Thoroughbread Park - A lot of firsts.

[KevinCollins]

I went out to try new places tonight.

I came back with a few shots from Thoroughbred Park. The park is a small little piece of green in downtown Lexington. The biggest feature of it is this piece of art showing the "home stretch" of a horse race. I've seen it a million times, but I've only turned my camera on it once - tonight.

In addition to that, I've recently acquired Lightroom and I've used it here to "tweak it". I'm still getting used to all the controls, but I know already that I LOVE it. And for the first time, I shot everything in RAW. Combine RAW with Lightroom and there's a ton of possibilities.

So, here is my shot:



EXIF Data:
Camera Canon EOS 20D w/18-55mm Kit lens
Exposure 0.033 sec (1/30)
Aperture f/13.0
Focal Length 24 mm
ISO Speed 100
Exposure Bias 0 EV

I had the camera set to aperture priority in an attempt to gain DoF and blur the trees in the back out. I did get a bit of that but would liked to have had more.

What I'd like to hear about is the general composition and framing of the photo. Does it appeal to you?

Any and all comments welcomed.

[Henry Wilt]

I'm still learning this but would like to try and help if I can (then the experts can tell you if I'm wrong and what you should try).

If you want to control DOF then you are better of using aperture priority and setting a wider aperture (smaller f/ number), at f/13 you have got a very large DOF.

As for composition, in my opinion the main subjects (horses and riders) are getting lost in the background a bit. A smaller DOF would help this considerably but I think I would still be tempted to change the angle of the shot so it was a bit more from the side and get more detail in.

As for Lightroom (even though I'm still learning it), you're completely right, it's a fantastic tool to work with. Enjoy!!

[KevinCollins]

Thanks for the tips Henry.

The camera was in aperture priority - I simply typed the wrong thing. I'll try to go back tonight and shoot with a wider aperture and see if I get better results. The exposure triangle is still trying to get settled in my brain. I need a cheat sheet! ;-)

Lesson learned: Take more shots with different settings!!!

[Henry Wilt]

Originally Posted by KevinCollins

Thanks for the tips Henry.

The camera was in aperture priority - I simply typed the wrong thing. I'll try to go back tonight and shoot with a wider aperture and see if I get better results. The exposure triangle is still trying to get settled in my brain. I need a cheat sheet! ;-)

Lesson learned: Take more shots with different settings!!!

I'm trying to go full Manual so that's exactly what I do, take lots of shots of the same thing with different settings then check out the results on the computer. It's one of the things I love so much about digital, there's no extra cost!

Have you checked out sk66's posts on the exposure triangle, they are excellent. One of them has an interactive display so you can see what is happening and the other has an explanation that makes it very easy to visualize. There is also a tutorial by a lady from Hawaii on here regarding going manual that has an excellent explanation of the "Sunny 16" rule (sorry, I can't remember her name at the moment. If I remember when I get home tonight I will look the printed copy out and post more details for you.).