Sea beach of Puri, India

[SaktiBanerjee]

[JPS]

I'm not sure if you want C&C on your pictures, so until you let us know if you do or not, I'll just say "Welcome to CiC, it's great to have you with us.

Please keep posting, it's always nice to see other peoples work.

[SaktiBanerjee]

Sorry, I am not very conversant with the practice followed in the Forum. I would love to have comments on my photo very much. Thanks for your greetings and encouragement.

[FrankMi]

Sorry, I am not very conversant with the practice followed in the Forum. I would love to have comments on my photo very much. Thanks for your greetings and encouragement.

Hi SaktiBanerjee, the imge seems to be a bit soft and I noticed that the shutter speed was 0.5 seconds. Is it possible that this was a hand-held shot? If so, you might want to see if you can use a tripod when you are shooting at a slower speed than 1/50 sec. If you were using a tripod, perhaps it got moved or bumped while you were taking the picture?

[JPS]

Hi SaktiBanerjee,
I think Frank's comments are spot on, think about using a tripod and make sure the focus is spot-on, in relationship to your subject.
I notice you are using a Canon Powershot SX10. I'm not too familiar with this model, but think that if you can control the setting manually, I would suggest not going below 1/60 when shooting hand-held this should help eliminate camera shake. Again if you can control the Aperture I personally would suggest using something like F16 for this type of shot. This should help keep everything sharp, from front to back of the picture.
I would also suggest a slight counter-clockwise rotation to straighten the Horizon, which can easily be sorted in PP. What PP software package do you use?

[Gmahapatra]

Wow.
I'm off there next month, you should see the private Mayfair beach at sunset....

[JPS]

Wow.
I'm off there next month, you should see the private Mayfair beach at sunset....

You are very lucky, we all look forward to seeing the pictures on your return.

[SaktiBanerjee]

Hi SaktiBanerjee, the imge seems to be a bit soft and I noticed that the shutter speed was 0.5 seconds. Is it possible that this was a hand-held shot? If so, you might want to see if you can use a tripod when you are shooting at a slower speed than 1/50 sec. If you were using a tripod, perhaps it got moved or bumped while you were taking the picture?

Yes, it was a hand-held shot as I relied on the IS system of the camera. That was my mistake, as I see it now.

[SaktiBanerjee]

Hi SaktiBanerjee,
I think Frank's comments are spot on, think about using a tripod and make sure the focus is spot-on, in relationship to your subject.
I notice you are using a Canon Powershot SX10. I'm not too familiar with this model, but think that if you can control the setting manually, I would suggest not going below 1/60 when shooting hand-held this should help eliminate camera shake. Again if you can control the Aperture I personally would suggest using something like F16 for this type of shot. This should help keep everything sharp, from front to back of the picture.
I would also suggest a slight counter-clockwise rotation to straighten the Horizon, which can easily be sorted in PP. What PP software package do you use?

Unfortunately my camera doesn't have F16 aperture -- it has got maxm. F8. It is not SLR but super zoom type camera. Normally I use photoshop CS2 but also use Picasa /PhotoScape occasionally. I didn't do sharpening here. Yes, horizon is not exactly horizontal. I missed it. Thanks for pointing it out.

[FrankMi]

Yes, it was a hand-held shot as I relied on the IS system of the camera. That was my mistake, as I see it now.

The IS can certainly help but as good as they are, 1/2 second is way beyond what they can compensate for. The IS seems to be best at addressing camera shake at normal shutter speeds, particularly when using the zoom lens.

For a shot like this a tripod is a must if you need to shoot slower than 1/50-1/60 sec.

Another technique that can help in a pinch is either a monopod or a non-stretching cord. If all you have is a cord available and tie one end to a D-ring that can be screwed into the camera's mounting hole, step on the other end of the cord and raise the camera until you pull the cord tight. The tight cord will help prevent the camera from moving long enough to get a shot. The monopod or cord will usually be somewhat effective if you aren't shooting slower than about 1/10 sec.

To shoot at 1/2 sec without a tripod, try holding the camera firmly against a tree or solid wall, hold your breath and slowly press the shutter button. Better still, if your camera has mirror lockup and a 2 second timer, use both in addition to pressing the camera firmly against a solid surface. Hope this helps!