Los Angeles Skyline

[Figment]

Ok, I'm looking for some C&C here. I KNOW this is a bad shot. We chose a really crappy night to go, it was hazy and overcast. It was also VERY dark, and the 500MM I was shooting on is a Manual Focus. It's tough to get a shot from that far away focused.
That being said, I'm actually looking for pointers.
Specifically:
Is it possible to clean this image up in Photoshop?
How could I focus this cleaner through the Viewfinder?
Any other Advice?
This was shot on a tripod with a remote. The only filters I own thus far are a polarizer and a UV Filter.

Thanks gang!

 

[mustang6tee8]

im actually on vacation in LA right now! very cool city! it would be tough to de-haze it, maybe if you zoomed out a little bit? that might reduce the light behind the buildings

 

[Alleh Lindquist]

It has a lot of haze because you used a 500mm lens. If you had been close to your subject you would have less air between you thus less haze. As for focusing you just get better at it and more used to getting it right in different circumstances.

 

[fast1]

looks great, the only thing is why does it look hazy?

 

[Figment]

looks great, the only thing is why does it look hazy?

It looks Hazy because A: It's L.A. And B: I apparently was too far away.
The lens I was using is a very old manual lens. The only thing you can do on it is focus... No zoom, no anything else.. Can't even adjust Fstops. But it's fun to play with. I think if I'd have exposed it a LITTLE longer, I might have gotten better results.. Maybe.

Going to Catalina 4th of July Friday, and plan on getting some C&C on those photos.

 

[kundalini]

Just a thought..... if you were to go out earlier and be setup before sunset, shooting after sunset while the sky is still lit, this may help reduce the haze. This may also help you focus easier because of the backlight.

I get the feeling of it being tilted, but looking at the vertical edge of the building to the border, it looks okay. Must be an LA thing.

 

[manaheim]

oooo... Night photography! WOOT.

You probably can't clean up the shot too much in photoshop, but I can give you some tips on how to get a better shot to begin with.

1. Manual focus- you got that part, so that's good. The trick here is to focus to infinity on your lens. It SHOULD be marked, but you should make a point to experiment with it a bit before you go out to make sure it is PROPERLY marked. (if it isn't your shot will come out a bit out of focus)

2. I don't think I would use a 500mm lens... I'm not sure what the quality of that lens is, but 500mm is odd from a couple perspectives- first generally you want skylines taken with a more wide-angle (like maybe your 18-55 at 20ish), and second because if you are at an extreme range sometimes the optics aren't great... again, no idea what lens it is, so I'm speculating.

3. Not sure what your aperature was, but generally it's a good idea to do night shots around F8-F11. This gives you a nice "star" formation around your light sources because the light bends around the blades in your lens. Note that you can actually get a sharper image by opening up and doing more like F4-5, but you lose that star formation... also keep in mind you should be working at an optimum aperature for your lens... it varies somewhat, but is usually 1-2 stops down from maximum.

4. Obviously, as you noted, be aware of the weather. Check to make sure relative humidity is relatively (sic) low and generally low wind is good. Check air quality readings, too. The cleaner and better the air, the better off the shot will be.

5. One more tip... take pictures RAW and overexpose them a bit. People have a tendency to want to make the buildings look dark, but you lose all the detail if you do this. You are far better off getting the detail of the buildings and then backing it down a hair to bring the skies down and such. You CANNOT bring them up if there is no data in the image.

If you're curious, check my site and you'll see a few examples of some of these that I've taken in the Boston area.

Good luck!