skyline @ night

[jazzcool]

IMG_0952 by jazzcool, on Flickr

funny enough, jomonkl set up an almost exact picture here but while he looks for advice on framing, I am looking for help on exposure.

how would u advice fixing this image? I am not happy with the colors - the skies a re too bright and the logos on the buildings are also too shinny, the Maybank logo (the yellow one) for example is overexposed.

If you got some tips on composition you're welcome, but I'm not really interested in that. Its the settings that I'm after.

Here are my settings for this shot:
f/25, ISO 400 focal length 27mm shutter speed 25 sec. (no flash). I used a tripod (obviously).

many thanks!

 

[boilerplate]

Hm too bright eh? Let's see, decrease exposure? Drop 1/3 stop: 20s. Or drop 2/3: 15s.

In fact, don't you think f/25 is kind of overkill? It forced you to push your ISO up to 400.

The exact same photograph (well alamost) as above can be obtained with f/16, 20s, ISO 200. Still within the shutter range of the camera, no shutter release required.

 

[wilb87]

i think you didn't take off your filter, resulting in the loss of wordings for the company logos.

 

[Expat yorkshire]

In order to improve this picture i would change your settings , as the high f number leads to diffraction and loss of sharpness this also increases the chance of burnout . I would normally use iso 100 aperture priority f11

This would give you a shorter exposure time and would help to reduce the burn out. I think you should also consider taking the photo earlier before the sky turns black . This picture looks better at 7:15pm



Singapore CBD

 

[jazzcool]

thank you all for the advice! I'm still learning (newbie) so any tip is appreciated!

i think you didn't take off your filter, resulting in the loss of wordings for the company logos.

Correct. I left the UV filter on. Now I realize that in some cases I should remove it, thanks! I'd experiment with no filter night shotting tonight.

Hm too bright eh? Let's see, decrease exposure? Drop 1/3 stop: 20s. Or drop 2/3: 15s.

In fact, don't you think f/25 is kind of overkill? It forced you to push your ISO up to 400.

The exact same photograph (well alamost) as above can be obtained with f/16, 20s, ISO 200. Still within the shutter range of the camera, no shutter release required.

Thanks, I'd try those settings.

.....This would give you a shorter exposure time and would help to reduce the burn out. I think you should also consider taking the photo earlier before the sky turns black . This picture looks better at 7:15pm

Thanks, the only issue I got with your advice is the time - as I was with my wife, our visiting hours were more strict, so couldn't be there earlier than 9+, still I believe the same colors could be achieved at this hour?

 

[Expat yorkshire]

still I believe the same colors could be achieved at this hour?

you will not get these colours at 9+

 

[jazzcool]

still I believe the same colors could be achieved at this hour?

you will not get these colours at 9+

hmmm.. okay.
Have to go there alone I guess.
Thanks

 

[The Moving Chair]

hmmm.. okay.
Have to go there alone I guess.
Thanks

I think to achieve the blue skies you have to be there about 20-30 minutes before the sun sets, and be ready to shoot. You can google the sun set timing for that particular day prior to your shoot. It is okay, many of us start from shooting at night, realising that the colours and the buildings are "not nice enough".

Generally, I use f/13 or f/16 for landscape shots like this. Please don't go away thinking that the smaller the aperture, the sharper your image will be. Aperture too small eg your f/25 will introduce diffraction, this will cause your image to be not as sharp as u wanted it to be.

 

[wildcat]

Just wondering - where were you focusing on when you took the pic? It looks very blurred throughout. I'm thinking diffraction doesn't really look THAT bad and given f/25, it should give you a sharp focus already but this one really looks blur. :dunno:

Or did you move your camera a bit during the 25sec of exposure? :think:

 

[kei1309]

Just wondering - where were you focusing on when you took the pic? It looks very blurred throughout. I'm thinking diffraction doesn't really look THAT bad and given f/25, it should give you a sharp focus already but this one really looks blur. :dunno:

Or did you move your camera a bit during the 25sec of exposure? :think:

i think it's handshake blur if you look closely at the left of the frame. the building (is it the sail?) looks like it shifted

 

[Diluted]

i think it's handshake blur if you look closely at the left of the frame. the building (is it the sail?) looks like it shifted

use tripod oso can have handshake?? :dunno::dunno:

most likely tripod not stable enough??

 

[jazzcool]

Just wondering - where were you focusing on when you took the pic? It looks very blurred throughout. I'm thinking diffraction doesn't really look THAT bad and given f/25, it should give you a sharp focus already but this one really looks blur. :dunno:
Or did you move your camera a bit during the 25sec of exposure? :think:

i think it's handshake blur if you look closely at the left of the frame. the building (is it the sail?) looks like it shifted

use tripod oso can have handshake?? :dunno::dunno:

most likely tripod not stable enough??

no camera movements, used tripod. unless there was a slight earthquake that I did not notice
the blur is overexposure and f-stop settings.
I'd give it another go once I get the chance to get there again.

 

[Diluted]

no camera movements, used tripod. unless there was a slight earthquake that I did not notice
the blur is overexposure and f-stop settings.
I'd give it another go once I get the chance to get there again.

there might still be camera movements although you were using a tripod..
your tripod might not be stable enough.. some wind might have caused your camera to shake a little..

 

[kei1309]

use tripod oso can have handshake?? :dunno::dunno:

most likely tripod not stable enough??

there are other reasons for camera shake even when the camera's on a tripod.

no camera movements, used tripod. unless there was a slight earthquake that I did not notice
the blur is overexposure and f-stop settings.
I'd give it another go once I get the chance to get there again.

even if you're on a concrete path. if someone happened to jog by behind, there'll be blur induced by shake. but it'll be slight. shooting at f25 induces diffraction which causes your images to look softer (which is seen), but not blurred. also, depressing the shutter release can induce shake.

also.. since you're using long exposure, there's no need to crank it up to ISO400. 100 or 200 will work fine. your images will also be sharper if you've used the mid-range of f-stop your lens can achieve, and that's usually within f8 to f16. and your shutter speed won't need to be that long.

OT a little: with regards to composition, your horizon's slanted to the right.

 

[jazzcool]

there are other reasons for camera shake even when the camera's on a tripod.......also, depressing the shutter release can induce shake.

I used a remote to shot, but I agree there might be shakes due to the reasons you mentioned.

regarding

OT a little: with regards to composition, your horizon's slanted to the right.

Yes I notice it now too. next time I better setup the tripod correctly while checking better w the viewfinder. Thanks! :thumbsup:

 

[weisiong]

Do you turn off the IS? It is advisable to turn off when you are on tripod...

 

[Franzy]

In order to improve this picture i would change your settings , as the high f number leads to diffraction and loss of sharpness this also increases the chance of burnout . I would normally use iso 100 aperture priority f11

This would give you a shorter exposure time and would help to reduce the burn out. I think you should also consider taking the photo earlier before the sky turns black . This picture looks better at 7:15pm



Singapore CBD

I really like the effect of "Singapore Merlion" in your photo stream. It has a really nice dreamy and fantastic DOF. Would it be convenient for you to share whether you used ND filter and which PP steps you did to achieve the desired effect? :sweat:

Thanks!

 

[Expat yorkshire]

franzy ..dont really want to highjack this thread but it was a 10 stop nd filter and then processed with topaz plugin in ps

 

[jazzcool]

franzy ..dont really want to highjack this thread but it was a 10 stop nd filter and then processed with topaz plugin in ps

how much does it costs to invest in a good ND filter? lets say something like Hoya ND filter?

 

[jazzcool]

Do you turn off the IS? It is advisable to turn off when you are on tripod...

Hey, I never knew that!
great tip! I also searched a bit about it:
http://www.digital-photography-school.com/image-stabilization-on-tripods

Yet with some newer lens models you do not need to turn IS off:
And some more info here:

In 2000 Canon released the next generation IS professional lenses. These lenses feature a "tripod-detection" mode which means that there is no problem using IS on a tripod. Even more than that - IS will correct vibrations caused by the mirror operations of the camera. So far the feature is available on the following lenses.

EF 300 mm f/2.8 USM L IS
EF 400 mm f/2.8 USM L IS
EF 400 mm f/4 USM DO IS
EF 500 mm f/4 USM L IS
EF 600 mm f/4 USM L IS


I found info saying my 18-55mm lens has it too.
Therefor -- no need to turn IS off!