Unhappy with photos from Alaska Cruise (Page 3): do you know what your ISO was at? you might be able to raise it to get faster shutter speeds...

stableduck Loc: Chugiak, Alaska

do you know what your ISO was at? you might be able to raise it to get faster shutter speeds

Bobb42 Loc: Ohio

I was using auto ISO so it varied with the lighting. Most days, it was on the cloudy side. I guess that is typical Alaska weather.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

Bobb42 wrote:

It was handheld, no monopod, just my unstable hand. Next time I will let the wife do the shooting from the ship. She is more stable than I am. She has a better eye, also. It was a good time even with the problems. I will look into a faster shutter speed and do some more experimenting. Thank you.

Unfortunately, in this set of circumstances, the IS probably didn't buy you anything. Frankly, shooting one handed on a rocking boat at that shutter speed, I'm surprised how good a couple of the images were.

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

Bobb42 wrote:

It was handheld, no monopod, just my unstable hand. Next time I will let the wife do the shooting from the ship. She is more stable than I am. She has a better eye, also. It was a good time even with the problems. I will look into a faster shutter speed and do some more experimenting. Thank you.

Next time... That is actually a really good idea! Just, don't do a tour of Alaska from a ship!!! Come see Alaska, or at least some part of it that isn't created by a tour company.

Pick out a summer week, or two if you like, and come to Barrow. Not cheap, but for my part of it you'll only have to buy me coffee and maybe one meal a day. We can get together with several local photographers and we'll put on a workshop for you on how to photograph Alaska. Wildlife like birds and whales and caribou, and best of all, Inupiat culture too. Look up Nalukataq on Wikipedia at <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nalukataq> and it's interesting to look at the wiki page on Barrow: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrow,_Alaska>. We also have Arctic Games over the 4th of July.

The Inupiat Heritage Center is the only thing in Barrow that is set up for tourists. Whatever entertainment there is, is for us. It's all authentic.

Yesterday I was down the coast on 4-wheelers, with two other folks, and we just sat there for a while enjoying the lack of noise... There is still shore ice in the Arctic Ocean, and snow drifts along the beach don't allow going everywhere yet. No polar bears or Snowy Owls though.

You won't go home wondering why the pictures aren't as good as they could be! We'll have two or three experienced photographers giving you assistance every day!

SonoraDick Loc: Tucson

We finished our Alaska cruise and land tour (did that part on our own) almost exactly one year ago. Not all of my photos were exactly as I remembered the scene, either. But it was close to the trip of a lifetime for us as well, and I still like looking through even the imperfect ones, because they remind me of what we did & what a great trip it was. My suggestion is to get them organized and put them in a physical or online album so you can enjoy them whenever you want. The memories are more important than anything else, and you'll retain those memories better from your photographic record than any other way. Glad you had a great trip!

Bobbee

I looked at your downloads, I scanned up and down for something that was in focus. While I did not examine every pixel, I could not find something that was in focus. Were you using spot metering? Wonder what you pointed at. Do you have BBF set. May you did not compose the picture by focusing and had the focus set on by the prior picture via BBF. If all seems perfect, I think you have an issue with your lens/camera. Set it up on a tripod and do a focus test and see what you get.

CO

You could check if your camera and lens combination is front focusing or back focusing. I'm not sure if your camera has AF fine tuning. I use the DataColor SpyderLensCal to check mine.

Since you used the .jpeg files out of the camera you might want to check the sharpening level. Nikon has picture controls for .jpeg files. I know that Canon has a similar system. Go through those and look at the sharpening level.

Boentgru Loc: Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Bobb42 wrote:

Just returned from a Cruise to Alaska. The trip was very nice but I am not happy with the pictures. The camera is a Canon T3i using mostly a Canon 55-250 lens. Most shots were in Program mode using IS. Speeds seemed to be fast enough for the focal length used but they were just not sharp. Most of the shots showed an f 7.1. Other than taking another Cruise (not likely) what might have I done differently?

Did you use the camera extensively before the trip? If so, were the results satisfactory? If they were satisfactory, what did you do differently on your trip? If you didn't practice before the trip, why not? Digital cameras these day are complicated enough and different enough, even within the same make, that it takes some work to gain a facility in using them.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Bobb42 wrote:

Just returned from a Cruise to Alaska. The trip was very nice but I am not happy with the pictures. The camera is a Canon T3i using mostly a Canon 55-250 lens. Most shots were in Program mode using IS. Speeds seemed to be fast enough for the focal length used but they were just not sharp. Most of the shots showed an f 7.1. Other than taking another Cruise (not likely) what might have I done differently?

Mostly likely, camera movement was the culprit. Perhaps the shutter speed wasn't high enough, although "speeds seemed to be fast enough." Raising the ISO would allow for a higher shutter speed. Is there something in front of the subject or behind it that is in focus. Your camera might have achieved good focus, but on the wrong subject. That's why many people prefer single center point focus.

paulrph1 Loc: Washington, Utah

tripod; manual focus.

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

Bobb42 wrote:

Just returned from a Cruise to Alaska. The trip was very nice but I am not happy with the pictures. The camera is a Canon T3i using mostly a Canon 55-250 lens. Most shots were in Program mode using IS. Speeds seemed to be fast enough for the focal length used but they were just not sharp. Most of the shots showed an f 7.1. Other than taking another Cruise (not likely) what might have I done differently?

Looking at the shots you posted, I think a little postprocessing in Lightroom would resolve any problems you think you have with your pictures. If you're expecting pix to be perfect out of any camera/lens combo, I think you're being too optimistic...

bwa

Bobbee

jerryc41 wrote:

Mostly likely, camera movement was the culprit. Perhaps the shutter speed wasn't high enough, although "speeds seemed to be fast enough." Raising the ISO would allow for a higher shutter speed. Is there something in front of the subject or behind it that is in focus. Your camera might have achieved good focus, but on the wrong subject. That's why many people prefer single center point focus.

Shutter speed 1/320
Focal length 250mm
f stop 6.3

Sees fast enough, no?

Bobbee

bwana wrote:

Looking at the shots you posted, I think a little postprocessing in Lightroom would resolve any problems you think you have with your pictures. If you're expecting pix to be perfect out of any camera/lens combo, I think you're being too optimistic...

bwa

Really cannot fix OOF in any tool.

David Kay Loc: Arlington Heights IL

Bobb42 wrote:

I will reset to manual and give it a try. One of my problems is that I have limited use of my left hand, so weight can be a problem. I try to make things easier to handle with one hand.

Do a simple test. Set up preferably on a tripod and take a photo. Then remove the uv filter and take another shot and compare the two.

TomV Loc: Annapolis, Maryland

Have you tried taking photos in a controlled setting, such as in your backyard or a distance shot down the street? Are you able to take good photos of a stationary subject while you are holding the camera single-handedly?