacks on the first photo, too much on the second. In my opinion!

[GDP2012]

Thank-you for taking the time to look at the second image. I appreciate the followup critique. You make good points, unfortunately I see that I need to control the habit of continually doubting and adjusting the image instead of staying focused on the original intent of the image.

[Krusty79]

Normally, if the sky or fog is very bright relative to the ground, I take one shot for the sky/fog and one for the ground. I then use a layer mask to blend the images. However, since the trees make very intricate lines in the sky/fog, it would be a royal pain to paint away the layer mask and reveal the darker sky. So, since an exposure blend would be a PITA, I would consider a B&W HDR. This can be done if you bracketed your shots, or my might be able to do it from a RAW file.