Glen Rock Station -- how to improve ?

[Hui Song]

#1


#2


#3

Here are three shots of the Glen Rock train station near my home. I am satisfy with the #1. The #2 and #3 are showing the train coming and leaving. When I shot them, I was so close to the train and could feel that the ground is shaking. The pictures come out not clear. Maybe you can help me point out what is wrong with these two shots. There is no way to improve them in the post-editing, right?

I want to shot the same composition of #2 and #3 again. What can I do to improve to show to station and the moving train at night?

Maybe I can also emphasize the "Shaking" feeling with a "shaking" picture?

Nikon D600, Lens 28~300mm f3.5,

[Stagecoach]

Hi Hui,

Are you able to move further back and zoom in? This would get you farther away from the wind and vibration.

Grahame

[AB26]

Hui,

I would suggest you leave the EXIF info in tact when posting images. It is much easier to answer questions when we know what you were doing at the time of capture.

As a starting point you might consider playing around with the WB settings on the D600. Try using incandescent light with fine tuning and see the difference it makes.
Learn to use the features offered on the D600 and you will be able to rely less on PP to make your images look really good.
Using a faster lens for night shots like this will give you much more room to play with.

Keep shooting and keep posting. Great camera you got. Use it!

[Hui Song]

I would suggest you leave the EXIF info in tact when posting images. It is much easier to answer questions when we know what you were doing at the time of capture.

Manual setting
Exposure: 4 Sec at F16; Focal length: 100mm; ISO: 100.
When I tried to keep the ISO to 100 and set f16 to get DoF. The slow speed for #1 seams OK. It seams too slow for #2 and #3. Actually, I have no idea which speed is good for these MOVING train shot. It is time to experience many difference speed setting for this shooting idea.

As a starting point you might consider playing around with the WB settings on the D600. Try using incandescent light with fine tuning and see the difference it makes.
Learn to use the features offered on the D600 and you will be able to rely less on PP to make your images look really good.
Using a faster lens for night shots like this will give you much more room to play with.

Since I just start to use manual setting recently, I want to change setting as less as possible. I set the WB as "CLOUD" for day time picture and did not change it for these night time shooting. If I take RAW file pictures, I do not need too take care the WB when I am shooting, right? But the post-editing in deed takes a lot of time and I have less time to shoot now.

[AB26]

Hi Hui,

With a Nikon D600 you need not fear high ISO settings. ISO 6400 on a D600 will not be noisy images when the scene is evenly lit.

Shooting with a zoom lens is not a good proposition if you need DOF as the longer the focal length of the lens the shallower the DOF will become. F16 is not necessarily going to give you more DOF than F5.6 or F9 will when your subject is not very close to you. I would suggest you read the tutorial on “Understanding DOF” in the tutorial section.

The shutter speed depends on what you want when shooting moving trains. The slower the more blur you will get and the faster the shutter speed the less blur you will get. You experiment with it and you decide what you want. There is no such thing as a “good shutter speed for trains”, it is your decision.

Before every shoot check all the buttons on your camera and make sure you have set up the camera for the prevailing conditions. Get yourself into the habit of always checking buttons before you take the shot.

I know not everybody agree with me on this one, but get to know your camera and learn to master settings before resorting to “fixing” your images in PP. PP software should not be used to fix errors in images it should be used to enhance images. If you are not comfortable shooting in Manual mode keep shooting in Auto mode and experiment with the other modes, Shutter, Aperture, Manual, and Program, until you know the settings in the menu of your camera. Read the instruction manual and experiment with settings, then you read the manual again. Keep doing this until you know the Menu and every feature on the camera.

If you are eager to learn how to use the Menu and features on your camera shoot in JPG until you get the results you desire. You will get a lot of bad shots but you will learn. Once you know your camera you can start shooting in RAW and use PP to enhance your images.
When you need to get the shot and there will be no opportunity to reshoot – GO TO AUTO AND GET THE SHOT – IN RAW! Don’t try and impress anybody by shooting Manual mode, you will only mess up and lose shots.

Keep shooting, keep posting and never fear to ask a question here at CiC.

[Hui Song]

Hi AB26,

I was out the whole day and just come home and get online. Thanks for your personalized instruction. I try to find a short cut from "auto" to "manual". It seams not work that way. I need be patient, study and gain technical competence from experience. This is why checking to CiC is my daily home work now.

[Hui Song]

Hi Hui,

Are you able to move further back and zoom in? This would get you farther away from the wind and vibration.

Grahame

I want the same composition. But I will definitely check if I can back further next time. Thanks!