Meaty0
6th of January 2007 (Sat), 05:24
Hi everyone,
A week or so ago, Justin Carpenter did a couple of excellent shots from a ledge on the Kangaroo Pt Cliffs. http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=253250 I am keen on night cityscapes and have been meaning to try that spot for months.
I wanted a long exposure, 20 to 30 seconds to smooth the water out, but I wanted to also use a wide aperture to avoid that "starburst" effect around bright lights with apertures smaller than f:5.6. I also wanted the shot to still look like "night-time" I decided to experiment with an ND filter.
Here's the result...
http://img112.imageshack.us/img112/2346/brisbanewide10af7.jpg
4 shot panorama on Panosaurus. Canon 20D, 17-40 f:4L at 40mm and f:4.5, 30 secs, ISO 100. Manual exp. WB set to Tungsten. RAW. Mirror Lockup and remote switch. ND8 + ND2 filter
What I learned.... While the image looks like night and I got pinpoint lights...well almost...
You need at least ND 8 + ND2 together to get 30 secs. ND8 on its own would be fine and about 20 secs exposure.
f:4.5 is too wide for this lens and it seems a bit soft because it was near wide-open. A 35mm prime would be better...I think.
While the image above doesn't show it...it was loaded with noise. Too longer exposure? Maybe 20 seconds.
Japanese tourists standing behind you taking images and letting their flashes go off every 5 seconds, ruins your time exposure shots....wait until they're gone :-D
I would appreciate any C&C or suggestions.
A week or so ago, Justin Carpenter did a couple of excellent shots from a ledge on the Kangaroo Pt Cliffs. http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=253250 I am keen on night cityscapes and have been meaning to try that spot for months.
I wanted a long exposure, 20 to 30 seconds to smooth the water out, but I wanted to also use a wide aperture to avoid that "starburst" effect around bright lights with apertures smaller than f:5.6. I also wanted the shot to still look like "night-time" I decided to experiment with an ND filter.
Here's the result...
http://img112.imageshack.us/img112/2346/brisbanewide10af7.jpg
4 shot panorama on Panosaurus. Canon 20D, 17-40 f:4L at 40mm and f:4.5, 30 secs, ISO 100. Manual exp. WB set to Tungsten. RAW. Mirror Lockup and remote switch. ND8 + ND2 filter
What I learned.... While the image looks like night and I got pinpoint lights...well almost...
You need at least ND 8 + ND2 together to get 30 secs. ND8 on its own would be fine and about 20 secs exposure.
f:4.5 is too wide for this lens and it seems a bit soft because it was near wide-open. A 35mm prime would be better...I think.
While the image above doesn't show it...it was loaded with noise. Too longer exposure? Maybe 20 seconds.
Japanese tourists standing behind you taking images and letting their flashes go off every 5 seconds, ruins your time exposure shots....wait until they're gone :-D
I would appreciate any C&C or suggestions.