Sunset over the River Thames

[ChrisH]

This started as an experimental shot to see how the camera would work directly into a low winter sun. The original image had quite a lot of noise in the shadow areas particularly on the white hull of the boat.

Your C & C would be gratefully received.



Aperture: f/9 Shutter Speed: 1/125 ISO: 100

[Geoff F]

That is a tricky shot so it has worked reasonably well.

If possible, I would have liked to see a tiny bit more at the bottom, even if that meant losing a bit from the top; but there could be a good reason for not including more.

I see what you mean about the the hull but that is unavoidable. Have you tried using a touch of Blur Brush on it. I find sometimes it helps and other times it just makes things worse.

And there is a small speck in the top left corner area; probably a bird.

I did think about cropping out the brightest part of the sun but I'm not sure it would work with the tree. Although I suppose the remaining branches could be cloned out and in that case a crop of the sky would help. Once again though, I would like to see more at the bottom if the sides get reduced.

Good sharp scene overall.

Incidentally, that is an unusual mooring arrangement which I haven't seen before. I assume it is to keep the boat away from the quayside. It looks like there is a rope to the shore in order to gain access to the boat.

[Donald]

Right - I haven't a clue what happened to the highly intelligent and insightful message I prepared a few minutes ago and which I thought I'd posted. It just seems to have disappeared. Oh well, we'll try again.

Overall, the light on this is tremendous. But that sun is, I think, just too overpowering. You could crop it, but the problem with that is that railing, the pathway beyond and the light and shadow on that pathway are an integral part of the image. So that's not an option.

So, if you agree with me re the sun, how about trying (not an easy job) to paint over the very bright area with a brush set at a low opacity, using a pieces of the adjacent, non-blown, sky as the clone. You'd have to build it up slowly to get a good blend. But it would just take the edge of that extreme brightness, which I think is too distracting. Otherwise it's a winner.

[ChrisH]

Thanks guys. I tend to agree with your comments regarding the over-bright sun, but as I said this was an experimental shot.

Donald - interesting edit idea, which is well worth trying out.

[FrankMi]

this was an experimental shot.

Hi Chris. If (scratch that), WHEN (and I know you will) you get another opportunity to shoot a scene like this, grab a set of bracketed exposures, even if you don't have a tripod with you. When you get to post processing, you'll have a selection of exposures for the sun that you can experiment with blending just the sun area into the best overall image. Unless you prefer the lens flair in the river caused by shooting into the sun, that should be easy to clone out.

Nice shot! I like the way it captures the late afternoon mood very well!

[Cakey]

I love it
if I was there I probably couldnt look up river into the sun so they picture conveys this really well

[Skyline]

I don't now all the correct technical side of a photograph, but I know what I like and I like this........ a lot.
For me the sun is great as it is. The eye is drawn straight to it then wanders around the picture.
Great stuff. Well done that man.

[PBelarge]

I also like the image in the larger version. The sun is a powerful force, and our minds recognize this. So seeing it as it is in this image does work.
The only nit I have is the red/blue on the water that can be easily cloned.
Nice "experimental image".