The Lake was angry .. and so am i.... i had my chance

[weepete]

Quick tip: use f8 -f11 and focus 1/3 of the way into the scene with a single focal point, this will approximate hyperfocal distance and ballpark the most DOF you'll be able to get.

I must admit, I like to spot meter on the highlights, then expose for where I want them on the histogram. Here, I'd have probably metered on the white of the lighthouse and exposed for that to be +1EV overexposed. Then in post I'd set the white and black point. I've also started colour grading my images, so I'll play about in post with the colour calibration and hue of the colours to subtley shift them closer to what I remember.

 

[Photo Lady]

Quick tip: use f8 -f11 and focus 1/3 of the way into the scene with a single focal point, this will approximate hyperfocal distance and ballpark the most DOF you'll be able to get.

I must admit, I like to spot meter on the highlights, then expose for where I want them on the histogram. Here, I'd have probably metered on the white of the lighthouse and exposed for that to be +1EV overexposed. Then in post I'd set the white and black point. I've also started colour grading my images, so I'll play about in post with the colour calibration and hue of the colours to subtley shift them closer to what I remember.

thanks I will do this this am

 

[Photo Lady]

View attachment 184845 practicing despite the weather

 

[smoke665]

Practice is always good, actually much better. I see you switched to AE and set your shutter to f8. That's a good first step toward taking control of your images. Now really look at the image and evaluate objectively. Consider what you like/don't like, and what if anything would you want different if you shot it again.

 

[Photo Lady]

Practice is always good, actually much better. I see you switched to AE and set your shutter to f8. That's a good first step toward taking control of your images. Now really look at the image and evaluate objectively. Consider what you like/don't like, and what if anything would you want different if you shot it again.

I think it is an improvement but still
want more sharpness.. but I don't think I will achieve this with this lens.. going to work on getting the lens Darrel suggested.. and I thank you for pointing me in the right direction.. I still have some settings to work on this afternoon.. and check and recheck.. Somedays it takes me longer because I cannot devout as much time as I want... cooking and cleaning so I can get back to time with my camera..lol

 

[smoke665]

Practice is always good, actually much better. I see you switched to AE and set your shutter to f8. That's a good first step toward taking control of your images. Now really look at the image and evaluate objectively. Consider what you like/don't like, and what if anything would you want different if you shot it again.

I think it is an improvement but still
want more sharpness.. but I don't think I will achieve this with this lens.. going to work on getting the lens Darrel suggested.. and I thank you for pointing me in the right direction.. I still have some settings to work on this afternoon.. and check and recheck.. Somedays it takes me longer because I cannot devout as much time as I want... cooking and cleaning so I can get back to time with my camera..lol

Not being mean, but IMO you havent exceeded the capability of your current lens to the point that an equipment change will make any significant difference.

Let's talk about sharpness. The rule of thumb for shutter speed for most people to hand hold even with shake reduction active is shutter speed = > focal length of lens. That means if you were at 400mm then your minimum shutter speed should have been 1/400. I m assuming you had auto focus set to Single Point, is the point you were aiming for sharp? If it's not and somewhere around it is, then it's likely you missed your target point. It can happen. Lastly Depth Of Field (the distance actually in focus) affects perception of sharpness. Assuming you were 20 ft away from the bird with your 400mm and f8 aperture your total DOF would have been around 4 inches. Each lens is different on front and back focus but roughly 2 inches behind and 2 inches in front of your sharpness focus point. DOF is a function of distance from subject and focal length of the lens. So if you step down to say f9 your DOF increases open up to f7.1 it decreases. Move closer to the subject the DOF decreases, move away and it increases.

This is why it's important to understand the exposure triangle, so when you have to change shutter, aperture or ISO, to meet your shot requirement, then you know what correspond change has to be made to arrive at the correct exposure for your shot requirement.

 

[Photo Lady]

oh I do not take it as being mean.. your being truthful... it will be awhile though before I get the lens suggested.. you are absolutely right I have so much technical stuff to learn before I can know exactly what I am doing with the camera.. I do intend to learn.. just seems I get too anxious sometimes.. I will try this after dinner.. right now I have changed setting and I cannot get the speed of lens to go faster..so I will be back looking at what I did wrong..story of my life lately.. thanks ps but the test pictures have improved.. so I hope I do not have to mess with that..

 

[dxqcanada]

Did you try the AF fine tuning?

 

[otherprof121 22]

I had my chance to get some really good scenes of this angry lake Ontario.. but somehow .. even after a million settings on my Nikon D5oo with my Tamron 18-400mm I feel so disappointed.. Not entirely.. but enough to be unsatisfied .. can anyone just look at these photos and determine why I am not getting sharp vivid photos of a glorious angry lake with a blustery sky..I just cannot figure it out..Just give me a hint of why ... I spend enormous amount of time.. I keep blaming my lens..is it my lens on this camera...?? I realize I was in a bit of a rush.. the wind was blowing me almost off my feet...but...is it just me.. I will continue practicing...but I want to strive for better..View attachment 184782 View attachment 184783 View attachment 184784

So it was just a small technical glitch, but the composition in all three was really nice, the light was captured beautifully, and the waves were perfect, to my mind. Photographer 1/ software 0.

 

[Photo Lady]

Did you try the AF fine tuning?

No I will though..just read it all last night

 

[Photo Lady]

I had my chance to get some really good scenes of this angry lake Ontario.. but somehow .. even after a million settings on my Nikon D5oo with my Tamron 18-400mm I feel so disappointed.. Not entirely.. but enough to be unsatisfied .. can anyone just look at these photos and determine why I am not getting sharp vivid photos of a glorious angry lake with a blustery sky..I just cannot figure it out..Just give me a hint of why ... I spend enormous amount of time.. I keep blaming my lens..is it my lens on this camera...?? I realize I was in a bit of a rush.. the wind was blowing me almost off my feet...but...is it just me.. I will continue practicing...but I want to strive for better..View attachment 184782 View attachment 184783 View attachment 184784

So it was just a small technical glitch, but the composition in all three was really nice, the light was captured beautifully, and the waves were perfect, to my mind. Photographer 1/ software 0.

well thank you.. I would rather have it be me.. I was overall happy with the photos but unless it is my eyes I detected just some overall blur.. but now I understand why this was likely to occur between the wind and my own shake and not precise settings.. I will try again soon..today would have been a good day to go back to the lake but today scared me off with the lake shore flooding forecast

 

[Photo Lady]

Things are looking so much better now... thank you one and all.. I think I have it going much better now..

 

[smoke665]

Things are looking so much better now... thank you one and all.. I think I have it going much better now..

A cautionary note. While you are in the learning mode, it's good to not try to many different things at the same time, as it will cause confusion. There's a member on here that is far more methodical then I, who has kept detailed notes in a little notebook on everything he does - what works, what doesn't, how something works, what to try in the future, etc. Not saying you need that level of detail, but it wouldn't hurt to make a few notes as you advance, that you can refer back to. Eventually things will click in place and you'll be able to use what you've already learned to try something new.

 

[Photo Lady]

Things are looking so much better now... thank you one and all.. I think I have it going much better now..

A cautionary note. While you are in the learning mode, it's good to not try to many different things at the same time, as it will cause confusion. There's a member on here that is far more methodical then I, who has kept detailed notes in a little notebook on everything he does - what works, what doesn't, how something works, what to try in the future, etc. Not saying you need that level of detail, but it wouldn't hurt to make a few notes as you advance, that you can refer back to. Eventually things will click in place and you'll be able to use what you've already learned to try something new.

you are very helpful Smoke.. I had a problem last night.. I had all my settings done.. and it was shooting out some really sharp photos on the tests.i wanted to test out different shutter speeds and after I changed the setting for faster nothing happened... I went to bed dreaming about what I did or didn't do// I found out later I had disabled the shutter lens.. wow I was so surprised that there are so many settings and adjustments on this camera I still have to learn..and you really can't bypass any of them until you know what your doing..lol

 

[Winona]

My 2cents. I have the Tamron 100-400. I assume my comments can be transferred to your lens. I find it heavy and hard to keep steady-especially in wind. I also find it does not focus well if everything is gray. Those dull, gray lifeless days. I do find it works well on sunny days or when there is good contrast for the auto-focus to pick up on. Overall, I have made progress on it overall. Have learned how to hold it steady plus got a tripod/monopod . However, for landscapes I go to lighter lenses-18-135 or 55-250. I use my 400 for wildlife almost exclusively. I almost exclusively use spot center focusing. If it’s a gray lifeless day I rarely even try my 400. The long lens needs more light than our NY days sometimes provides! Lol. Like this weekend!