Upper Seletar Reservoir Sunset

[Bltzkrieg]

1. in what area is critique to be sought?
Basically looking for general suggestions on where I can improve in.

2. what one hopes to achieve with the piece of work?
I was hoping to capture the colours of sunset as well as some reflections on still water.

3. under what circumstance is the picture taken? (physical conditions/emotions)
Approximately 7:15pm
30s f/11 ISO 100
Nikon D3000 - Tokina 11-16

4. what the critique seeker personally thinks of the picture
Probably should have cropped out that NEWater signboard at the side. Only just noticed it though. haha.

Would love to hear from you guys on how i can improve. Only recently acquired the Tokina and want to improve on my shots before my Europe trip in July! Thanks in advance for any comments!

 

[shiosaki]

the photo looks very soft here somehow, looks fine on flickr

watch out for the top two corners, the filter holder i suppose? can crop it out

no issues with the colours and other stuff, but composition is rather random. you might want to remember that the key to a good photo is still the composition, not just the sunset. so when you are shooting, try to make sure the whole frame looks pleasing to you before settling on the composition. its something difficult to be advised on, easier to look at other photos and learn.

 

[Bltzkrieg]

Thanks shiosaki! If you had not mentioned the corners, I wouldnt have noticed it! It probably is the filter holder. Noticed it when i was trying to use the square filters with UV filter screwed on. Had to remove the UV. But seems like the filter holder is still getting caught. Is this normal?

 

[shiosaki]

Thanks shiosaki! If you had not mentioned the corners, I wouldnt have noticed it! It probably is the filter holder. Noticed it when i was trying to use the square filters with UV filter screwed on. Had to remove the UV. But seems like the filter holder is still getting caught. Is this normal?

because its a wide angle, when your filter gets too thick it will inevitably appear in the frame at some point
you probably need a WA adapter for your lens, or a larger filter

 

[Jellies]

http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1382377

nitewalk did a similar shot #8. Above is the link to his thread. You may want to take some references.

Have a good holiday in Europe!

 

[Bltzkrieg]

@shiosaki what if i get a screw type nd filter? From what i read, it seems tt the tianya filter holder (even the "wideangle" holder) is only good up to 13mm on the aps-c. So was thinking of trying out some screw type nd.

@jellies thanks for the link! I will use it for inspiration and tips!

 

[Nikoras]

You've captured the beautiful essence of the sunset. I don't need to be there to enjoy it now.
Personally, I would increase the exposure by a stop or 2 but that is personal preference.

Some composition issues other than what's already pointed out; photo is not straight, horizon line too close to center, & objects at both sides are only slightly cropped off. Should crop more or crop less, but not a bit.

 

[Bltzkrieg]

@nikoras thanks for the comments! Haha i really need to work on my composition!

 

[zaren]

there are some amazing colours here that can be teased out in the image. i'm not sure the boats at the right of the image make the image stronger so i would be tempted to crop them out to focus the image on the beautiful sunset instead. some brightening of the foreground will also help to give the photo more depth.

 

[nitewalk]

http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1382377 nitewalk did a similar shot #8. Above is the link to his thread. You may want to take some references. Have a good holiday in Europe!

Haha i was alerted to my thread being referenced. I am humbled as i personally wasn't satisfied with my shot. So to add to the discussion, my shot suffered from having the cloud cut off and some vignetting at the top. It is also noteworthy that it was a panorama shot. I'd have loved to have the complete cloud and place the horizon on the bottom third. That said, it can work to have the horizon placed 50-50. I have a shot like that:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/bingdun/9852098613/

Again, not without nitpicks, but just an example of how you can shoot this scene with a 50-50 framing.

 

[nitewalk]

As for my take, softness could be the image size you post so i'd not take the discussion further. Instead, you could try to exclude a little of the left as the real point of interest is the the curvature of the stone path leading in to the jetty. I dont know about what others think but thats my humble take. Also, give a little wideness so you wont cut the jetty on the right and give some further breathing space. The composition cannot appear stifling and suffocating. Do watch out for the tilting as well. The wb seems slightly off. Could try something warmer perhaps. Hope that helps

 

[catchlights]

since you are shooting with tripod, you should have plenty time to check your composition, but the horizon is tilted, the filter ring/holder shows up at the corner. that is visible on the camera LCD monitor.

when you look at the camera LCD monitor, if the composition does not look interesting at all on the tiny screen, it won't be anything better when it show up full size in your computer monitor, so that is the best time to work on your composition at the site.
don't depend on cropping during the post, it is just like heating up overnight food, you just make do with what you already have, but hardly come out anything better.

do you use any ND or CPL filter to extend the exposure time?, it shouldn't get shutter speed of 30s.
is there any reason you need to shoot at 30s exposure time? seem you are not done any de-noise during the post.
as for shooting with long exposure, unless you know what effect you want to get, and familiar with the lightning changes during the twilights, else it is just wasting time, as you may risk yourself for missing the critical moment.

 

[Bltzkrieg]

@nitewalk @catchlights thanks for your comments! Hopefully can apply them in my future shots (especially the slanting). Thanks once again 😊