New to TPF

Desi · Sep 28, 2011

Hi, I'm new to TPF and pretty new to photography in general. This is my first time posting, but I am looking for criticism and ideas on how to make my shots better.

DSC_0938 by Javier Descalzi, on Flickr

This is Squaw Valley before sunrise. 8 second exposure at F22, 50 mm lens on a Nikon D90.

Thanks (I'll post some more if this works).

Javier

Big Mike · Sep 28, 2011

Welcome to the forum.

The photo seems to be lacking contrast, probably due to fog & haze.
I'm wondering why you shot it at F22 & 8 seconds.

jmtonkin · Sep 28, 2011

I'll post more of a CC when I get to my computer. My biggest question is, why the 8 second exposure?

Desi · Sep 28, 2011

Well, I'm new to this. It was still fairly dark. And I was going under the impression that small apertures work best for landscapes (though I'm not including much foreground). Small aperture meant long exposure. Am I wrong in thinking that long exposures give you more saturated colors? Thanks for your reply.

cgipson1 · Sep 29, 2011

in poor light (even in good light), too small an aperture can significantly increase diffraction... which would make your image soft and can throw the color off also. Figure out your sharpest aperture (usually a couple of stops up from wide open.. to a midrange aperture) and use that. Are you familiar with Hyperfocal Distances? Hyperfocal distance - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and you can calculate the proper hyperfocal distance here... Online Depth of Field Calculator . Very useful for landscape photography. Meter to the center or to the right of center (without overexposing) for maximum detail and color saturation. Often a good idea when the light is soft (early morning, etc) to increase contrast and saturation in post processing.

jmtonkin · Sep 29, 2011

Alright, now I can give you a more detailed critique.

In the foreground, I find the flag pole to be distracting. Maybe you could clone that out? I like the tree on the right as I feel it frames the picture nicely, however, the trees on the left I feel cover up a lot of the subject (the town in the valley). I don't know if there was a different spot that you could take this to avoid the trees on the left, but to me, it would be ideal to have more of the town. I like the fog in the valley. I think it adds to the mood of the photo. Something about the fog and the overall brightness of the photo don't add up for me though. It appears that you took this in the early-ish morning so it would be nice to capture some of the brilliant sunrise colors.

Overall, I think its a decent shot.

Desi · Sep 29, 2011

Thanks. I'll look up hyperfocal distance. Yes, early morning. East facing mountain, so the sun's rays added too much contrast to get the foreground right (I tried several times).

cgipson1 · Sep 29, 2011

I would also consider getting farther forward on the green.. say the top of the little hill in the photo just to the left of the trees on the right. That would probably allow a better view of the town (if that is your subject) and would get rid of a lot of distractions (flagpole, sandtrap, etc..). Figure out what your subject is.. then look around... is there something in the way, something you can eliminate by changing position? Is there somewhere where you can get a better view? Try to avoid clutter in the foreground or background if possible... sometime it is possible.

DiskoJoe · Sep 29, 2011

If you have photoshop. Just slide the clarity all the way up, add more contrast and bump up the saturation and vibrance. If you dont have photoshop then go get it and repeat step one.

12sndsgood · Sep 29, 2011

being a golfer i like seeing the green and the flagpole myself. allows me to know im on a golf course and here is this great view. makes me want to play that course for the views.

Desi · Sep 29, 2011

DiskoJoe said:
If you have photoshop. Just slide the clarity all the way up, add more contrast and bump up the saturation and vibrance. If you dont have photoshop then go get it and repeat step one.

Thanks. I'm just working on iPhoto's editing stuff..but here's the image re-worked a bit. Wish I could spend more mornings at Squaw trying to get that shot right.

DSC_0938 by Javier Descalzi, on Flickr