C&C Sunset

[pumbaa]

Rebel XT with 28-135 @ 50mm, F/16, 1/15, ISO 400, handheld. No PP except for re-sizing.

http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/6226/20080416weston001editedxw4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


IMO the picture is grainy. I was suffering with shots being out of focus, so I switched to MF, focussed to infinity and it improved matters.

What can I do to improve this picture? Also, what can I do to improve my technique with this type of shot without resorting to a tripod?

Thanks,

Mark.

[LeuceDeuce]

Rebel XT with 28-135 @ 50mm, F/16, 1/15, ISO 400, handheld. No PP except for re-sizing.

What can I do to improve this picture? Also, what can I do to improve my technique with this type of shot without resorting to a tripod?

Improve this picture: Do some PP. You need to straighten your horizon, work with the color and contrast. Crop to get your diagonal off of dead center.

Improve the next picture: Stand a little more to the left. You have a nice diagonal starting with the posts, but the diagonal doesn't point to anything. If you moved further left it would at least point to that island in the distance.

No tripod means you want to get faster shutter speeds. I would drop the Av to 8 or 5.6, boost the ISO to 800, and brace against something. The best advice I could give you if you want to take these kinds of shots though is to get a tripod. Ask for your b-day, x-mas, etc... get one. You'll be able to make a proper exposure at low ISO which will allow you to keep more detail in your image when you do your post processing.

I just touched on some key things you can do. I'm sure you'll get many very good suggestions from the other folks around here.

Keep shooting!

[Epix]

263793

[12stones]

Leuce Deuce had it right. If you're looking for improving your technique, then you need to learn how to adjust your exposure. If you would have moved the aperture to f/8, the ISO to 800, then you could have used 1/125 shutter speed to get a sharper image.

Composition-wise, I would have moved to the left also to get the angle and then crouch down on the sand for a different perspective and made the posts a more prominent subject leading into the horizon.

[photoguy6405]

I actually find the tall pole right in the middle to be distracting. I like the leading line aspect of the poles, but I think a different angle would have been better.

[pumbaa]

Epix - what did you do in Photoshop then????? I'll be honest, I'm a bit of a novice with Photoshop, learning but still a novice.

Took on board your advice. Went out last night and took some more shots at ISO 800. I'm off out for a couple of hours and haven't had a chance to do anything with the shot, so I'll post some up later for more critique.

Hopefully I've got a decent tripod on the way too (well, one of my own anyway :D)