Lesson 4 Assignment

[John Boccanfuso]

For this assignment I chose to use an ND 3.0 – 10 stop filter. I had been wanting to try creating a long exposure photo for some time. This filter allowed me to create a 2 minute and 1 minute exposure in bright sunlight. The attached photo was made with a 60 second exposure.

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[Duncan Rawlinson]

I updated the post and removed the extra attachment.

I’m going to critique this now.

[Duncan Rawlinson]

First off this is a lovely image. The colors are quite vibrant!

Here is the exif data for the image:

IMG_2719-1.jpg
http://photographyicon.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/IMG_2719-1.jpg
Date Time Original: 2014:03:16 06:13:18
Exposure Time: 63
F Number: f / 11
ISO Speed Ratings: 100
Metering Mode: Pattern
Flash: Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode
Focal Length: 22mm
White Balance: Auto white balance
Make: Canon
Model: Canon EOS 6D
LensInfo: 17/1 40/1 0/0 0/0
LensModel: EF17-40mm f/4L USM
LensSerialNumber: 0000000000
Lens: EF17-40mm f/4L USM
Exif Version:
Color Space: 1
Date Time Digitized: 2014:03:16 06:13:18
Subsec Time Original: 00
Subsec Time Digitized: 00
Shutter Speed Value: -5.98
Aperture Value: 6.92
Max Aperture Value: 4
Focal Plane X Resolution: 2540.39
Focal Plane Y Resolution: 2543.93
Focal Plane Resolution Unit: 2
Custom Rendered: Normal process
Scene Capture Type: Standard
Saturation: Normal
Sharpness: Normal
ExifIFDPointer: 206
X Resolution: 240
Y Resolution: 240
Resolution Unit: 2
Date Time: 2014:03:18 08:44:21
Software: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.3 (Windows)
DateCreated: 2014-03-16T06:13:18.00

I have a few minor notes here.

One minor thing is to manually white balance or at least set it to match the light. (sunlight in this case) The colors here seem to be almost un-natural with the purples in the sky and the auto white balance might be the case.

The image is quite sharp and that’s great considering how long the exposure was. A trick some landscape photographers use, is to use a shutter release cable. Also some even weight dowm their cameras with sandbags to minimize any vibration from the shutter actuation of the camera itself.

An interesting thing to notice here is how your horizon line is perfectly straight but the image might

Overall you’ve really done well here and this is a very nice image for your portfolio.

Don’t be afraid to play with different aspect ratios.

For an image like this a 16×9 aspect ratio might work nicely.

Notice also here how sometimes the dynamic range of the is just too much for a camera. The sun is white hot and the darks are very dark.

Check out the shadow highlighting in lightroom to see where you are losing detail in the darks and highlights

Preview highlight and shadow clipping in lightroom:
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/lightroom/using/WS70DAEA13-F6F0-4a77-B569-AC55951C8F66.html

The main thing here is that you’ve chosen a good filter, you’ve used the filter properly, and you’ve done some experimenting with something you’ve always wanted to do. All of which is totally fantastic!

Job well done. Keep playing and experimenting with your ND filter. They are fantastic for landscape photography.

See you on the next assignment.

[Duncan Rawlinson]

Also I’m doing some work on fixing up this site so please be patient if there are any glitches/weirdness.

Thanks!

[John Boccanfuso]

Thanks for your feedback. I will keep it in mind for the next time I get to make a shot like this one.
I did use a tripod and a shutter release cable, although I did not weigh down the tripod. I should have since it was a bit windy. Was a cold morning but a lot of fun taking these shots!

[Duncan Rawlinson]

Oh yes I know the feeling. Always dress warmer than you think. Standing around taking photos makes your super cold and by design we’re almost always needing to be shooting at the colder parts of the day.

A handy tip is also to bring a thermos with some warm coffee or tea. This is really nice if you have to wait for the light and you’re just standing around.

Do you have a website setup?

[John Boccanfuso]

Some good tips, thanks!

I’m working on getting my own website up but haven’t gotten there yet. For now most of my work is up on Flickr here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnnyb53/

Actually, I have been following your photostream for a few weeks now, its quite nice!

[Duncan Rawlinson]

Excellent. *followed*

I will add your link to the new student directory.

If you want a bio or more info on that page there let me know and I will update it.

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