Home › Forums › Photo Critique › A Sunny Field
- This topic has 13 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 10 years, 5 months ago by
James Staddon.
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August 12, 2014 at 1:40 pm #7070
Mr. Quebec
ParticipantAugust 12, 2014 at 1:53 pm #7074Ezra Morley
ModeratorI agree with you on the parallel lines of hay, they do add interest to an otherwise boring landscape. It does look like the picture is slightly out of focus though. Did you intend for your aperture to be set to f/29? The blurriness could be a combination of motion blur because of the slow shutter speed, and diffraction from the extremely high aperture setting. It doesn’t help any that the camera probably applied quite a bit of noise reduction because the ISO sensitivity was set so high which would also tend to smear things a bit.
The white balance also seems to be a bit on the warm side, I would just try lowering it a few hundred degrees Kelvin, and see if it improved or not. See the example, I also added some vibrance to make the greens stand out more, just a few thoughts!August 12, 2014 at 2:14 pm #7076Mr. Quebec
ParticipantYes, I intended to set my aperture to f/29. I was taking photos of a sunset nearby and when I saw the sunny field I took a picture of it. I forgot to lower my aperture and to set a faster shutter speed. But is the picture blurry enough to ruin it?
August 12, 2014 at 3:16 pm #7077Ezra Morley
ModeratorWell, it depends on how it is to be viewed. If all the viewer sees is a small resized picture it wouldn’t be too noticeable, but if you blow it up at all, it won’t look too good.
Just curious, why were you shooting a sunset at f/29? Were you trying the “sun-star” effect? I tried that recently in South Africa, and I was quite pleased with how it turned out.
Shutter Speed: 1/30
Aperture: f/22
ISO: 200August 12, 2014 at 7:50 pm #7079Mr. Quebec
ParticipantAugust 15, 2014 at 6:55 pm #7106James Staddon
KeymasterIt’s not often that I see pictures of cutting hay; makes me think of the pleasant smells and summer calm of the West Virginia valleys where we cut hay. Instead of a sky backdrop, it’d just be a hill of trees if the picture was taken in West Virginia. 🙂
Yes, the picture is very blurry, even for on-screen viewing. I’m thinking it appears blurry because it’s out of focus. Did you have your camera set to Manual focus when you were shooting the sunset? Also, the blur could come from the noise-reduction. 3200 ISO is really high.
For a more dynamic picture, I would have gotten down on my hands and knees to see what perspectives I could get. You should have been able to still see the pattern in the rows just fine because they are all going up hill for the most part. Also, because it was the rows that you saw that you liked, I would suggest you zoom in quite a bit. Show only the pattern. Imagine if the sky and trees were not included; it would communicate to the viewer why you took the picture much better.
August 19, 2014 at 10:31 am #7137Mr. Quebec
ParticipantNo, my camera was on autofocus. Probably my camera didn’t focus correctly. It appeared clear on my camera screen so I didn’t took a second shot. Too bad …
August 19, 2014 at 4:04 pm #7140timtam
ParticipantI really like it.
I think I would have gone for an f/16 and lowered the ISO. Focus somewhere 1/3 down the field, sit down with my elbows on my knees and shoot off a few hand held and hope one would be in focus.
Can you add clarity and saturation to the sky to bring out the details?
Nice shot.
August 29, 2014 at 8:10 pm #7260Mr. Quebec
ParticipantI don’t think adding clarity and saturation will be a great help in this picture because it is too blurry. Anyway, based on everyone’s remarks, I took another picture in our field. I adjusted my camera correctly this time, (I won’t make the mistake a second time.) although a little more color in the sky wouldn’t be bad.
ISO : 100
Exposure : 1/125
Aperture : f/16August 30, 2014 at 9:14 am #7262timtam
ParticipantLove it!
It compels us to want to know what is beyond the ridge.
August 30, 2014 at 6:54 pm #7279Ezra Morley
ModeratorGood job, I’m glad you tried again! I must say, it does look a whole lot better than the first one. I like the simplicity of it, the green field contrasting well with the blue sky and the hay leading you to the brow of the hill, and “compels us to want to know what is beyond the ridge”, as @timtam so aptly put it.
September 4, 2014 at 1:58 pm #7380James Staddon
KeymasterYes, a more interesting image. Doesn’t look so much as a snapshot from the edge of a road.
Now you just need to wait for a nice sunset or sunrise! Is the field close to home? I don’t know which way the field is facing, but I would wait for when you have golden light on the hay, not necessarily when the sun is setting in that direction. They sky can be very beautiful in the opposite direction of the sunset sometimes, and if there are no clouds blocking the sun, the foreground will be all lit up by the sun.
September 5, 2014 at 6:58 pm #7429Mr. Quebec
ParticipantThe field is just behind our house, and I was facing South-West when I took the shot. As for the golden light it will be a little more difficult to try again. Usually farmers pick up their hay in the afternoon (although it was not the case for the first shot.) but I’ll keep an eye open on this.
By the way, you walked in this field just before the Capture Quebec Workshop. At that time, it was filled with Ski-Doo tracks…September 8, 2014 at 7:49 am #7435James Staddon
KeymasterNo way, that’s the same field?! That’s great. 🙂
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