Nikon DSLR "Picture Of The Day"

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Switchblade906

I think for a novice photographer (just like me) you are doing very well, but posting here will make you a much better photographer.

---

Thank you so much, I appreciate all the support you guys offer here. It helps alot. :)

Attachment 57355

Nikon D3000 (VR 18-55mm kit)
Focal length: 20mm
Shutter Speed: 1/20s
F/3.8
ISO: 400

I don't like how the sky appears hopelessly bright in the picture although it looks pretty decent in its reflection on water. Do you guys reckon usage of a UV filter for this shot?

I like the reflection on the water of this one, and the green really pops.

The only thing about this one is that the sky is blown out (all white, no detail) but if you were to have the sky have detail then the trees would have been a lot darker then they are, and the only way to fix that is to shot a HDR photo.

Sometimes you just get lucky.Attachment 57356
Apple Blossoms

That's a good one, I like the almost all black background yet the flowers still have a lot of detail. Nice shot!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Switchblade906

and the only way to fix that is to shot a HDR photo.

---

No that's one option but not the only way to resolve the issue.
More careful metering is an option
Exposure compensation is another option
Darkening the sky in pp using a graduated filter for example is also an option
What the OP needs to get in the habit of doing at the time of shooting is to review the shot using the cameras LCD display (the highlight screen) and check which areas of the image are exposed correctly and which are overexposed (are blinking) then try changing exposure compensation or metering or both or even recomposing the shot to see if the blinkies can be eliminated. A decision should also be made about whether having parts of the image overexposed are really a problem, sometimes they don't matter to the image so why stress about it. If the overexposure can't be rectified in camera then can it be resolved in post? In this case probably yes. If it's not likely to be able to be resolved in post and you really want to capture the scene then HDR is probably the best option left. Obviously if you are a fan of HDR and use it regularly then that may be your first option and in that case it's a valid one.

I've never shot an HDR image and still really don't know how to. Also I don't know what metering is.

And what would exposure do with it, is he made it darker the sky would pop more but then the trees and water would not look good and if made lighter the opposite happens.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by S. Saqib Shams-II

I don't like how the sky appears hopelessly bright in the picture although it looks pretty decent in its reflection on water. Do you guys reckon usage of a UV filter for this shot?

---

I hope that you don't mind but I had a bit of a quick play with your shot.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Falconest174

Sometimes you just get lucky.Attachment 57356
Apple Blossoms

---

Great grab, Falconest! The lucky ones are always the best ones!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by S. Saqib Shams-II

Attachment 57355

I don't like how the sky appears hopelessly bright in the picture although it looks pretty decent in its reflection on water. Do you guys reckon usage of a UV filter for this shot?

---

The trouble with photography is that there hasn't been a camera invented yet that can match the human eye and brain in distinguishing between light and dark areas in a scene (i.e. the camera's dynamic range is inferior to the human perception). So if the camera gets the shady areas right, it tends to overexpose the bright sky, and if the sky is right, the shady/dark areas are underexposed. Modern cameras attempt to overcome this by metering (i.e. measuring the light) in all areas of the frame, and then the user can choose whether to use an average exposure value (matrix metering), give more importance to what's in the centre of the frame (centre weighting), or accurately expose for a small portion of the frame (spot metering). On top of this you can use exposure compensation to brighten or darken the final exposure, usually within a range of +/- 5EV (Exposure Value or 'stops'). Some photographers 'bracket' their shots by taking three photos at pre-determined different exposures -- the camera can do this automatically if the bracket function is selected. It's all very confusing to the novice photographer (and to some older hands as well). In spite of all this, with scenes having a high dynamic range (i.e. very bright and very dark areas), the final result out of the camera can be disappointing. However, as K1W1 said, there are several ways around it.

One way is to use a circular polarising filter. This works just like polarised lenses in sunglasses, and will darken skies and improve contrast and saturation. It's not suitable for all shots though -- it depends on the prevailing lighting conditions and direction of the sun relative to the shooting position. The first photo below gives you an idea of how it can make a scene look dramatic if the conditions are right.

Another way is to use software to alter the look of the sky after the photo has been taken. In the second photo below, I used Picasa to add a graduated tint to your original shot. I think you'll agree it does a fair job of improving the overall look of the scene.

I could go on about HDR (high dynamic range) photography....but perhaps we'll leave that for another day!

S. Saqib Shams-II

Thanks for the link for the tripod, I will take a good look at it!

Noiseware is a program by Imagenomic that I use to remove noise (grain). You can get it here - http://www.imagenomic.com/nwsa.aspx but there are free programs that will do good that are out there.

I ran yours through it as a sample...

Dread Pirate Roberts - I am really lovin' it! ;)

Sir Les - I rank this as a fav, right there with my 35mm f/1.8!

I just need more time to shoot with it....