Superstition: the only good light is at sunrise or sunset
Dec 5, 2018 16:01:57 #
Here are a couple of counterexamples. Both are taken around noon -- about as far from sunset and sunrise as you can get.
Both are great compositions. I particularly like the leading lines from the rock formation in the foreground to the peak inb #2. But, I think you've answered your own question. Mid day shots can have blown out elements. An ND grad, like a 3x or 6x when you took the shot or a software graduated filter in LR to lower the background's exposure would have make all the difference.
Both are great compositions. I particularly like the leading lines from the rock formation in the foreground to the peak inb #2. But, I think you've answered your own question. Mid day shots can have blown out elements. An ND grad, like a 3x or 6x when you took the shot or a software graduated filter in LR to lower the background's exposure would have make all the difference.
Dec 5, 2018 16:04:27 #
IDguy
Loc: Idaho
or maybe examples as they look kind of washed out. But in the winter there are more hours of good light.
Dec 5, 2018 16:14:03 #
#2 is an engaging composition with interesting perspective. Holds my attention! #1 appears would be a very pretty shot, and perfect in vertical aspect.
Have you looked at other photos on UHH? Do they all appear too dark to you? I agree with IDguy that #1 appears washed out, and of course we had a similar conversation in your other topic.
Do you have access to any other computers to see how these look online? I once spent 15 minutes at the library solely so I could use their computer to see how my photos looked on UHH
Also, my postings here from 2014 mostly make me cringe because they seem so heavily saturated. That was when I was using a 14" laptop to edit in a bright room and the device apparently was lacking in quality too.
But, even without viewing these on another computer, you should be able to get a good sense of how the exposures compare to other people's postings.
Have you looked at other photos on UHH? Do they all appear too dark to you? I agree with IDguy that #1 appears washed out, and of course we had a similar conversation in your other topic.
Do you have access to any other computers to see how these look online? I once spent 15 minutes at the library solely so I could use their computer to see how my photos looked on UHH
Also, my postings here from 2014 mostly make me cringe because they seem so heavily saturated. That was when I was using a 14" laptop to edit in a bright room and the device apparently was lacking in quality too.But, even without viewing these on another computer, you should be able to get a good sense of how the exposures compare to other people's postings.
Dec 5, 2018 16:23:35 #
IDguy wrote:
or maybe examples as they look kind of washed out. But in the winter there are more hours of good light.
Late or early in the day just gives you warmer tones.
If you look at them closely they are not really washed out at all. It's the subject matter that is mostly light in color.
Having the sun overhead actually makes a lot of the image look sharper. It might not work well with buildings and people but it seems to work well for landscapes.
Dec 5, 2018 16:29:12 #
selmslie wrote:
… If you look at them closely they are not really washed out at all. It's the subject matter that is mostly light in color.
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I too do not think they look washed out. The burned parts of the trees have areas that a nearly devoid of detail as they reach maximum black. I think they show the light as it is mid-day and I like it. I can feel the bright light and feel the warmth in the air.
Dec 5, 2018 16:38:03 #
kenievans
Loc: Dallas
PeterBergh wrote:
Here are a couple of counterexamples. Both are taken around noon -- about as far from sunset and sunrise as you can get.
I agree that those are not the only two good times to shoot but I also think it depends on what and where you are shooting. The quality of the light is not the only thing we should be looking for. I like the colors in your first shot and yes it is sharp but without shadows to me it appears to lack depth. If you were there in person I am sure it was beautiful but now we are looking at a 2 dimensional rendering of a 3 dimensional scene and our brains are wired to look for visual clues like shadows to give us that since of depth. Shooting even two hours before or after midday could have given you those shadows. Just my humble opinion.
Dec 5, 2018 16:46:09 #
Dec 5, 2018 16:46:32 #
Linda From Maine wrote:
#2 is an engaging composition with interesting per... (show quote)
These pictures are, IMHO, not overexposed. The subjects are light in tone. Yes, I have looked at other photos on UHH and they seem OK.
I'm glad you liked the compositions.
Dec 5, 2018 16:54:33 #
Peter, you mentioned in another overexposed example you use LR. Try the following adjustments. Look at the difference in the two histograms with these proposed adjustments.
Dec 5, 2018 16:58:22 #
kenievans wrote:
I agree that those are not the only two good times... (show quote)
I purposely worded the topic title to encourage discussion. Of course, as you say, good times to shoot depend on many other things, such as quality and quantity of light, subject, etc.
The first image actually has some shadows but, as always when shooting into the light, the shadows are not as obvious as they would be with side lighting. Furthermore, I am not convinced that every image has to have a feeling of depth. See the examples below.
Dec 5, 2018 17:09:38 #
CHG_CANON wrote:
Peter, you mentioned in another overexposed example you use LR. Try the following adjustments. Look at the difference in the two histograms with these proposed adjustments.
I appreciate your suggestion, but I have already "fixed" the shadows and highlights and the blacks and whites to the extent I feel is appropriate. I do not believe in making the histogram as wide as possible; I believe what matters is how the image looks.
BTW, the illusion of overexposure in the other topic was due to my looking at the images on a far-too-bright monitor (that also was not calibrated). The images in that post were, in fact, properly exposed.
As an example of why the histogram is less important, I offer this image of a tree in cold fog (its histogram is very narrow and far to the right; if I were to widen the histogram the image would lose much):
Dec 5, 2018 17:30:51 #
PeterBergh wrote:
For me, the softly filtered light has an ethereal feel, creating a very nice mood. In trying to understand why this one is very successful (IMO), I came up with two comparisons: #1 is a wider scene and there is some of what Keni suggested - lack of clues to its depth - plus the colors I would be more likely to associate with darker/saturated. The lone tree has no "issue" regarding depth and it's obviously fog or selective processing (high key). This is poorly expressed, but the best I can do at the moment. Enjoyable to ponder, thank you! I offer this image of a tree in cold fog...
Dec 5, 2018 17:46:21 #
Linda From Maine wrote:
For me, the softly filtered light has an ethereal ... (show quote)
The lone tree was, in fact, taken in fog on a cold winter morning (on a hill across the street from my home, BTW), well after sunrise -- to allude to the topic title ;-). The tree was, actually, hardly visible; I had to boost contrast considerably. I'm glad you like it.
In regard to the first picture in my initial post: what I tried to convey was the feeling of light that I saw when looking at the scene; I feel that a darker rendition would not convey that feeling of light. If you look carefully at that image, you will see some clues to depth -- primarily some shadows -- but they are not obvious.
Dec 5, 2018 18:26:41 #
Certainly good photographs can be captured at any time of the day dependent upon subject and the skill of the person taking them. If you like the look of your posted shots then go with it. For me they are in need of some quite minor tweaks in PP to bring out the best in them and add the interest that's obviously there.
Dec 5, 2018 18:31:27 #
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