Trying Something New/ Photography
This past weekend we were at Virginia Beach and I psyched myself up for going out after dark and taking some photos on the boardwalk. This is something I had not done before and I was nervous about it. I was especially nervous about taking photos of people who were walking around.
So I attached the camera to the tripod and we went strolling down the boardwalk with the tripod slung over my shoulder like a shovel.
We reached the pier without any problem and I started taking photos of the amusement park and the stores on the pier. None of them turned out very good except perhaps for one that I will post here. Perhaps my general nervousness interfered with my ability to focus on good subjects.
But I also have problems finding the correct camera settings at night. Still it’s better to go out and try to do something. Live and learn. Or die by the sword. Whichever seems applicable.
Later we went back home and Beth pointed out to me a gorgeous moon out on the balcony. It was truly a beautiful sight. And I must have taken two hundred photos of it.
None of them came out well. None of them begin to give you a picture of how lovely the moon and the clouds around it were on last Saturday night in Virginia Beach.
Here is one of those photos. Such a disappointment.
First the good. Now the bad.
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12 responses so far
Don’t you just hate that David, if you only knew how many images lay at the bottom of my recycle bin.
bernie kaspers last blog post..Madison Indiana Columbine
Really? Well that makes me feel a little better. My technical skills need so much improvement. But there never seems to be time.
Like Bernie said.
You just have to keep shooting…
R(etc… )
WOW!!!!! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE MOONLIGHT AT SEA photo!!! and you say it’s a disappointment?! if this is the case, then it must be a REAL BEAUTY to see it with your own eyes *sigh*… this is really lovely… and re: taking many shots of just one subject, i do the same:)… and even if many of them are blurred, i find it hard to delete them… so just imagine the space their taking!!! thank God for digital cam or i’ll be spending a fortune on films and developing them
lareines last blog post..Wordless Wednesday
Thanks Ron. I am not going to give up for sure. What else is there to do?
Lareine. That’s really sweet of you to say. But you had to be there. It was really an amazing spectacle of nature. But the good part is that it really has got me mad to miss the shots. So I hopefully will sit here and really start to understand this camera.
I don’t understand it. And that’s the first step to “recovery” from my stupidity.
Night time photos are always tough and as you said the only way to get better is to go out and just do it…
First the moon shot has too much noise, lower the ISO to 100 or even lower. Next make sure your tripod is real stiff and if it’s one of those lightweight aluminum ones then invest when you can in a stiffer one. I don’t know if carbon is worth it so work with in your budget.
Next bring some ND grad filters along… The moon is only slightly less bright than the sun so you are metering of the moon and not the dark around it.
This will make two things happen. The moon will be properly exposed and the rest of the picture will be black…
If you drop the top half of the picture with the moon in it with a ND grad filter (or several) then this will allow you to take a 1-2 second picture with the bottom of the picture properly exposed and the top half will be slowed down enough not to blow out the moon and you can retain the detail in the moon…
Or you can shoot at dusk when the moon is just crossing the horizon so that the surrounding sky/water are closer to the brightness of the moon… Also you may catch the moon in a bright pink or red which is always nice while it’s low on the horizon.
I hope this helps.
Jeff
Jeff Folgers last blog post..NH wedding by Salem photographer & Vistaphotography
Night photography is tricky. I usually find the meter gets the exposure wrong and you have to compensate. It is a lot quicker with digital as you can see the results instantly. I’ve got some great results, just experimenting. Set the camera to manual everything. Yup even autofocus doesn’t work to well in the dark.
Then take a pic look at it, adjust the shutter speed to suit.
Daves last blog post..BBQ pulled pork.
Thanks Jeff. i will try this the next time I have an opportunity. My Nikon D70 has the lowest ISO setting at 200. I don’t understand why the did that. I’m reading some about it but haven’t come up with the defining explanation yet.
Dave thanks for your insight. I would like to see some of your results. Do you have a Flickr account or someplace to go to see your photos?
I’ve been trying for years to take good shots at night but the results are not what I want. Is there any secret I should know to have quality night pictures?
Nice shots! I wish I could have good quality night pictures like these.
It’s all about the type of camera you buy and the pixels you use. Expensive cameras take cool pictures at night.
Hi David, try this page
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vistaphotography/
or to save you time looking around
this one…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vistaphotography/1262827371/in/set-72157600317016130/
Not all are perfect but they will give you an idea of my results with shooting the moon..
Jeff
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