Trip To The Sea Side

[John Williams]

Hey all, went to the good ol' beach today. Let me know what you think, and any ways to improve(because i know there'll be a load) .Thanks

 

[sirsteezo]

reminds me of our beach during the summertime. where is this?

2nd shot is nice besides the red circles.

 

[Zada]

Must be nice to be able to just go to the beach!

I really like them, the horizon looks beautiful! How do you get the sun to look so spikey?

 

[kundalini]

The first thing I notice is the lens flare. Did you use any filters? I'm guessing no. What were your settings?

The composition of #2 is much more interesting than #1 because you applied the Rule of Thirds.

IMO the sun is overpowering and blown out in both shots. One suggestion is to wait until the sun has set and let the sky gather all those wonderful colors.

 

[Zada]

Stupid question... what does blown out mean

 

[kundalini]

Stupid question... what does blown out mean

overexposed and loss of detail

 

[John Williams]

The first thing I notice is the lens flare. Did you use any filters? I'm guessing no. What were your settings?

First pic - 1/125 sec. F/22 18mm no filters(except UV).

Second pic - 1/8 sec. F/22 18mm. filters were the normal UV and a cokin ND Gradient).

What will filters do to help the glare and what would you suggest to use?

The beach is at pwllheli, north wales btw and i believe the star/spoked effect on the sun is caused by a smaller aperture, but i only learn't this today so someone else might be able to explain a bit better.

P.S. Thanks for your feedback so far everyone, keep the criticisms comeing.

 

[kundalini]

John, I just read another thread by IanRB(?) where you replied and asked about filters. The effect he got of with the transmission lines is what I was referring to with my comment to you. Waiting until after sunset when the sky is painted with beautiful colors.

Almost any lens is prone to flare when shooting directly at the sun, some more than others. A lens hood will help if the sun is out of view (and a good idea to have regardless), but with direct shots at the sun, a hood will have little/no benefit.

I halfway expected you shot those at f/22 because of the "spikey" effect Zada was curious about. A CPL (circular polarizer lens) and/or ND (neutral density) filter may have helped in your photos. Each one will block that amount of light that reaches your sensor/film.

A CPL will boost colors and is most effective when at 90° to light source though. The ND does not change color, but allows slower shutter speeds. But I don't think slower shutter speed will assist you in these situations. The opposite in fact.

Hopefully someone much more knowledgable than I can pipe in and give their opinion on how to eliminate lens flare. I just try to avoid it myself.

 

[John Williams]

Thanks for the info kundalini,i think il also try and avoid the lens flare as well lol.

I've got a lens hood and polarizer and tried them with other shots that day but non really had much effect, but i didn't even know it could help at the time anyway so thanks for the info!

 

[roentarre]

Stunning shots!

 

[danir]

The second shot is beautiful.
I don't think a polarizer would do much to the light coming directly from the sun as it shouldn't be polarized. Only reflected light is polarized.

Dani.