Long Exposures on the Rocks

[tyler_h]

Went for a bit of a trek to see what there was around Swansea Heads. It's a really nice area so a revisit is definitely on the cards at some point.

Three shots from today; any c&c appreciated.


2011_10_15_8171 by tyler_s_hamilton, on Flickr

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[TR="class: lookatme"]
Exposure [TD]0.4[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: lookatme"]
Aperture [TD]f/8.0[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: lookatme"]
Focal Length [TD]18 mm[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
ISO Speed [TD]100[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
Exposure Bias [TD]0 EV[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]



2011_10_15_8202 by tyler_s_hamilton, on Flickr

[TABLE="width: 100%"]
[TR="class: lookatme"]
Exposure [TD]4[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: lookatme"]
Aperture [TD]f/8.0[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: lookatme"]
Focal Length [TD]18 mm[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
ISO Speed [TD]100[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
Exposure Bias [TD]0 EV[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]



2011_10_15_8226 by tyler_s_hamilton, on Flickr

[TABLE="width: 100%"]
[TR="class: lookatme"]
Exposure [TD]2.5[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: lookatme"]
Aperture [TD]f/4.0[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: lookatme"]
Focal Length [TD]18 mm[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
ISO Speed [TD]12800[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
Exposure Bias [TD]+2 EV[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

 

[jake337]

I like #3 the best. It has three nice diagonals. The "skull" rocks in the foreground, then the smoother rocks next, followed by the water line. Added bonus of the city on the horizon. It seems quite noisy though with some black outline of blown out spots in the background? City Lights? Boats? I'd return to this spot for sure.

 

[tyler_h]

I like #3 the best. It has three nice diagonals. The "skull" rocks in the foreground, then the smoother rocks next, followed by the water line. Added bonus of the city on the horizon. It seems quite noisy though with some black outline of blown out spots in the background? City Lights? Boats? I'd return to this spot for sure.

There are multiple settlements running up the coast. Most are the lights are from them but there were some boats around so potentially a few of them too.

As for noise... well 12800 on a 550D isn't the cleanest... lol. I don't mind the noise in it (although the black bits on the horizon are a bit out of place and now you point them out... lol).

 

[paul85224]

All three are nice, but the first is my favorite.

Exposure info? I'm assuming you used a tripod.

 

[tyler_h]

All three are nice, but the first is my favorite.

Exposure info? I'm assuming you used a tripod.

Thanks.

Added exposure info to main post, and yes, all shot with a tripod.

 

[jake337]

I like #3 the best. It has three nice diagonals. The "skull" rocks in the foreground, then the smoother rocks next, followed by the water line. Added bonus of the city on the horizon. It seems quite noisy though with some black outline of blown out spots in the background? City Lights? Boats? I'd return to this spot for sure.

There are multiple settlements running up the coast. Most are the lights are from them but there were some boats around so potentially a few of them too.

As for noise... well 12800 on a 550D isn't the cleanest... lol. I don't mind the noise in it (although the black bits on the horizon are a bit out of place and now you point them out... lol).

Yeah I don't mind the noise too much either. I didn't really notice it untill I viewed the large flickr version. I really didn't mind the lights either, just the black bits around them.

 

[tyler_h]

Yeah I don't mind the noise too much either. I didn't really notice it untill I viewed the large flickr version. I really didn't mind the lights either, just the black bits around them.

I've found b&w the noise fine so long as its b&w; colour noise is much worse. Could have been shot at lower iso but it was actually a test shot which didn't look too good in camera so I didn't both with a better shot. After getting back I realise I should have though.

 

[spacefuzz]

you definitely have the right idea! Id play with your shutter speed some more and try to turn the wave / foam streaks into leading lines. Wicked cool when it works.

 

[tyler_h]

you definitely have the right idea! Id play with your shutter speed some more and try to turn the wave / foam streaks into leading lines. Wicked cool when it works.

Thanks. I had shots between 1/4 and 30 seconds for exposure time. Had another exposure of the second shot that had more distinct lines running through the middle-ground but they lead your eye down to the bottom right and out of the image. I only got to explore about 1/3 of the rocks before it got too dark so will give it another go next weekend probably.

 

[BenDy]

There's a hint of some really nice colours in the sky in those first two shots, I think that if you'd captured the scene more towards dusk/dawn it would have created a very powerful image with the pink and the blue.

 

[tyler_h]

There's a hint of some really nice colours in the sky in those first two shots, I think that if you'd captured the scene more towards dusk/dawn it would have created a very powerful image with the pink and the blue.

I was there from ~45min before sunset till a while after last light. Sometimes it just doesn't light up as much. Just like I wasn't going to go a couple of hours before I left because it was ~90% cloud cover and looked like just being grey but cleared up completely; impossible to tell quite how it will turn out.

 

[jake337]

There's a hint of some really nice colours in the sky in those first two shots, I think that if you'd captured the scene more towards dusk/dawn it would have created a very powerful image with the pink and the blue.

I was there from ~45min before sunset till a while after last light. Sometimes it just doesn't light up as much. Just like I wasn't going to go a couple of hours before I left because it was ~90% cloud cover and looked like just being grey but cleared up completely; impossible to tell quite how it will turn out.

Most of the time it's just being at the right place at the right time. I can't count how many times I've left work at 7pm, with gorgeous skies all around, and 5-10 minutes later the beauty is already gone. The magic hour for landscapes is usually more like the magic minutes.

 

[D-B-J]

Why were you using such a high ISO, and only a 2.5 second shutter speed?

 

[paul85224]

Why were you using such a high ISO, and only a 2.5 second shutter speed?

I would think with camera mounted tripod, it allows a lower ISO and therefore, less noise.

 

[tyler_h]

Why were you using such a high ISO, and only a 2.5 second shutter speed?

I would think with camera mounted tripod, it allows a lower ISO and therefore, less noise.

The final one was a test exposure that didn't look great on camera and so I didn't take a real one at the time (was getting rather dark by then). That will be one of the spots I got when I get back there to take a technically better shot.

Still on my to buy list is a shutter release; 30 second max is killer as it gets darker. I can still get pretty sharp shots holding shutter down on a tripod but not the easiest to do.