Night Shots on Perhentian Besar

[entropy_h]

Hi, couple of shots I took at night on Perhentian Island. Any comments would be greatly appreciated!

[Francis247]

#1 is beautiful.
Care to share the setting?

[entropy_h]

I exposed for 30 seconds at f7.1, iso 400, center weighted.

i quite like the shot myself, but was quite lucky with the almost full moon

[Francis247]

Originally Posted by entropy_h I exposed for 30 seconds at f7.1, iso 400, center weighted. i quite like the shot myself, but was quite lucky with the almost full moon

Thanks for sharing.

Can feel the mood of the first picture.

The second is interesting but it seems that the condition turn to be too cloudy.

[entropy_h]

You're correct, the second was just a little too cloudy, but it was also difficult to get my friend to stand there for 30 seconds with his hands up in that position multiple times. Still thought it looked rather interesting.

Here's my first attempt at light trails while waiting for the train to take us back to good ol' Singapore:

[Francis247]

I see. Interesting.
Do share more.

[greenieadi]

1st pic is great. Like it very much. Good work.

[entropy_h]

Originally Posted by greenieadi 1st pic is great. Like it very much. Good work.

Thanks!

[entropy_h]

Originally Posted by Francis247 I see. Interesting. Do share more.

One more variation Didn't get that many great shots, still learning

[Francis247]

This one is good too.
Just wondering, is the table and chair your own props or it was found there?

[entropy_h]

It's a beachfront bar/restaurant, so the table and chair was already there. Didn't even have to move the table and chair actually.

[Mezzotint]

Good try on yr first foto. At least it looks quite comtemporary to me. But do watch out for the yellow cast probably caused by distant tungsten light. If you're using a dSLR, you could check yr use of White Balance. If using film SLR, depends on what type of film u are using (well most films are day-light), you could use a CC filter to correct the lighting cast. You still can correct it in Photoshop.

It seems the bottom part is too warm and the point from the horizon to the night sky including the moon, is too cool. Such contrast is too great and look awkward. The tree leaves on the top left should not be included, for a more "clean" picture. You might wanna consider convert this shot to B&W for a different feel & mood.

The last shot with yr friend's back facing yr camera. The whole mood and feel could be more poetic, if he turned around and facing you, resting his arms on the table, looking out to the horizon and showing some facial details. Well it sounds like a staged photography but it might just work.

[entropy_h]

Originally Posted by Mezzotint Good try on yr first foto. At least it looks quite comtemporary to me. But do watch out for the yellow cast probably caused by distant tungsten light. If you're using a dSLR, you could check yr use of White Balance. If using film SLR, depends on what type of film u are using (well most films are day-light), you could use a CC filter to correct the lighting cast. You still can correct it in Photoshop. It seems the bottom part is too warm and the point from the horizon to the night sky including the moon, is too cool. Such contrast is too great and look awkward. The tree leaves on the top left should not be included, for a more "clean" picture. You might wanna consider convert this shot to B&W for a different feel & mood. The last shot with yr friend's back facing yr camera. The whole mood and feel could be more poetic, if he turned around and facing you, resting his arms on the table, looking out to the horizon and showing some facial details. Well it sounds like a staged photography but it might just work.

First off, thanks for the feedback.

Are you referring to the yellow cast at the bottom left of the first picture? If you are, there was a flickering light to the left, thus creating the light on the bottom left hand side of the picture.

I use auto white balance most of the time and I don't shoot in RAW (still learning how to post process pictures), so I guess I should have used a preset white balance or a temperature setting. Or would "cloudy" or "shade" white balance be a better setting for the night?

It seems the bottom part is too warm and the point from the horizon to the night sky including the moon, is too cool. By warm and cool, I presume you're referring to the white balance as well? If not, how could I improve on this part of the picture?

To be honest, am not too interested in "staged" photography. I prefer to take shots as they are (except for the shot with my friends arms raised cause we thought it would be cool if we could make it look like he was moving the clouds). It was one of those nights where we were just on the beach having beers and realised it was a beautiful night, so ran back to get the tripod to take a few quick shots. I get your point on the facial expressions and conveying a better mood, but he was just sitting there enjoying the moon so I just wanted to capture it as it was.

Thanks again for your feedback!

[Mezzotint]

Originally Posted by entropy_h First off, thanks for the feedback. Are you referring to the yellow cast at the bottom left of the first picture? If you are, there was a flickering light to the left, thus creating the light on the bottom left hand side of the picture. I use auto white balance most of the time and I don't shoot in RAW (still learning how to post process pictures), so I guess I should have used a preset white balance or a temperature setting. Or would "cloudy" or "shade" white balance be a better setting for the night? It seems the bottom part is too warm and the point from the horizon to the night sky including the moon, is too cool. By warm and cool, I presume you're referring to the white balance as well? If not, how could I improve on this part of the picture? To be honest, am not too interested in "staged" photography. I prefer to take shots as they are (except for the shot with my friends arms raised cause we thought it would be cool if we could make it look like he was moving the clouds). It was one of those nights where we were just on the beach having beers and realised it was a beautiful night, so ran back to get the tripod to take a few quick shots. I get your point on the facial expressions and conveying a better mood, but he was just sitting there enjoying the moon so I just wanted to capture it as it was. Thanks again for your feedback!

Hi entropy_h,
Just sharing my 5-cents worth of feedback.

It's good to shoot in RAW and I'm sure you already know that it gives you more controls in post-processing. Honestly speaking, I'm still learning on RAW processing and personally I shoot film, though I have a dSLR. But I believe I have better control making images on film than in digital format.

Regarding the warm & cool part, I recommend you check out some books on filters. Learn to understand the usage of filters to make your color images better with correct color temperature and so on. Lee Frost's Photographer's Guide to Filters and if I remember correctly, recently there's a book on filters for dSLR. Well of course we can still make use of Photoshop's Photo Filter function to correct.

Hope you keep on trying night photography and make better images. Cheers!

[entropy_h]

Thanks for the tip on the book, will be sure to check it out.

Cheers!