C&C campout skyline picture

[spkerer]

At a campout this weekend, I took some "skyline" pictures. This picture turned out the best of my attempts. I would welcome all feedback.

Conditions: winds 15 to 20 mph, gusts to 30.
Camera was tripod mounted, 2sec delay for "hands-off", IS disabled.

Exif info:
Model: Canon EOS 40D
Date Time: 2008-04-12T21:05:44.09-04:00
Shutter speed: 4.0 sec
Exposure Program: Manual
F-Stop: f/4.5
Aperture Value: f/4.5
ISO Speed Rating: 1600
Focal Length: 17.0 mm
Lens: EF-S17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM

Thumbnail:
http://spkerer.kusterers.net:8080/pics/public/img_1010_thumb.jpg


Full size image is at http://spkerer.kusterers.net:8080/pics/public/img_1010.jpg

Thanks... Steve

[Robert_Lay]

I see Orion on the left, so I know you didn't fake the stars.

I'm curious as to why you had to slice horizontally right through the foreground objects instead of showing a bit of foundation.

That ruins it for me.

[spkerer]

I see Orion on the left, so I know you didn't fake the stars.

I'm curious as to why you had to slice horizontally right through the foreground objects instead of showing a bit of foundation.

That ruins it for me.

The honest answer is... I'm still learning and was so busy playing and tweaking exposure settings, fighting winds, etc. that I forgot to look closely at the composition. I still need a checklist of the basics, cause I always forget something exposure- or composition-wise.

I appreciate the feedback. In hindsight, I would have liked to do as you describe - include more of the foreground.

-Steve

[Croasdail]

same with me - more foreground would have helped. Also, for shots like this, there is no need to go with ISO 1600. Your not trying to stop motion, so you can come back down and drop the noise levels. Very neat idea though. I like the idea of the glowing tents under the skies. Cheers.

[Robert_Lay]

The honest answer is... I'm still learning and was so busy playing and tweaking exposure settings, fighting winds, etc. that I forgot to look closely at the composition. I still need a checklist of the basics, cause I always forget something exposure- or composition-wise.

I appreciate the feedback. In hindsight, I would have liked to do as you describe - include more of the foreground.

-Steve
Please don't feel about about composition - it is unquestionably the 2nd most common error in photography, right behind poor lighting, which is way out in front of everything else.

Another thing that should make you feel better is that most of the composition mistakes are not recognized until you go back and study all of your shots from a given session.

It's when you are sub-consciously comparing the pictures against each other that you realize that some are much better than others, and it is usually a composition issue that you weren't even conscious of during the shooting.