Would like some assistance on this shot

[David Selby]

I posted this image under the HDR thread for a different purpose.


Ok so here i will post the image first, then ask some questions/advice

[David Selby]

Here is another version.

[David Selby]

First Shot:
<table width="100%" cellspacing="0" id="Inbox"]
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<td width="30%" style="font-size: 120%;"]


Exposure:
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10 sec (10)
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<td width="30%" style="font-size: 120%;"]


Aperture:
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f/8
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<td width="30%" style="font-size: 120%;"]


Focal Length:
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31 mm
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ISO Speed:
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100
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Exposure Bias:
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2/3 EV
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Flash:
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Flash did not fire
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Second Shot:
<table width="100%" cellspacing="0" id="Inbox"]
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<td width="30%" style="font-size: 120%;"]Camera:</td>
<td style="font-size: 120%;"]Canon EOS 50D</td>
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<td width="30%" style="font-size: 120%;"]Exposure:</td>
<td style="font-size: 120%;"]15 sec (15)</td>
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<td width="30%" style="font-size: 120%;"]Aperture:</td>
<td style="font-size: 120%;"]f/8</td>
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<td width="30%" style="font-size: 120%;"]Focal Length:</td>
<td style="font-size: 120%;"]35 mm</td>
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<td>ISO Speed:</td>
<td>100</td>
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<td>Exposure Bias:</td>
<td>2/3 EV</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>



What I did:

Drove to spot, got there too late for sunset.. put camera on 6 lbs tripod. Used canon 17-40L with no filters, with hood on.


Used live view to focus on the buildings near the "wyndham" sign to ensure focus at 35 mm and 31mm and a variety of other focal lengths. each time i adjusted the focal length I would refocus manually using live view 10x on 50D.


I used Aperture priority and used F8 in order to minimize diffraction. I used 24mm - 40mm in order to avoid the softness of the corners at 17mm on the 17-40 lens.


I used evaluative metering although I'm not entirely sure how it corresponds with the 50D. The 50D seemed to really meter on the area i was focusing on when using live view.


Finally i used 2 second remote timer with mirror lock custom function.


I'd like to improve on this shot and I'm just not sure if this photo looks good and sharp or not. I have a hard time approving of photos I take, or maybe there is something wrong.


Anyway advice and or commentswould be appreciated.

[Dumien]

I think the second shot is better than the first one, maybe because it's a bit darker and the cars lines look better to me. All in all the second shot is good. As for the first one, I would have lowered the exposure a bit =)


Hope that helps

[David Selby]

the colors just seem muddy and dark though, perhaps this is a result of inadequate lighting due to beign too lat eat night?

[Dumien]

Yeah, I guess the problem with colors is the long exposure, I tend to get worse colors from longer exposures than 3 seconds -don't really know why- and still, I think that's the right time to take pictures: there's less a chance to get in trouble with a sky lit up too much, I think =)

[kdw9885]

My only suggestion would be to shoot RAW with a small JPEG. You could then set your White Balance with Photoshop or Lightroom after the image is taken. This was from the second image you posted.





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[SupraSonic]

2ndpichas mood ofthe night.


If possible next time to get the lights esp street light have that starry effect.

[Sinh Nhut Nguyen]

I like second image, the first one is to bright.