Juneau Sunset, CIC please

[Harpo]

Taken through a window of the cabin that is on poles over a cliff on the water. I did minimal PP with iPhoto. I had returned from the Alaska trip intending to purchase Aperature for my Mac but found that it works better if you have a minimum of 8 gig memory. Doesnt do too well with my computer maxxed at 4 gig. Sigh...

Anyways, CIC appreciated. Took this with the 70-200mm 2.8 IS USM II I rented for this trip. Not sure if I got the settings right to take advantage of the clarity of this lens?

[epmi314]

My thought is that it was probably a beautiful scene. The pic seems a little soft perhaps because it was taken through a window. There is no focus point that I can determine and the limbs in the foreground are a little distracting. My sense is that you had the perfect shot but not the prefect vantage point to capture it.

[Hans]

yeah, Mike, looks soft. Was it hand held? Maybe the shutter speed was not quick enough (if you are using on DX it is 'roughly' a 105-300mm not a 70-200mm, so at the tele end I'd need to use a shutter speed of around 1/500th to get a sharp hand held shot (I shake a little). Stepping forward to remove the limbs would have produced a more powerful image in my humble opinion. Otherwise a beautiful shot of a gorgeous sunset!

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Mike,

We are missing the EXIF info on the shot, could you divulge the shutter speed, aperture, iso and focal length used?

I can see that it is output sharpened ok, but this is a bit small to judge from.

Cheers,

[Harpo]

Thanks for the comments. It was on a tripod with IS off. EXIF info: AP, f/5.0, 1/320, exp -0.67, 100 iso. Focus point I aimed for was the base of the island... 1/3 into the pic...

I found myself wishing they had build a large wrap around deck where that shot was taken but no... My thought was using the branches to help frame the photo. Guess it didnt work?

[FrankMi]

My thought was using the branches to help frame the photo. Guess it didnt work?

Hi Mike, I think you hit the nail on the head, to make this work, you need to "frame the photo". In this case, the foreground branches extend quite a way into the image and start to crowd the subject. A foreground 'frame' doesn't have to be on all sides, but the more it hugs the edge of the shot, the more effective at being a 'frame' it will be. Make sense?

[Dave Humphries]

Thanks for the comments. It was on a tripod with IS off. EXIF info: AP, f/5.0, 1/320, exp -0.67, 100 iso. Focus point I aimed for was the base of the island... 1/3 into the pic...

I found myself wishing they had build a large wrap around deck where that shot was taken but no... My thought was using the branches to help frame the photo. Guess it didnt work?

Hi again Mike,

Was the f/5 a deliberate choice to prevent the foreground branches being too sharp?
I think I would have tried f/11, just based on gut instinct, but it depends on focal length and the relative distances.

Talking about distances, upto moderate telephoto, anything past the island is infinity in practical terms anyway, so in terms of a focus distance, to get the trees a bit sharper, focusing closer would be better. but to be honest, Colin would be better to give advice on this, it is just his kinda subject

My thoughts are there is too much foreground tree in shot, especially that long branch from top left.
You could clone some out I guess.

Cheers,

[Harpo]

Yes, In my attempt to frame the photo given where I could take the picture, I tried to make do with the branches. I figured having the branches not being too sharp would put the focus on the island and the sun rays. I can see what you guys are saying about too much foreground.

Thanks again for the valuable advice.