Desert photography

[mozy]

Hey guys, can anyone help me on this? If i want to take photos of

the desert, what's the best aperture and shutter speed to make the

sands look so "orange" and the sky so blue. Thanks

[michael_hohner]

Aperture and exposure time don't change color a bit. What you need is warm light (to make the sand more reddish), and possibly a polarizing filter (to make the sky darker). Shortly after sunrise and shortly before sunset, sunlight is warmer, and the angle of light is lower. Both will help.

[William Kahn]

Time of day holds the real secret. Here's a sunrise shot from the Arizona desert near Quartzsite.<div></div>

[._kaa]

The saturation slider in your photo editing software holds the real secret.

 

If you really want orange sand and deep blue sky, crank up the saturation in your photo.

[William Kahn]

The real secret is to get it right in the camera to begin with, and minimize the steps needed in Photoshop.

[dalahorse]

Don't let yourself fall into "fix it in Photoshop" shortcut mode of thinking. A landscape photographer shoots both the scene and the light together. If the light is missing from your scene, return on a day and time when the light suits your needs. If you're looking for something a little more saturated than what normally occurs in nature, try modifying the light with a polarizer and/or neutral gradient filter (for the sky), a warming or color gradient filter (for the orange sands), or film that renders saturated colors.

[mark_chappell]

<I> If you're looking for something a little more saturated than what normally occurs in

nature, try modifying the light with a polarizer and/or neutral gradient filter (for the sky), a

warming or color gradient filter (for the orange sands), or film that renders saturated

colors.</i><P>

 

I'm just curious. Why is this supposed to be better than doing the same thing in Photoshop?

I use polarizers and ND grads myself, but either with hardware gadgets or with the computer,

you're manipulating the image.

[andrew robertson]

Snobbery.

[Mary Doo]

"If i want to take photos of the desert, what's the best aperture and shutter speed to make the sands look so "orange" and the sky so blue. "

 

Best aperture: For me it's almost always f/22 and I focus 1/3 into the scene to get the maximum depth of field.

 

To make sands look so "orange": Use a warming filter -- at leat 1B or even 1C. I used the Singh-Ray Gold-N-Blue polarizer and the results were satisfactory to me. I actually added an orange filter on some and the sands were pleasingly golden, but that took away some blue from the sky.

 

Important: Get there before sunrise and find the best sand patterns -- be careful not to step over them! The extreme sidelights will give you that 3D effect.<div></div>

[mozy]

Thanks Guys, just for the record, i never use photoshop because i don't like to fix my photos, the best thing for me is to get it right from the first time :)

To tell you the truth, i've never used filters before, i bought my canon EOS 30 3 months ago and didn't get time to buy some filters.

I also went to the desert once and took some photos, it was 3 in the after noon, that's why i think the resultts weren't that good. as you all said, it's better to go either after sunrise or before sunset.

Thanks agian and if any other tips you have please write them.

Moe.<div></div>

[Mary Doo]

"it's better to go either after sunrise or before sunset."

<br><br>

I believe it's actually better to go there <b> just before </b> sunrise to scout out the area and be ready to shoot when the sun begins to rise. That's the most beautiful time. Sunset is fine too but you will more likely see more people in the area that you may rather not include into everyone of your images.

[William Kahn]

"Snobbery."

 

No, photography.

[dalahorse]

If you get the colors and exposure correct on the film (which is pretty easy to do), there's simply no need to resort to post-exposure manipulation (be it darkroom or digital). I hardly call that method of thinking snobbery. Photoshop is no substitute for understanding the basic techniques of photography. Besides, the original question did not mention digital anything. If Mozy wants non-digital slides, no amount of Photoshop is going to help him.<p>

Skilled photographers have been able to photograph a scene as they interpret it for well over a hundred years. It really upsets me that so many people think that technique is no longer important now that Photoshop makes manipulation so easy. None of my favorite Photographers (Adams, Kenna, Weston, White) <b>needed</b> Photoshop. Maybe they're all snobs like me...

[mark_chappell]

<I>Photographers (Adams, Kenna, Weston, White) needed Photoshop. Maybe they're all

snobs like me...</i><P>

 

None of them had the option of Photoshop, but I'd bet Ansel, at least, might have happily

embraced digital technology if he were still around. He was a innovator in his day, and was

an enthusiast for scientific progress.

[dalahorse]

Kenna is still taking lots of photos!<p>

Anyway, I doubt Adams would have let go of his spot meter and zone system if given a PC with Photoshop. Digital or not, bad technique still yields bad results. It's important to get the scene as close to perfect "in the camera" before burning, dodging, photoshopping, or employing other techniques that exploit the full dynamic range of the film or CCD.

[mark_chappell]

<I>Digital or not, bad technique still yields bad results. It's important to get the scene as

close to perfect "in the camera" before burning, dodging, photoshopping, or employing other

techniques that exploit the full dynamic range of the film or CCD.</I><P>

 

I certainly won't argue with that! I'm just puzzled by the apparent view that messing with the

image prior to exposure is somehow better than messing with it after exposure (darkroom or

computer) to achieve the same results.

[andrew robertson]

There's no replacement for proper craftsmanship at the exposure stage, but if you think

putting a piece of colored stuff over the lens isn't pretty much the same as doing the

equivalent in Photoshop afterwards, you have come down with a case of digital snobbery.

 

Personally I hate gels. They get dirty, they're bulky, and you never have the exact one you

need - you have to settle between a few choices that are a bit off the mark. Photoshop lets

you have an infinitely variable set of filters to work with.

[gary_anthes]

For deep blue sky and red/orange/gold sand:

 

1. Late or early in day.

2. Polarizer

3. Clear air/weather

4. Judicious use of a photo editor.

 

All illustrated here:<div></div>

[jim_rosario]

Unfortunately a polarizer tends to leave its mark in the form of a dark spot, most notably with wides. Selective darkening of the sky in PS might be the best answer in this case. Also helps to correct vignetting