Seattle Night Shot

[indeedies]

Comments and advice greatly appreciated.
8.0 seconds
F/16
ISO 200
D90, 70-200 2.8
Edited in LR

 

[Sw1tchFX]

good angle, guessing from alkai beach, looks really noisy though for ISO 200. Shadow recovery much?

 

[cnutco]

Very nice. Makes me think about trying a shot of Atlanta.

 

[artoledo]

Looks a little noisy to me but I think you got a great shot.

 

[indeedies]

It is noisy and I can't figure out why. The only thing I adjusted in LR was the blacks and added some sharpness. Could sharpening the image have added the noise?
Thanks for the comments everyone!

 

[LBPhotog]

Yes, sharpening could have added some noise; but, not in the sense that it ADDED the noise, just made the noise from the LONG EXPOSURE more noticeable ... I think that you'll find that the D-90 should have a custom function to reduce noise in longer exposures in camera ... try it out next time.

As for some comments ... first thing I see is that the image is split right down the middle with the horizon line ... try moving the skyline up or down off the middle of the frame ...

 

[AnthonyS]

I like it, but I would adjust the crop a little. Maybe cut back on the water to move the horizon a little

 

[myfotoguy]

I agree with trying in-camera long exp NR (if you have not already). So you're not surprised- when you use it, it will take another few seconds to process after the shutter closes. I think it's about as long as the shot. So if your shot was 16 seconds, the Long Exp NR in camera will process for approximately 16 seconds.

I like the shot. Nice colors and it appears sharp. Maybe sharper than it needs to be, if you back off the sharpening, you will reduce the sharpening of the nosie too, or use a NR software.

I agree with the comment about the horizon. I think it's okay since the city buildings are so tall, but It still may look even better with more sky or water in the picture if possible.

 

[Sw1tchFX]

It is noisy and I can't figure out why. The only thing I adjusted in LR was the blacks and added some sharpness. Could sharpening the image have added the noise?
Thanks for the comments everyone!

It's the black adjustment that caused it. The darker areas is where there's less information acquired, there's less signal onto the sensor. So when you make a shadow recovery and bump them up, you're getting a weak signal, and amplifying it, which just like your radio, introduces noise/static.

the sharpening didn't help either because it just made the noise you brought up more obvious.

Yes, sharpening could have added some noise; but, not in the sense that it ADDED the noise, just made the noise from the LONG EXPOSURE more noticeable ... I think that you'll find that the D-90 should have a custom function to reduce noise in longer exposures in camera ... try it out next time.

As for some comments ... first thing I see is that the image is split right down the middle with the horizon line ... try moving the skyline up or down off the middle of the frame ...

8 seconds is childes play nowadays, i wouldn't consider that "LONG EXPOSURE", as if it's really long.

I'd say a "LONG EXPOSURE" would be in the realm of 3-5 minutes +


Things like this is what really makes me appreciate FF sensors, and why soon, people should look into snatching up used D700's for cheap.

Imagine doing 45 minute long exposures and not having to do the silly long exposure noise reduction and the files are totally clean?

It's friggin' sweet that's what.

 

[indeedies]

I forgot all about the NR function on longer exposures. The original photo has no noise so I know it's because of the processing. I'll download Noise Ninja and see what that does. Thanks everyone!

 

[indeedies]

good angle, guessing from alkai beach, looks really noisy though for ISO 200. Shadow recovery much?

This was from Gas Works Park. I've never been to that side of Seattle before and thought since I was there might as well get some shots. An hour later I left lol