First attempt at night photography

[nickfrog]

With only 1 half decent pic... despite 2 hours of work... Harder than I thought. I need a proper tripod too... In the wind my cheapo "disposable" tripod did not cope... Pic taken in Shoreham, England. I did not want the subject to be in the middle but no choice as metal fence in the way and that was the only angle available...
30 sec / f20 / ISO 100 / 24 mm focal lenght / 400D with 24-85 usm 3.5-5.6

 

[Jimee]

I think there's too much foreground. Interesting subject though, you should reshoot it when you get a better tripod.

 

[nickfrog]

You're right. I'll also try and get the focus right while I am at it...I will definitely go back there as it's only 5 miles away. I'll get there just after the sun sets for a bit more sky maybe. Cheers Jimee.

 

[myopia]

nice shot. watch out for lens flare though. i think someone on here can recommend a filter or PS technique to reduce that. i certainly cant, but i am looking.

 

[GreenSlime89]

I can't see all of it - could you resize it?

From what I see though, I quite like it. I can't really offer constructive critisism from what I've built up from memory. I'm on a laptop for this you see.

 

[LaFoto]

It now shows at 1066x1600 pixels, which is too large for web showing. You should half it in size, I say. 800x533 is a good size and will fit onto about anyone's screen. It is my size of choice, anyway.

And from what I can see here, you didn't do too badly for a first attempt.
Yes, night photography is a challenge, but a very pleasant one, I find, and quite rewarding (once you know all the tricks and got yourself a sturdy tripod and don't forget to bring it and all that). And getting a bit of sky is helpful, so dusk/late dusk is the best time, I think.

 

[nickfrog]

OK. Resized now (that in itself was a challenge !!!). Thanks for the feedback. I will actually revisit the area in the daytime too, should be worth it. I'll update this thread if I come up with anything. Photography is proving even more challenging but at the same time even more exhilarating than I thought.

 

[jeroen]

ISO 100... yes, ofcourse. Thanks, I just realised and learned something. No more grain in my future night shots LOL

Cheers

 

[nickfrog]

Exactly. ISO100 is crucial at night as you don't need any more, given that all you need to do is increase exposure time accordingly (and hope the wind does not pick up mid-way through...).