what went wrong??

Lenita · #1 (**permalink**) 10-08-2008, 23:32

Photographers Comments
This is the best of some shots I took of the Anzac Memorial Bridge in Sydney, Australia yesterday evening. Lovely sight! But ...... its a dud, and I dont know what I did wrong :-(

Camera was set to manual and I selected a small aperture size cos I wanted the star effect on the lights ... I left the ISO at 200 .... and I used a (small) tripod. I think the exposure time I selelcted was ok.

However, the image is just not sharp and I dont know what I need to do differently next time. Im wondering if my little tripod is not coping with the weight of my camera ... so will try again another time with my full tripod ... but, what else do I need to change?????

Serious Critique Required: The photographer has requested he/she would like a more serious level of critique for this image to obtain more constructive critiscism from other members. Please make sure the comments you leave are indeed constructive and aim to help the photographer see the image from a different perspective and/or provide help and guidance to how the image can be improved.

cyclone · #2 (**permalink**) 11-08-2008, 05:57

It's pretty difficult to say what happened really, I don't think there was any shake because the lights would have smeared.
So I would say it's a focus issue, the dark line (riverbank?) looks quite sharp, so maybe the camera focused on that, throwing your intended subject out of focus.
I'm not certain about this by any stretch, just trying to think of a cause, still your better tripod will not do any harm either

**Dennyboy** · #3 (**permalink**) 11-08-2008, 06:58

Hi Lenita, cant really tell but a 6 second exposure would make the water very blurry and pick up any changes in the surface. It does like it focussed on the foreground.

Lenita · #4 (**permalink**) 11-08-2008, 07:07

Hi Merv and Dennis,
Thankyou for your replies.
Not sure re the focus issue ... but I do know that this image is really 'noisy' .... and I don't know how to avoid that?
Also the 'sharpness' issue bothers me .. so will have a closer look at what I am focussing on next time.
If I change the 6 sec exposure to avoid the water blurring, roughly what setting would I then need for the aperture size ... I want the lights to be pinpoints rather than 'blurrs' ....
I'm such an amateur .. and am trying to learn all this 'stuff' ... so please bear with me ... sorry about all these 'basic' questions ....

**Dennyboy** · #5 (**permalink**) 11-08-2008, 07:16

Darkness and noise go together unfortunately, any areas of shadow will carry noise. You can reduce by shooting the lowest ISO possible however this means long exposure and blurry water. To stop the blurry water you need higher ISO and a faster shutter speed. It is trial and error and you need to try a range of shots at different settings to see what you get. Using the widest aperture (smallest f No in english-say f3.8) would reduce the shutter time and allow a lower ISO. Anything over 1/4sec would begin to show blurry water i reckon. If really calm wouldnt show too much.

A compromise might be largest aperture, 400ISO and a correspondingly lower shutter speed. Be sure focus set to manual and infinity on a shot like this would help to get the most in focus.

Lenita · #6 (**permalink**) 11-08-2008, 09:00

Thankyou, Dennis!
Would I still be able to achieve the 'pinpoint' lights using those settings? I thought I needed to use a smaller aperture setting (I had it set to F8.0 on this shot) to stop the lights 'blurring' ....
Your advice and suggestions are so very much appreciated ... thankyou!

**Dennyboy** · #7 (**permalink**) 11-08-2008, 09:48

F8 would make your shutter open longer which lets more light in so i am not sure about the effect it would have.

Here seems a good tutorial

Night photography tutorial

Hope it helps it gives settings advice as well

Lenita · #8 (**permalink**) 11-08-2008, 10:27

Thankyou so much, Dennis! I am realising more and more that I need to stop being 'scared' of trying different settings and just experiment! I did read somewhere that it was good to close the aperture down to achieve sharp 'pinpoints' of lights ... but I can see that experimentation will still achieve what I want without creating issues elsewhere.
Thankyou for the link to the tutorial - great information! Now I just need some more time to try again ... !

**Mello** · #9 (**permalink**) 11-08-2008, 18:21

I'm no expert by any means but this was shot at ISO 400/F4.4/1.5 secs sturdy tripod,would start around here and play with the apperture and exposure times either side,don't think your camera will have a mirror lock up facility so use the self timer to avoid camera shake too,hope this helps...

cyclone · #10 (**permalink**) 11-08-2008, 18:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mello

don't think your camera will have a mirror lock up facility

Point & Shoot don't have a mirror to lock up mate