Very low light - should I have taken the shot or how to handle

John Sheehy wrote in post #18943462
There is no problem with that, though, if it does not result in unwanted clipping.

I think from the perspective of auto-ISO in M mode, though, so a high ISO in my paradigm is only an issue when clipping results, and the real solution would be to manually lower the shutter speed for the compromise needed in that light, with that level of action. If one is using Av- or Tv-priority with fixed ISO, then high ISO settings are another issue, and they may drive too short an exposure, or too small an aperture than what is needed.

I think there is a problem, not with the highlights, but with the shadows. The dark areas are so bright that he has lost the contrast.

I don't use auto-ISO and under conditions such as this, I would have shot in manual mode. I don't think cameras make the best decisions when shooting in situations where the light range is extreme.
If one uses AV or TV priority settings in conditions like these, using spot metering would help the camera make better decisions to expose the subject properly. Regardless of the method chosen for your exposure, one needs to check the settings frequently at this time of day since light conditions change very rapidly early in the morning and late in the afternoon.

Jeff USN Photog 72-76 wrote in post #18943466
Thank you for the great advice!!! Here is one I did recently although I just did a quick process on it and need to revisit it. I like the mist

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Well there it is, being on "the wrong side of the pond" can get some wonderful atmosphere!

Jeff USN Photog 72-76 wrote in post #18943466
Thank you for the great advice!!! Here is one I did recently although I just did a quick process on it and need to revisit it. I like the mist

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I think that is a nice shot. It says "fall" to me. You might try the "dehazing" control in light room to increase the texture of the fog, which looks very nice. A slight change may work very well.

Jeff USN Photog 72-76 wrote in post #18943466
Thank you for the great advice!!! Here is one I did recently although I just did a quick process on it and need to revisit it. I like the mist

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This one is nice, Jeff.
And the solar pic is amazing!

Levina de Ruijter wrote in post #18943790
This one is nice, Jeff.
And the solar pic is amazing!

Thank you. I really enjoy doing solar imaging, I have 5 telescopes I use for that from 80mm to 120mm, both dedicated and using a Quark filter. The nice thing about it is that I can do it from my backyard next to a large shopping mall, light pollution is not an issue, and there are no bug when I shoot in the mid to late mornings.
Processing is easy because I have a cookbook recipe I use - Astrostakkert - Registax - PSCC - LRCC

That particular shot was 3,000 frames for the surface and 1,000 for the prominence, each processed separately and combined in PSCC. My highspeed cameras shoot at about 128 FPS but that depends on the feature I am trying to nail down.

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Your solar image is superlative!

If I lived within 400 miles of you I would be messaging you to see if I could hire you to teach me how to do solar photography.

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The hardships that you are having with the first image is that focus is so far behind the geese. Focus lies in between the reeds and the geese, so you really have to post process that one to try to get the birds somewhat sharp. That is an interesting time to get those shot, I actually like the mood on those.

TeamSpeed wrote in post #18943813
The hardships that you are having with the first image is that focus is so far behind the geese. Focus lies in between the reeds and the geese, so you really have to post process that one to try to get the birds somewhat sharp.

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This is a very meaningful observation.

This is very important because the reeds behind the geese are something that you probably would want to blur out as much as possible. They detract from the desired aesthetic, and therefore must be rendered in as indistinct a manner as possible. . Focusing a bit behind the geese is making the difficult background even worse, instead of better.

In such situations, I think it would behoove the photographer to do everything they can to make those reeds as blurry as possible. . Heck, even intentionally front focusing would help make those reeds a bit softer and less defined.

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I like it better than the first image...... keep at it.

Canadian geese a.k.a. flying cow could be taken like these during normal daylight.
But it was good practice. Noise is only visible in the background. Might go away with contrast, black increase in this particular area.

bob_r wrote in post #18943488
I think there is a problem, not with the highlights, but with the shadows. The dark areas are so bright that he has lost the contrast

Too bright is not a problem, if it does not result in unwanted clipping.

The RAW data never suffers anything in the shadows if you give extra exposure; only the highlights can suffer.

Even with an OOC JPEG, it is trivial to darken what should be dark shadows. It is only brightening which brings out artifacts from the compression, including posteration of shadows.