Ft Bragg in a storm...hopefully

[lizzy310]

OK...had trouble remembering how to post, but I got the addy off the tiny pics post. I am hoping this works. This should be the first photo I took from our balcony window in a storm. Lots to learn about my 7D. This was in auto because that is all I have figured out so far. I sure hope this one posts.

[lizzy310]

This is one other taken the next day. Same place.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Liz,

The exposure seems reasonably ok, but I believe both horizons are tilted - I appreciate given the strom that might be difficult to see through the viewfinder and wonder if a hotshoe level might help.

The most striking thing though is the lack of dynamic range in both pictures, they look dull and flat, possibly because these are SOOC and unprocessed RAW conversions or jpgs?

Here's the histogram (using the Histogram Viewer 1.7 Plug-in for Firefox);



Note how it is all in the middle and the "Max" and "Min" figures are nowhere near 255 or 0?

I do appreciate this may have been your artistic choice; to give a moody feel to the images, in which case, please ignore me.

Hope that helps,

[lizzy310]

I haven't figured out much of anything yet about the camera, so I'm not surprised that the photo needs work. Bought a book that someone recommended about the 7D, and it is much better than the manual. The hot shoe level was on my list, but I forgot it....thanks for reminding me. I did find the level in the camera, but then promptly lost it again. This camera is like flying an airplane, but I will learn. I need to find the place where the histogram is showing, and where I can play with everything. Trying to read a book in the car on my laptop did not work so this was the first attempt to play with the new camera. When I took the photos, it was getting dark, and it was from the balcony of our motel. I promise Obi Juan...I will learn.

Hi Liz,

The exposure seems reasonably ok, but I believe both horizons are tilted - I appreciate given the strom that might be difficult to see through the viewfinder and wonder if a hotshoe level might help.

The most striking thing though is the lack of dynamic range in both pictures, they look dull and flat, possibly because these are SOOC and unprocessed RAW conversions or jpgs?

Here's the histogram (using the Histogram Viewer 1.7 Plug-in for Firefox);



Note how it is all in the middle and the "Max" and "Min" figures are nowhere near 255 or 0?

I do appreciate this may have been your artistic choice; to give a moody feel to the images, in which case, please ignore me.

Hope that helps,

[Geoff F]

I also initially found the 7D to be a touch excessively complicated, Liz. But after reading a bit, I realised that it was possible to disable a lot of the 'enhancements' which reduced the operation to something similar with my previous 40D.

There is a level control for tripod use which can be accessed by pressing the Info button a few times. Apparently there is another level system which is visible through the eyepiece; but I haven't worked that out yet. Possibly that is part of what I have disabled.

Under those conditions, I think my first choice would be to shoot with Tv and set it to give some nice crisp surf. Perhaps somewhere around 1/500 if the light was sufficient.

But just one word of warning about shooting that sort of scene with a 7D. I found that the weatherproofing isn't that good and when mine got slightly damp it stopped working. A few hours in warm dry conditions recovered everything but I will be careful with it in future.

And with regard to these photos. I agree with Dave and the surf in particular looks rather grey. Possibly that is a result of using Auto White Balance. So I would try to slightly increase the highlight brightness; but be careful to avoid overdoing it.

Also, I think I would add a little selective sharpness to the breakers, using a duplicate layer and editable mask.

These shots, particularly the first one, are good enough to warrant just a little bit more time on the editing.

[lizzy310]

Thanks Geoff...it was my very first photo. I will play with the editing, but probably not today. Learning Photoshop too....lots of stuff for my middle age brain to absorb, but slow and steady wins the race.

I also initially found the 7D to be a touch excessively complicated, Liz. But after reading a bit, I realised that it was possible to disable a lot of the 'enhancements' which reduced the operation to something similar with my previous 40D.

There is a level control for tripod use which can be accessed by pressing the Info button a few times. Apparently there is another level system which is visible through the eyepiece; but I haven't worked that out yet. Possibly that is part of what I have disabled.

Under those conditions, I think my first choice would be to shoot with Tv and set it to give some nice crisp surf. Perhaps somewhere around 1/500 if the light was sufficient.

But just one word of warning about shooting that sort of scene with a 7D. I found that the weatherproofing isn't that good and when mine got slightly damp it stopped working. A few hours in warm dry conditions recovered everything but I will be careful with it in future.

And with regard to these photos. I agree with Dave and the surf in particular looks rather grey. Possibly that is a result of using Auto White Balance. So I would try to slightly increase the highlight brightness; but be careful to avoid overdoing it.

Also, I think I would add a little selective sharpness to the breakers, using a duplicate layer and editable mask.

These shots, particularly the first one, are good enough to warrant just a little bit more time on the editing.