Port Alfred Marina

[Spam]

Hello, CIC people. I've been absent from the forum for a while but haven't stopped taking pics. It'll take me a while to catch up on posts but I hope everyone is well.

Late last month I was wandering around the marina at Port Alfred taking pictures at sunset. This was the last one I took. I wear multifocal glasses and I can't see the electronic information (metering/ISO etc) particularly well through the viewfinder, especially when the sun is behind me. Over the past year or so I've been using single-point AF, using the centre point (my Canon 100D has nine) to focus on the subject and then holding down the button and composing. There was something about the angle of this pic and the darker foreground that enabled me to notice that red blinker indicating the focus point had shifted: somehow I'd changed it to the AF point at 7 o'clock.

My initial thought was "Oh, hell, I've been shooting at f10, everything's going to be out." But then I went and looked at all the pics in Liveview, and they seemed fine, even when I zoomed in really close. And then when I pulled the pics up on the PC they were as sharp as anything I've ever shot! A pro-photographer friend explained why to me in some detail, along with some links, but the upshot was I learnt a valuable lesson by accident.

Comments and criticism welcome.

[AlwaysOnAuto]

That's a nice shot, I like it a lot.

[Shadowman]

Nicely captured.

[Wavelength]

Busy and beautiful

[Jim A]

Nice feel to it, Simon, looks almost HDR effect. Not sure what the main point of interest is, though I still enjoy looking.

Must ask, did you choose the name Spam from the Monty Python skit, Spam, Spam, Spam ?? .......... or did that come about by some more prosaic means ? ;-)

[Spam]

Nice feel to it, Simon, looks almost HDR effect. Not sure what the main point of interest is, though I still enjoy looking.

Must ask, did you choose the name Spam from the Monty Python skit, Spam, Spam, Spam ?? .......... or did that come about by some more prosaic means ? ;-)

Thanks, Jim. I've experimented with manual HDR (bracketing exposures then combining in Photoshop as opposed to using an in-camera filter), but have found I can generally get better results with a single mid-range exposure and then pulling the highlights and boosting the shadows in RAW editing, especially if there is anything moving in the scene, such as clouds, water or rocking boats.

I'm fond of Monty Python, but the spam in this case is just a contraction of my initial and surname (Pamphilon) :-)

[Dave A]

Nice image and beautiful spot. Looks much better when enlarged in lightbox because of the amount of small detail.

Dave

[Spam]

Nice image and beautiful spot. Looks much better when enlarged in lightbox because of the amount of small detail.

Dave

Thanks, Dave.

[Geoff F]

Thanks, Jim. I've experimented with manual HDR (bracketing exposures then combining in Photoshop as opposed to using an in-camera filter), but have found I can generally get better results with a single mid-range exposure and then pulling the highlights and boosting the shadows in RAW editing, especially if there is anything moving in the scene, such as clouds, water or rocking boats.

I'm fond of Monty Python, but the spam in this case is just a contraction of my initial and surname (Pamphilon) :-)

When there is movement in a scene and the tonal range needs to be expanded I do a very similar thing. Take a mid point shot then make two, or even three, different Raw adjustments to produce separate images (eg one image for the highlights and another for the shadows etc). Then stack them as layers and use a mask to combine those layers into one final image.

If you have suitable software this can easily be done using Smart Objects, but perhaps that is getting a bit specialised now.

Incidentally, I have tried several forms of auto HDR software but have never been totally happy with any of them. So masking as required gives me the flexibility I require.

This isn't true HDR because you are simply pushing the initial scene brightness with adjustments; but at least you are pushing each layer in just one direction.

[IzzieK]

Welcome back...we all tend to have some vacation form CiC in one form or the other. I like your shot here, busy but nice.

[mknittle]

I like the busyness of the shot I think that is what makes it work for me.

[bnnrcn]

Nice scene and I like the exposure