Sun Rays

any help or critique would be greatly appreciated.

Sunrays are good. The subject matter however makes them not too interesting. The log on the right might be interesting if we could see it; If you caught these rays and didn't PS them then maybe a step to the right or left would bring in something interesting. Nice rays, though...Keep at it.

perhaps a difference in monitor calibration, the log looks fine to me. Thanks for the suggestions.

I think this photo looks fantastic as it is. The composition is fine, maybe the sun rays are the subject. Very tranquil. Keep it up.

yeah, the rays are the subject, the log i thought may add to it.

 

thanks for the comment.

I think if I really wanted to nit-pick though, the log might detract from the aesthetics. It appears that the log is not natural, like it was a leftover from a clear-cut. Almost like an uprouted telephone pole. Now, that's really nit-picking. R

thanks for the suggestion Robert.

Hi Dan,

 

The picture is a reasonable start but I'd try to give more object detail in the foreground and distribute the light better. Get closer to the forest itself, the leaves and branches and stumps. Look into the forest down a slope or up a slope of about 20?. I try to keep the angle off by 20? from directly into the direction of the source of light, still pointing down of up slope. Watch for sun flares that might creep in. Try taking a tripod with you if you shoot around a 1/60th to 1/125th sec and set to Av control and stop down to around f/11 to get a good depth of field if possible. The picture above has a very dark lower half which makes it difficult to see detail and a light upper half that is too far away to see detail. Basically I try to get the items in the foreground that I find interesting about the same distance to the camera and let the rest behind this 'front curtain' as is. Focus to an object 2/3 the depth of the scene and if the aperture is around f/11 you should get the foreground sharp. There is lots on the web about Depth of field tables.

 

Just practice on simple scenes with a DOF table

 

Good luck,

Bob

 

My Girendad 2 picture has the following exif info:

 

Make - Canon

Model - Canon EOS-1D

Orientation - Top left

XResolution - 72

YResolution - 72

ResolutionUnit - Inch

DateTime - 2007:09:16 08:08:59

YCbCrPositioning - Co-Sited

ExifOffset - 178

ExposureTime - 1/80 seconds

FNumber - 5.60

ExposureProgram - Normal program

ISOSpeedRatings - 200

ExifVersion - 0220

DateTimeOriginal - 2007:09:16 08:08:59

DateTimeDigitized - 2007:09:16 08:08:59

ComponentsConfiguration - YCbCr

ShutterSpeedValue - 1/83 seconds

ApertureValue - F 5.66

ExposureBiasValue - -0.33

MeteringMode - Multi-segment

Flash - Not fired

FocalLength - 28 mm

UserComment -

FlashPixVersion - 0100

ColorSpace - sRGB

ExifImageWidth - 2464

ExifImageHeight - 1648

InteroperabilityOffset - 4914

FocalPlaneXResolution - 2209.87

FocalPlaneYResolution - 2209.12

FocalPlaneResolutionUnit - Inch

CustomRendered - Normal process

ExposureMode - Auto

WhiteBalance - Auto

SceneCaptureType - Standard

 

Maker Note (Vendor): -

Macro mode - Off

Self timer - Off

Quality - Normal

Flash mode - Not fired

Sequence mode - Single or Timer

Focus mode - One-Shot

Image size - Large

Easy shooting mode - Full Auto

Digital zoom - None

Contrast - Low , -129

Saturation - Low , -129

Sharpness - Low , -129

ISO Value - 65407 (other)

Metering mode - Center weighted averaging

Focus type - Auto

AF point selected -

Exposure mode -

Focal length - 7168 - 26880 mm (256 mm)

Flash activity - Not fired

Flash details -

Focus mode 2 - Single

White Balance - Auto

Sequence number - 0

Flash bias - 0.00 EV

Subject Distance - 0

Image Type - Canon EOS-1D

Firmware Version - Firmware Version 1.4.0

Owner Name - ����

Camera Serial Number - 14825

 

 

Bob, thanks a lot for the critique and info! Do you think a polariser would have helped control the contrast (or maybe i'll just shoot some film :)? Will try and put into practice what you described the next time i have the chance. Though i think i did use a tripod for this shot.