Going Home. Keep it or delete it.

[Hui Song]

I do not have many chance to take picture on the highway since normally, I am the driver. Two weeks ago, when I tried to take these sunset pictures while my brother was driving, I have no experience how to set the camera. We were rushing home and did not stop the car. There was not much time to think. I tried higher ISO and larger aperture to get relatively faster speed. The focus is on infinity to get the clear cloud. I do like the composition and the tone of a few images. Since the speed is still too slow, the foreground of the picture come out blurry. Should I keep them or delete them? Does anybody has a experience of taking picture in a 70 mile/hr car? Stop is not a option here.


#1 Exp: 1/40 at f 4.8, Focal Length 62mm, ISO 800. Nikon D600, Lens: 28.0-300mm f/3.5-5.6



#2 Exp: 1/20 at f 5.3, Focal Length 98mm, ISO 1600. Nikon D600, Lens: 28.0-300mm f/3.5-5.6

[Geoff F]

For me, there are a couple of problems. I would have preferred to see the right hand vehicle just a few feet further forwards of the current position.

And, of course, there are issues of sharpness with moving vehicles. Which is somewhat exaggerated by the lights.

Personally, I would put it into the 'nearly worked' section, but there is still quite a bit going for the shot in terms of overall composition and a good sky.

[Hui Song]

For me, there are a couple of problems. I would have preferred to see the right hand vehicle just a few feet further forwards of the current position.

And, of course, there are issues of sharpness with moving vehicles. Which is somewhat exaggerated by the lights.

Personally, I would put it into the 'nearly worked' section, but there is still quite a bit going for the shot in terms of overall composition and a good sky.

Thanks Geoff for your quick response. You are right for the car position. I do not know what can I do for the sharpness. The aperture is at its maximum. Is it OK to set the ISO more than 1600 to gain some speed?

[Geoff F]

Going beyond Iso 1600 is bound to increase 'noise levels'. I like to keep Iso 800 as the maximum for darker scenes.

A little bit of selective sharpness may help without making the noise worse. I work with a layer which I sharpen then edit with a mask to remove any problem areas. Or alternatively, draw a selection around the areas to be sharpened, feather it by slightly so there aren't any obvious edges.

The second image works OK although I would crop the right side and end up with somewhere around a 5 x 4 ratio.

[Hui Song]

Going beyond Iso 1600 is bound to increase 'noise levels'. I like to keep Iso 800 as the maximum for darker scenes.

A little bit of selective sharpness may help without making the noise worse. I work with a layer which I sharpen then edit with a mask to remove any problem areas. Or alternatively, draw a selection around the areas to be sharpened, feather it by slightly so there aren't any obvious edges.

The second image works OK although I would crop the right side and end up with somewhere around a 5 x 4 ratio.

I learned the selective modify with layer & mask, but did practice too much. I have to go now. But I will definitely work on the selective sharpness on #1 later and post the modified new version.

[Hui Song]

Going beyond Iso 1600 is bound to increase 'noise levels'. I like to keep Iso 800 as the maximum for darker scenes.

A little bit of selective sharpness may help without making the noise worse. I work with a layer which I sharpen then edit with a mask to remove any problem areas. Or alternatively, draw a selection around the areas to be sharpened, feather it by slightly so there aren't any obvious edges.

The second image works OK although I would crop the right side and end up with somewhere around a 5 x 4 ratio.

I finally get some time to work on the #1 tonight. Using the layer to sharp the selected area, using mask and eraser to smoothly blend the selected area in. Also, I adjust a little bit noise, saturation and contract. Here is the modified version.
BTW, the noise with ISO 1600 setting is indeed too much. It is so hard to fix it in PP.

[Geoff F]

That edit looks much better to me.