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Boathouse Row
Jun 17, 2018 11:48:58   #
Hamltnblue Loc: Springfield PA
 
Hello Again
The picture I am asking about is the top one. This is Philadelphia boathouse row taken from the art museum waterfall. It was taken at ISO 100, F14 and 1/160.
Post processing is medium dehaze using On1.
I believe that I would have had a sharper pic if the ISO and shutter speed were raised.
Is the framing correct, with the larger amount of water in the foreground? The buildings and pier were the main focus.
Also, I metered off of the building cluster center, was that the correct place?
The second picture is a separate one taken within a few minutes. It is provided as a reference for the framing question.
Thanks again,
Jim


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(Download)

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Jun 17, 2018 12:35:00   #
rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
 
Personally I would have zoomed in more so there's more boat houses and less Schuylkill in the picture. I'd also have gone a little farther west to take the photo.

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Jun 17, 2018 12:36:11   #
R.G. Loc: Scotland
 
Everything looks fine to my eye. So unless you enjoy hitting yourself over the head with a big stick, just refrain from pixel-peeping and stop beating yourself up about less than pin-sharp sharpness. If you were a pro in the business of providing poster-sized prints you might have something to worry about, but improving on what you have here would probably require a lot of money being spent on some VERY good lenses, and even then it would only be a slight improvement.

F/14 is a bit on the high side considering that there's nothing in the foreground that requires sharpness, and considering that the focus point is not only on your desired subject but also a fair distance away (DOF decreases as the focus point gets closer to the camera). F/14 isn't so small that you'd have to worry about diffraction, but using f/8 or thereabouts would have given more options regarding shutter speed, which may have been relevant if there had been movement within the frame.

Composition-wise I would go with a bit less water for #1.

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Jun 17, 2018 17:34:46   #
Hamltnblue Loc: Springfield PA
 
R.G. wrote:
Everything looks fine to my eye. So unless you enjoy hitting yourself over the head with a big stick, just refrain from pixel-peeping and stop beating yourself up about less than pin-sharp sharpness. If you were a pro in the business of providing poster-sized prints you might have something to worry about, but improving on what you have here would probably require a lot of money being spent on some VERY good lenses, and even then it would only be a slight improvement.

F/14 is a bit on the high side considering that there's nothing in the foreground that requires sharpness, and considering that the focus point is not only on your desired subject but also a fair distance away (DOF decreases as the focus point gets closer to the camera). F/14 isn't so small that you'd have to worry about diffraction, but using f/8 or thereabouts would have given more options regarding shutter speed, which may have been relevant if there had been movement within the frame.

Composition-wise I would go with a bit less water for #1.
Everything looks fine to my eye. So unless you en... (show quote)


Thanks,
I'm brand spanking new to the manual scene, which is why I ask if the sharpness can get better. Since posting I also read that turning off vibration control while using a tripod would help?
The answer on the F stops raised more questions in my head and I'll have to do more reading. It looks like I don't totally understand the best times to use the different numbers.

The reason that I didn't move more west is shown here. The spot of the picture is a walkway that leads to a waterfall.
Also, here is a link to the area. I see if I walk about a half mile I can cross the nearby bridge to get a shot from the other side of the river. It's now on my to do list :)
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9681785,-75.1910066,1010m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en


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Jun 18, 2018 01:38:49   #
R.G. Loc: Scotland
 
DOF is tricky to get a handle on because it's a moving target. Apart from aperture, DOF is also affected by focal length (the amount of zoom) and also by how far away the focus point is. With landscape you'll be shooting mostly with a wide angle setting, so what you have to concentrate on is whether there's anything in the immediate foreground that needs to be sharp. If there isn't, maximum DOF isn't a priority and you can think about lowering the f-stop. However, your choice of focus point will always be significant. There are two main approaches when it comes to choice of focus point:-

1) Focus on the main subject and choose DOF to be wide enough to extend sufficiently far behind and in front of the subject.

2) Focus at or near the hyperfocal distance and ensure that the DOF will include the main subject/s. When using hyperfocal distance, the usual reason is that you want sharpness all the way to the horizon, in which case you should focus at, or slightly more than, the hyperfocal distance. But you need to bear in mind that the DOF will extend only half way back towards the camera. If you have something really close to the camera you'll need a short hyperfocal distance (i.e. a close focus point) which means a small aperture and a short focal length (i.e. wide angle).

In your #1 there's nothing in the foreground that warrants maximum sharpness, and since the main subjects are where the focus point is, you could have got away with a smaller aperture than f/8. The only consequence would have been a barely noticeable increase in softness in the immediate foreground (which in this case is just ripples on the water).

When you go back for a re-shoot, don't forget to choose a time of day when the sun is at a favourable angle.

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Jun 18, 2018 08:00:52   #
BrHawkeye
 
Less water, more sky will make the boathouses seem closer.

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Jun 18, 2018 10:14:10   #
MWojton Loc: Yardley, PA
 
I have taken shots from where you were along MLK Drive. I would clone out the zoo balloon peaking its head out of the trees.

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Jun 18, 2018 13:25:43   #
dreklaw Loc: Tucson
 
Here’s my take on it. Apologies if you prefer me not doing this.

Example of a different edit.
Example of a different edit....
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Jun 18, 2018 13:27:52   #
dreklaw Loc: Tucson
 
Forgot to mention that I cropped in, increased exposure and saturation, added contrast and warmth.

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Jun 18, 2018 23:32:27   #
Einreb92 Loc: Philadelphia
 
I am no expert but suggest you download a copy of “Understanding Exposure” by Brian Peterson. At best, it will help you get a better understanding of the what and why of the triangle. At worse, it will graphically review key concepts you might already know. As for composition, that is an area I am still trying to internalize. BTW: I hope you turned around to get the $shot of the waterworks itself.

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Jun 19, 2018 06:19:24   #
Hamltnblue Loc: Springfield PA
 
Einreb92 wrote:
I am no expert but suggest you download a copy of “Understanding Exposure” by Brian Peterson. At best, it will help you get a better understanding of the what and why of the triangle. At worse, it will graphically review key concepts you might already know. As for composition, that is an area I am still trying to internalize. BTW: I hope you turned around to get the $shot of the waterworks itself.

Actually I did. :)
No post done.


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Jun 19, 2018 12:08:34   #
Einreb92 Loc: Philadelphia
 
Hamltnblue wrote:
Actually I did. :)
No post done.



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Jun 19, 2018 14:33:44   #
papa Loc: Rio Dell, CA
 
IMHO, at f/14 your shots are suffering from diffraction limiting. Virtually all lenses shoot the sharpest at f/5.6-f/8 and sometimes f/11, but most are experiencing diffraction limiting by f/11 and your's certainly at f/14. They would have been much sharper at f/8 and the DOF perfect. I long ago ditched shooting beyond f/11 for this very reason. School up.

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Jun 20, 2018 06:25:42   #
Hamltnblue Loc: Springfield PA
 
Thanks all for the feedback and ideas. I'll be referring to this thread for awhile. I see there's a lot to learn :)
Jim

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