tdland Loc: Indiana

Might as well jump in head first, this is my first post. A little background first - I'm shooting with a D300 and in this case my 18-200 zoom @ ISO 400, f8, 3 sec. I use PSE 9 for post processing. For whatever reason, I've never been pleased with any low light photos I've taken with the D300 as they are grainy like the ISO is cranked beyond it's capability. In this case I wanted to try for the silky smooth wave look just before sunrise along the ocean. The only post work I did was clone out the lighted oil rigs on the horizon. I'm thinking the dark sand foreground needs attention as well, but cropping makes the grainy texture stand out even more. I'm open for suggestions.

GENorkus Loc: Washington Twp, Michigan

I don't see the grain you're talking about. The beach and sky seem fine. As expected, there is motion blur in some of the water. Maybe you are expanding the motion blur and that is giving you the grain feeling?

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

For what you're trying to do, your exposure is way too short. Expending your exposure will also expend your problem, so you need to do some noise removal! Maybe you should do this during the day at a lower ISO and use an ND filter! Also I would recommend a different area at the ocean, something you can have in the image as a point of interest. The picture you have now has no such ting and if you would have been successful with your idea, it would have been even more lifeless!

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Without a downloadable version (click 'store original'), we can't add much analysis on this image and your processing. All I see is a small dark image with no details. You can add a reply to this thread and then add an attachment to further this discussion.

tdland Loc: Indiana

Thanks for the feedback, I stored the original this time. The grainy look is most prominent in the sky. The point of interest had yet to rise. When it does, there's enough light and the grainy texture disappears.

(Download)

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

tdland - thanks for posting. This lighting situation will be a challenge for a DSLR and the older the model, the higher the challenge. If you're going for a long exposure for a more smooth results in the water, try an ND filter or lower the ISO to 100. You could also post the example to the Post Processing section where members can give examples and techniques for noise reduction and sharpening that will help this image. I pulled the example into Lightroom but don't know that my attempt is an acceptable result.

crafterwantabe Loc: Mn

I like it...looks good.