Water/long exposure - DPChallenge Forums

08/18/2005 05:20:25 PM · #1

Well, I woke up early Tuesday morning to go on a hike near my house, and I knew that there was a really cool waterfall on that hike. I wanted to get as long as an exposure as I could without overexposing, and lucky for me it was overcast that day and, when I got to the falls, the sun hadn't come up over the mountains yet. I closed the aperture as far as my camera allows (f/8) and mounted my camera on a tripod. Here are some of my better shots. Please, tell me what you think. I really appreciate your critiques and comments. Thanks in advance.

08/18/2005 05:37:04 PM · #2

No fair not posting exposure details on the shots!

Edited to add: Left ya a comment on the left shot!

Message edited by author 2005-08-18 17:48:14.

swan

Nikon Coolpix 8800

08/18/2005 05:40:30 PM · #3

They are good shots =) It's really hard to make the water look silky in pics...I am still trying myself =) Thanks for sharing!

08/18/2005 07:53:18 PM · #4

Originally posted by TooCool:

No fair not posting exposure details on the shots!

All right, here it is:

First shot:

F/8 - 1 sec.

Second shot:

F/3.5 - 1/4 second - .7 underexposure

Third:

F/4.8 - 1/2 second - .7 underexposure

And thanks for the comments and replies.

08/18/2005 08:13:46 PM · #5

TooCool - How's this for bringing out the detail? I feathered a selection and adjusted the levels in the areas that were too dark - and, sure enough, there was plenty of detail there.

08/18/2005 08:19:06 PM · #6

Much better. Much brighter! However, the original crop is much more powerful. Put the too together and I think ya got it! I PM'ed ya my email if ya wanna lemme try!

Canon EF 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 IS USM

08/18/2005 08:43:33 PM · #7

Originally posted by TooCool:

However, the original crop is much more powerful. Put the too together and I think ya got it!

Actually, this was a different exposure. I haven't tried the new editing on the exposure from my OP.

Originally posted by TooCool:

I PM'ed ya my email if ya wanna lemme try!

I tried sending it, however I got a delivery failure email back...is it possible that you could have typed it wrong?

dickwilhelm

Canon EOS-30D

08/18/2005 08:46:18 PM · #8

Why is it that nobody wants to take pictures of moveing water that show how it really looks?

Canon RF 24-105mm F/4L IS USM

08/18/2005 08:49:40 PM · #9

Originally posted by justin_hewlett:

Originally posted by TooCool:
I PM'ed ya my email if ya wanna lemme try!

I tried sending it, however I got a delivery failure email back...is it possible that you could have typed it wrong?

Probably did type it wrong... I sent it to ya again! Just cut and paste it this time...

cools98

Canon EOS R5

08/18/2005 08:50:28 PM · #10

Originally posted by dickwilhelm:

Why is it that nobody wants to take pictures of moveing water that show how it really looks?

I think the idea of photography is to interpret the real into a two dimensional photo. There isn't a photo out there that shows stuff "how it really looks".

08/18/2005 08:56:47 PM · #11

Originally posted by TooCool:

Originally posted by justin_hewlett:
Originally posted by TooCool:
I PM'ed ya my email if ya wanna lemme try!

I tried sending it, however I got a delivery failure email back...is it possible that you could have typed it wrong?

Probably did type it wrong... I sent it to ya again! Just cut and paste it this time...

Allright, it's sent, only I think that the image was only partial (while the image was uploading, my internet cut out) and when viewing the uploaded file size, it was a bit smaller than the original file. Let me know if you have any problems with it and I'll be happy to send it again.

Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6D

08/18/2005 08:58:39 PM · #12

Originally posted by dickwilhelm:

Why is it that nobody wants to take pictures of moveing water that show how it really looks?

Part of photography, for me, is to shoot MY vision of something, and I try to personalize my images into what I like to see. In this case, I directed the shutter speed and post processing to my liking, to get the image how I wanted it, not necessarily to portray the scene exactly as it was in nature.

djtj1980

Nikon D70

08/18/2005 09:02:41 PM · #13

Justin,
Just a tip. To get full DOF (f22 or whatever you lens stops down to) try picking up a Neutral Density filter. This filter will allow less light in to the camera allowing for a longer exposure.

08/18/2005 09:26:52 PM · #14

EDIT: Mines wider than yours... Did you maybe squash it when ya resized or cropped it? I used photoshop 6 and put all my steps in the description!

Message edited by author 2005-08-18 21:29:42.

08/18/2005 09:40:25 PM · #15

Originally posted by TooCool:

EDIT: Mines wider than yours... Did you maybe squash it when ya resized or cropped it? I used photoshop 6 and put all my steps in the description!

Yeah, I cropped mine a bit on the right side. I really like the edit, however I think it's a bit too bright. There seems to be very little contrast in the rocks, though there is plenty of detail.

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS

08/18/2005 09:46:18 PM · #16

Originally posted by justin_hewlett:

I really like the edit, however I think it's a bit too bright. There seems to be very little contrast in the rocks, though there is plenty of detail.

I know. I shoulda sharpened first, but eager to see what detail was there! If ya have any questions on the steps I used, just lemme know.

Canon EOS-60D

08/18/2005 09:49:47 PM · #17

I like the picture of the rocks...on my monitor it looked a touch blue so I desaturated the blues some, then boosted the sats on the other channels, and sharpened a tad. Just some ideas of things to try I guess. Great images, all of them. :)

08/18/2005 10:02:13 PM · #18

Originally posted by laurielblack:

Thanks. Your edit looks quite a bit better, good job. I'll have to re-edit that one using your steps. Thanks again.

08/18/2005 10:03:56 PM · #19

This is a little off topic, but in preparing the file for printing on DPCPrints, should I sharpen at all? If so, how much should I sharpen? If so, should I sharpen before or after upsizing? I definitely don't want to over-sharpen. Any advice would be great.

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

08/18/2005 10:09:46 PM · #20

Originally posted by justin_hewlett:

Most people actually say you should sharpen last. Lately I've been sharpening first. Some people say not to sharpen until you are at your final size. Everyone I know says to sharpen after resizing. If you sharpen before resizing, the after step needs to be very subtle. Lately I've been using the 10d finisher action to do most of my sharpening (as long as it's not for a basic editing shot!) and love the results. I used it on your shot and with my old camera too. If ya use photoshop and ya want the action, I'll send it to ya. If you use this action though the site I got it from says to use it on TOTALLY UNSHARPENED images so you'd have to turn your in camera sharpening off or as low as it will go or better, save in tiff or raw if it has it...

ShutterPug

Canon EOS-6D

08/18/2005 10:26:28 PM · #21

Justin - they are all very nice shots. I particularly like the first and last. The first - I prefer your original than the edited versions posted here. The third - the rocks, I like the edited version a bit better as it eliminates a blue cast.
Good shooting, and good luck on selling your prints

- Linda

08/18/2005 10:27:43 PM · #22

Originally posted by TooCool:

Originally posted by justin_hewlett:
This is a little off topic, but in preparing the file for printing on DPCPrints, should I sharpen at all? If so, how much should I sharpen? If so, should I sharpen before or after upsizing? I definitely don't want to over-sharpen. Any advice would be great.

Most people actually say you should sharpen last. Lately I've been sharpening first. Some people say not to sharpen until you are at your final size. Everyone I know says to sharpen after resizing. If you sharpen before resizing, the after step needs to be very subtle. Lately I've been using the 10d finisher action to do most of my sharpening (as long as it's not for a basic editing shot!) and love the results. I used it on your shot and with my old camera too. If ya use photoshop and ya want the action, I'll send it to ya. If you use this action though the site I got it from says to use it on TOTALLY UNSHARPENED images so you'd have to turn your in camera sharpening off or as low as it will go or better, save in tiff or raw if it has it...

Thanks for all of your help Ron. You've given me excellent tips and advice for the in-camera as well as the post-processing side of it. I really appreciate it. If you're interested, I'll be posting my final edit in 20-30 minutes as soon as I'm completely happy with it. Thanks again.

08/18/2005 10:31:53 PM · #23

Originally posted by justin_hewlett:

Love to help! Can't wait to see it...

08/18/2005 10:40:40 PM · #24

Well, I finished a bit sooner than expected. Does this look more or less like what you had in mind? If you see anything you don't like, please don't hesitate to let me know, I'm making a printable version pretty soon.