Shanghai, C&C please

[RichardsTPF]

I went to China last month. Took some pictures of Shanghai. It was really cloudy at night. The first picture was taken handheld, the others were on the tripod. After read some treads on TPF, I realized that I should have turned off the VR. Hopefully the VR didn't make these images soft. C&C are welcome.

#1 29mm, F11, 1s, iso500, manual exposure, matrix metering.

[/URL] DSC_0075 by RichardsFlik, on Flickr[/IMG]

#2 24mm, F8, 1/3s, iso500, M, matrix

[/URL] DSC_0078 by RichardsFlik, on Flickr[/IMG]

#3 80mm, F8, 1/3s, iso500, M, matrix

[/URL] DSC_0084 by RichardsFlik, on Flickr[/IMG]

#4 18mm, F11, 1/1.3s, iso500, M, matrix

[/URL] DSC_0090 by RichardsFlik, on Flickr[/IMG]

#5 18mm, F11, 1/1.3s, iso500, M, matrix

[/URL] DSC_0095 by RichardsFlik, on Flickr[/IMG]

#6 31mm, F8, 1/2s, iso500, M, matrix

[/URL] DSC_0082 by RichardsFlik, on Flickr[/IMG]

#7 50mm, F4.8, 1/1600s, iso200, A, matrix

[/URL] DSC_0424 by RichardsFlik, on Flickr[/IMG]

 

[RichardsTPF]

None of them are pp. I am looking for improvement on the camera setting, and advise/instruction for pp. I have never used a pp before, and will buy a Photoshop CS5 next week.

 

[RichardsTPF]

#8 Do you like this better or #1? Shall I clone out the bottom left corner or just crop the bottom part (less water)?
42mm, F11, 1s, iso500, M, matrix

[/URL] DSC_0097 by RichardsFlik, on Flickr[/IMG]

 

[RichardsTPF]

What do you think about the WB? I used auto.

 

[mommy-medic]

They appear out of focus for the most part. I do like the one of the clock tower (3?)

 

[MelissaP]

I think #3 is my fave! They are all so vibrant even with the clouds.

 

[MelissaP]

#8 Do you like this better or #1? Shall I clone out the bottom left corner or just crop the bottom part (less water)?
42mm, F11, 1s, iso500, M, matrix

[/URL] DSC_0097 by RichardsFlik, on Flickr[/IMG]

I like this one better! (More water, no cropping) This may be a silly question, but what's the white line in the left upper part?

 

[RichardsTPF]

what's the white line in the left upper part?

A light from the roof of a building behind the tower.
I like #8, too.

I didn't turn off the VR, the softness/vibrant could be caused by VR?

They appear out of focus for the most part.

The small aperture shouldn't give any DOF problem. Do you think it is the auto focus affected by lights? If so, it is necessary to use MF.

 

[fredricfei]

quite good, but not impressive. As a citizen of the city, I suggested that you may take a walk through the lanes there~ that's the really "native" view of SH.

 

[RichardsTPF]

I will definitely go there. Thank you.
I used AF-S mode for these pictures since they are stationary subjects.
For this kind of night pics, where would you focus at?

 

[RichardsTPF]

Well, 187 views, and only 4 feedbacks. Are these pictures really that bad? I need honest CC to tell me what's wrong.

 

[Infinite_Day]

I don't think that the softness was really a result of the VR being on. I think that the ones which are softest are a result of the mist in the atmosphere. The ones with no mist are pretty sharp to my eye.

For #8 I would crop out the railing in the lower left corner or have gotten lower and included more of it and try straightening it - the tower has a slight right lean.

#1 & 2 - the mist killed you here & #1 I would have shot a little tighter to get rid of some of the dead space in the top.

#3 has good color but maybe frame it to the right some more so the central tower is not so prominent in the middle of the frame which would have helped to create a good line between the two flags.

#4 I would think some light to the people/foreground would have helped it and you've also got some distortion issues.

#5 is not bad exposure wise but lacks interest - perhaps a smaller aperture and even longer shutter speed?

#6 is not too bad but something about the lean..... don't know.

#7 is well exposed but uninteresting to me as well. Perhaps if you had shot from the base of the building straight up? It is an interesting building architecturally.
Just some opinions/thoughts. I'm no pro so take it for what's it's worth.

 

[RichardsTPF]

#1 I would have shot a little tighter to get rid of some of the dead space in the top.

Thank you for your feedback. You are right. I re-shot #8 to get tighter frame, but I didn't notice the left bottom corner. I feel better with more water there. Any suggestion on how to clone out the railing? The weather was cloudy and windy. Otherwise, I could get nice reflection on the river.

#3 has good color but maybe frame it to the right

Do you mean point the camera little bit to the right? I thought about it, that will give some balance of the flags. But the tree branch and the golden building (Flower looking roof) next are distracting (see #4).

I would think some light to the people/foreground

I thought the people there are distracting at that moment. Now looking at #5, I get your point. But What should I do? Fill some flash and still use the same exposure time 1/1.3s?

#6 is not too bad but something about the lean

Shall I shot it right in front the building to get a vertical plane?

#7: Excellent idea. I should have down there and shot from the base of the building. That would make this pic non-snapshot looking.

Thank you for your time. Appreciate your advise.