River of Gold . . .

[Kathy O]

Not sure if I captured just how beautiful this moment was. I was walking along the river and the sunset made the water sparkle of gold -- it was beautiful!! I wasn't real happy with the photo's that I took of it but I did work with this one -- Let me know what you think.

[RockNGoalStar]

Hi Kathy,

It really does look like it was a beautiful scene!

Given that this kind of scene, with bright reflections and snow and dark shadows, is particularly challenging to get right I think you've done a pretty good job of capturing it.

However, there are some areas where I think you have blown the highlights - mainly the reflected area at the bottom of the frame. This area is pure white and you really want to try to avoid that. I'm not sure whether you could have moved your position to try to minimise the bright reflections but, if this is not possible, you should have tried to dial in some -ve exposure compensation, or used a faster shutter speed to lower the exposure. You would however end up with an underexposed image and would have to try to bring back the shadow detail in post production. You would be better placed to do this if you'd shot this in RAW. Another option, and I think this may have been necessary in this case, would be to take 3 or more bracketed exposures (one exposed for the highlights, one for the shadows and one that sits somewhere in the middle and blend the three in PP as a HDR (high dynamic range) image.

It is a tricky scene to capture though, I can see that.

Other than that, the image does not appear to be very sharp. Did you shoot this handheld? Or we're you using a tripod? I suspect the former, as I think I can detect some camera shake. Also, what settings and camera / lens were you using?

I think you should return to this scene when there is another beautiful sunset and try to recapture it, armed with a bit more knowledge from people who I am sure will post on here. Hopefully others will be able to elaborate on what I have said and perhaps offer some more advice to you.

Sorry for the bluntish nature of my reply, but typing on iPhone!

[Kathy O]

Thank you Tommy for your input, to give you a little background on my camera, I have a Nikon Coolpix L120I I can not make any real adjustments besides changing the modes such as "landscape, portrait, ect." I do have control over what ISO I can shoot at and am still playing around trying to learn what setting works better in what condition and I am very much a beginner -- so I appreciate your input very much. When I shot this I was on my way home from a business trip and did not plan to stop, I did not have my tripod and it was extremly cold and yes I was shaking (I really tried hard not to) I have added another photo of the same scene except not zoomed in as much, Maybe it will be better, it still is not sharp but I knew it wouldn't be. Let me know what you think.

[Donald]

In terms of composition and lighting, I think that latest image is much, much better.

You realise yourself what the difficulties with it are and Tommy has added very useful comments.

I do think such a scene is one that really tests the capabilities of your camera right to the edge.

I am a passionate advocate of the position that great pictures can be made with any camera. But we have to give the camera the best chance of helping us do that by not asking it to do things that are beyond its capacity. And, of course, a some cameras do open up the possibility of more complex scenes being captured and turned into high quality images - particularly the ability to shoot RAW, to be able to better manage the exposure settings, particularly to get longer shutter speeds so that you don't get left with dark areas that then become full of noise and to be able to handle a wider dynamic range of light.

What is very obviously evident, to my eye, is your ability to beautifully compose an image. I just feel that, this time, you asked the camera to deal with a scene that it wasn't capable of doing.

[Kathy O]

Donald, I do realize I am not equipted to shoot shots like these but it was so beautiful I just had to try -- I just do a lot of wishing. Thanks for the input Donald it is appreciated! I will keep trying -- there will be a day when I post a photo that you really like! LOL

[Goldcoastgolfer]

I think the fact that you can see a scene with great light and compose it well shows how great an eye you have. Perhaps the trick for you is to understand better the strengths and weaknesses of your current equipment so you can compose a scene accordingly.

[Kathy O]

Right now I am frustrated with getting a crisp sharp photo (I know with the photo's in this post it wasn't going to happen) I feel that in other photo's I have taken they just don't have that crisp look to them, so I am really playing around as much as I possibly can to find the right settings on my camera and the right surroundings to photograph. I am not giving up -- I just need more time and it will all come together and this forum really helps, I learn alot and see what I want my photos to look like. Thanks for your help!!

Kathy

[RockNGoalStar]

Two words Kathy - Tripod and self-timer! Get as sturdy a tripod as you can. Perhaps go second hand, because good tripods can cost a lot new. And then use the self-timer to activate the shutter - that will cut down on any camera shake. I am sure that these two things will improve the sharpness of your images no end!

If you lived in this country I'd send you my old Manfrotto travel tripod - I'm sure it's more than sturdy enough for your camera and I picked it up very cheaply off of EBay.

After that you may also need to sharpen your images in post production software on your PC afterwards.

But I agree with everyone else here, that you certainly have a good eye for a photo, now that's the hard part. The easy part is getting that translated into nice sharp images! :-)

[Kathy O]

Tommy, I have both of these things. I plan on using my tripod more! Thanks for the advice very much appreciated!

Kathy