Rideau Canal Locks

[Round Tuit]

Yesterday, the rain finally stopped around 1 PM. The clouds remained ominous but I decided to take my chances and try to frame a shot of the locks on the Rideau canal where it meets the Ottawa river. My plan is to go back to the same spot close to sunset time on a clear day and reshoot the same composition with better lighting.
This is the shot that I came up with. I have a Canon camera with a crop factor of 1.6 and set my lens at 18mm.



At this time of the year, the sun should be setting slightly to the left of the canal axis. This will hopefully illuminate the Chateau Laurier and the vegetation on the east side of the canal. I am also hoping for some nice sunlight reflections on the water. I would greatly appreciate any suggestion for improving the composition before I go for the final shoot. In particular I wondered if I should go for a longer lens ( 50 mm or so ) to bring the bridge closer. If I do that, I might have to do a 2 or 3 frame panorama to get the same field of view.

On my way back to my car, I spotted this row of colorful lawn chairs in front of City Hall. Six months ago I would have walked by. This time, I saw a potential shot. I even resisted the temptation to reposition the middle yellow chair! There might be hope for me after all. Comments welcomed.



Andre

[Geoff F]

Sometimes dull day shots work better than harsh bright light and your first image looks good to me. Plenty of interest and good perspective leading to a good stormy sky.

With the second scene, I'm not sure about that little bit of a flower on the right. Possibly a little more or none would have been better; and it does seem to have excessive noise on the blues, or is that texture? A tricky scene to get perfect. Sometimes these simple scenes are actually very difficult to capture.

[dje]

Hi Andre

I think you have the potential there for a pretty good image. It looks nice as it is but with the light you are looking for it should really pop, particularly if the light is anything like that in Manfred's recent pano of the parliament. I wouldn't like to comment on using a longer lens with stitching because I just can't envisage what it would be like.

The chairs look good too.

Dave

[Shadowman]

Nice capture on both.

[GBO25]

Really like the locks shot. Great leading line and lots of interest. Would look good as a long exposure to blur the clouds and smooth the water but that in no way takes away from what it already looks like. Looking forward to a sunset version.

[IzzieK]

I like both of them...especially #1. That one is a brilliant shot.

[Round Tuit]

Geoff,

Thanks for taking the time to critique my photos.

Sometimes dull day shots work better than harsh bright light and your first image looks good to me. Plenty of interest and good perspective leading to a good stormy sky..

I tend to agree that with you that this photo can stand on its own.

With the second scene, I'm not sure about that little bit of a flower on the right. Possibly a little more or none would have been better; and it does seem to have excessive noise on the blues, or is that texture? A tricky scene to get perfect. Sometimes these simple scenes are actually very difficult to capture.

To me, that little flower redeems the yellow chair being out of alignment and restores some sense of balance to the picture. Having said that I have to remind myself that this was just a whimsical shot on the spur of the moment .

Andre

[Round Tuit]

Hi Andre

I think you have the potential there for a pretty good image. It looks nice as it is but with the light you are looking for it should really pop, particularly if the light is anything like that in Manfred's recent pano of the parliament. I wouldn't like to comment on using a longer lens with stitching because I just can't envisage what it would be like.

The chairs look good too.

Dave

Dave,

The sky finally started to clear after supper last night so I rushed over to the locks. Unfortunately, I got there a bit too late and a couple of dark clouds clung to the horizon as the sun was setting. I got a couple of shots showing a hint of the "golden light" that Manfred caught so well. The two shots below were taken minutes apart. The first one is a four panel panorama a 55 mm. The second a copy of my original post at 18 mm. I favor the wide angle one but would appreciate suggestions. It looks like I will have to give it at least one more try.





Andre

[Round Tuit]

Really like the locks shot. Great leading line and lots of interest. Would look good as a long exposure to blur the clouds and smooth the water but that in no way takes away from what it already looks like. Looking forward to a sunset version.

Graham, Thanks for your comments.
I must admit that I am not very fond of blurry clouds and silky water but it might work for those who like it.

Andre

[Round Tuit]

I like both of them...especially #1. That one is a brilliant shot.

Thank you Izzie.

Andre

[selig1656]

Pic #1 is the best of all the others on that subject , the composition is terrific , you can always play around in the PP with the brightness , contrast and tint , to evaluate whhat adjusments can enhance the pic . The chairs is a neat capture and an example of complimentary and contrasting colors , In pp would be neat to play with hue, saturation and tempeture and see some variations in that pic.

[dje]

Hi Andre

Personally I prefer the framing of the very first shot you posted. It seems to be in between that of the second and third shots.

The light in the last two shots is not ideal but I do think you could do more with it in pp to get a richer less bland look. I think the exposure could be backed off a little, the contrast increased, and highlights reduced in ACR or LR if this is what you use. Also the colour temp could be reduced by about 5 deg and the hue and saturation of the yellows and reds tweeked a bit. And I would use Viveza to do some selective adjustments eg reduce the brightness of the sky and increase it's structure, reduce the brightness of the water, get a bit more green in the trees at the left.

The light is quite strong and this needs to be compensated for in pp. It would also be interesting to see what you get a little later in the evening when the light will be softer.

Dave

[Round Tuit]

Dave,
I apologize for taking so long to get back to you. Life once again interfered with my hobby. I also wanted to try some of your suggestions.

Personally I prefer the framing of the very first shot you posted. It seems to be in between that of the second and third shots.

You are right, the shot in my original post was taken at 29 mm NOT the 18 mm that I had indicated. My mistake. I agree with you that it is also the best perspective for this scene.

The light in the last two shots is not ideal but I do think you could do more with it in pp to get a richer less bland look. I think the exposure could be backed off a little, the contrast increased, and highlights reduced in ACR or LR if this is what you use. Also the colour temp could be reduced by about 5 deg and the hue and saturation of the yellows and reds tweeked a bit. And I would use Viveza to do some selective adjustments eg reduce the brightness of the sky and increase it's structure, reduce the brightness of the water, get a bit more green in the trees at the left.

The light is quite strong and this needs to be compensated for in pp. It would also be interesting to see what you get a little later in the evening when the light will be softer.

I have LR5 and CS4. I generally use LR for global adjustments and CS4 for localized corrections.
I must say that I really appreciate your detailed suggestions to improve my photo. as an exercise, I went back to the original 18mm shot and redid the PP with your comments in mind. Here is the result.



As soon as the sky cooperates, I'll shoot another version at a focal length of 30mm or so.

Once again thank you for your interest in my skills.

Andre

[dje]

Very nice Andre, it has a lot more character I think.

Dave

[Shadowman]

Nice additional captures, I like the sky treatment on post #13, however the shadows in the foreground need a bit of fill light.

[Manfred M]

Andre - a suggestion. Get off the bridge and explore the area from a different vantage point. You may find that shooting from lower down might give you some other interesting shots. I took the following snapshots wandering around the area around 10 days ago (waiting for sunset so I could shoot a pano from Nepean Point).








One has to work hard in the area to get a decent shot. You are in a deep rock cut and the sun doesn't really light it all that well during the "right time of day" for photography.

[Round Tuit]

Andre - a suggestion. Get off the bridge and explore the area from a different vantage point. You may find that shooting from lower down might give you some other interesting shots. I took the following snapshots wandering around the area around 10 days ago (waiting for sunset so I could shoot a pano from Nepean Point).








One has to work hard in the area to get a decent shot. You are in a deep rock cut and the sun doesn't really light it all that well during the "right time of day" for photography.

Manfred,
Nice photos and great advice as usual.
I do roam around when I take photos. Maybe I should post more of them. On the day that I took the one in the first post of this thread I took a total of 90 photos of which 8 made it to my keepers list; my favorite one being



The reason that you see three shots from the same spot is that I have a very specific picture in mind. My vision is for the setting sun to be just at the horizon in the first picture that I posted on this thread. At this time of the year that would place it slightly to the left of the canal. I am hoping that this would happen on a clear night so that the sky color would stay on the pastel side rather then the vibrant red and purple that sometime happen. This should also provide enough light to avoid having too dark a foreground.
A few weeks ago, you suggested to me that if I wanted a good sunset picture, I should find a nice scene that would stand on its own and then add a sunset as a supporting element. This advice resonated with me because when it comes to photography, I can't always walk and chew gum at the same time. This approach lets me figure out all the variables (framing, focal length, aperture, etc.) in advance and when the time comes for the final shot I'll only have to concentrate on exposure.
I hope that you will let me know if the picture that I'm after is doable and/or if there is a better way to go about it.
Andre
P.S. I don't post much but I do read this forum daily and pay attention to the advice that is so freely given. Best learning tool for beginners like me.

[Manfred M]

Manfred,
Nice photos and great advice as usual.
I do roam around when I take photos. Maybe I should post more of them. On the day that I took the one in the first post of this thread I took a total of 90 photos of which 8 made it to my keepers list; my favorite one being



The reason that you see three shots from the same spot is that I have a very specific picture in mind. My vision is for the setting sun to be just at the horizon in the first picture that I posted on this thread. At this time of the year that would place it slightly to the left of the canal. I am hoping that this would happen on a clear night so that the sky color would stay on the pastel side rather then the vibrant red and purple that sometime happen. This should also provide enough light to avoid having too dark a foreground.
A few weeks ago, you suggested to me that if I wanted a good sunset picture, I should find a nice scene that would stand on its own and then add a sunset as a supporting element. This advice resonated with me because when it comes to photography, I can't always walk and chew gum at the same time. This approach lets me figure out all the variables (framing, focal length, aperture, etc.) in advance and when the time comes for the final shot I'll only have to concentrate on exposure.
I hope that you will let me know if the picture that I'm after is doable and/or if there is a better way to go about it.
Andre
P.S. I don't post much but I do read this forum daily and pay attention to the advice that is so freely given. Best learning tool for beginners like me.

Andre: That is a very nice shot; I like it!

Have I suggested the following web site to you yet?

http://www.photoephemeris.com/

It shows you the location of the sunset / sun rise / moon rise and moon set superimposed on Google Maps. I use this for planning any of my early morning or late day shooting. It is availalbe as a payed apps for Apple and Android phones and tablets too.

[Kaye Leggett]

Lovely to see these shots of the Rideau Canal. Whilst we were in Scotland recently we wandered along the Caledonian Canal and wondered why the Canadian flag was flying.....it turns out our Scottish version is twinned with yours. So one day I will make a visit to see the 'twin'. Yours looks a little more urban than ours.

[Donald]

On my way back to my car, I spotted this row of colorful lawn chairs in front of City Hall. Six months ago I would have walked by. This time, I saw a potential shot.

Don't underestimate what a huge step forward that is in terms of your development with photography. Well done.