PDA

View Full Version : Another seascape!



José Rodríguez
06-25-2009, 04:08 PM
I have a lot of love to this pic, as it made me fall in love with photography.
I'll explain it.
I took this one two years ago. I had recived by mail my first DSLR (a used nikon d40 kit bought on ebay). I had also purchased a little tripod, a remote and a ndx8 filter. So I went to the seaside, mounted everything, and chimping for exposure I took something like 100 pics.
When I returned home and looked at my pics, they surprised me. The ndx8 filter had made the miracle. It was unexpected...I liked them, and it was the first time I liked one of my pics....
Now I think I understand what I did well and what not in this pic, but even so, I still like it!

<TABLE id=Inbox cellSpacing=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD style="FONT-SIZE: 120%" width="30%">Cámara:</TD><TD style="FONT-SIZE: 120%">Nikon D40 (http://www.flickr.com/cameras/nikon/d40/)</TD></TR><TR><TD style="FONT-SIZE: 120%" width="30%">Exposición:</TD><TD style="FONT-SIZE: 120%">2.5 sec</TD></TR><TR><TD style="FONT-SIZE: 120%" width="30%">Aperture:</TD><TD style="FONT-SIZE: 120%">f/22.0</TD></TR><TR><TD style="FONT-SIZE: 120%" width="30%">Lente:</TD><TD style="FONT-SIZE: 120%">nikkor AF-S DX 18-55mm @18 mm</TD></TR><TR><TD style="FONT-SIZE: 120%" width="30%">Lente:</TD><TD style="FONT-SIZE: 120%">18.3 mm</TD></TR><TR><TD>Velocidad ISO:</TD><TD>200</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

Roman Kurywczak
06-25-2009, 04:51 PM
Hi Jose,
Isn't ti great when we try something and are pleasantly surprised? I like the overall comp and colors but I wanted to try a few things so you could try them out yourself. I did s mall levels layers ajustment to the rocks that form a frame......just to lighten them a bit and then I did a multiplied layer to the sky at 75% opacity to bring out the storm clouds. The sea looked angry to me so I just wanted to make the sky angrier......and you could play around with the opacity slider to adjust to your tasted. Let me know what you think and very nicely composed and even better that it was the first picture you liked!

José Rodríguez
06-25-2009, 04:59 PM
Yes Roman. That's a good idea. I think the sea gets this way a better attention! Thanks for those tips!

Arthur Morris
06-25-2009, 06:00 PM
Not bad for a beginner. Is this in the Canary Islands?

Jay Gould
06-25-2009, 06:14 PM
I definitely like both the OP and the RP - perhaps the RP a little better.

I think I am going to join the LP (Level Police :D). It has always bothered me to see a horizon or a building that isn't level unless it is intentional.

I have attached a quick image of how I check for levelness.

Jose, do you remember what the brand of 8X filter you used? I haven't found a quality 8X filter - the highest quality ND I have found is 3-stop which I could combine with a 2-stop.

Cheers, Jay

Roman Kurywczak
06-25-2009, 06:24 PM
Hey Jay, I use the Singh Ray Vari ND. Love it! $$$ and get the thin mount to avoid vignetting.

José Rodríguez
06-25-2009, 06:30 PM
Arthur, yes, this is the north of Gran Canaria, a usually hard shoreline....
Jay, lovely tip. I always rely on own my level sense, but your method is great! . My ndx8 is a HOYA 52mm. I can't really make a quality test on it, but I have no complains about it!

Jay Gould
06-25-2009, 06:49 PM
Hey Jay, I use the Singh Ray Vari ND. Love it! $$$ and get the thin mount to avoid vignetting.

Hi Roman, I have looked at this toy seriously - rather than hijack this landscape thread I am going to start a thread on this topic in the Gear Forum. Bye for now - flying through cyberspace to the Gear Forum ;) :)

Robert Amoruso
06-25-2009, 08:08 PM
I definitely like both the OP and the RP - perhaps the RP a little better.

I think I am going to join the LP (Level Police :D). It has always bothered me to see a horizon or a building that isn't level unless it is intentional.

I have attached a quick image of how I check for levelness.

Jose, do you remember what the brand of 8X filter you used? I haven't found a quality 8X filter - the highest quality ND I have found is 3-stop which I could combine with a 2-stop.

Cheers, Jay

Jay,

Just in case you did not know this way of leveling a horizon, I offer the following.

In PS, use ruler tool to draw straight edge along the sloped horizon.
Go to Image > Rotate Canvas > Arbitrary
Pop-up window shows angle and direction of rotation need to level.
Hit OK to rotate.
Crop image to rectangle.

Robert Amoruso
06-25-2009, 08:09 PM
Jose,

Nice effort at the beginning of your photo-adventure. Shows you have a good eye for a scene and how to compose it. Roman's tweaks are right on. Keep them coming.

Jay Gould
06-25-2009, 08:32 PM
Jay,

Just in case you did not know this way of leveling a horizon, I offer the following.

In PS, use ruler tool to draw straight edge along the sloped horizon.
Go to Image > Rotate Canvas > Arbitrary
Pop-up window shows angle and direction of rotation need to level.
Hit OK to rotate.
Crop image to rectangle.

Thanks Mate, I generally do my initial leveling in LR - checking out Breeze Browser as a step before LR.

Haven't done leveling yet in PS.

My use of the the straight edge of a notepad is just a quick and dirty/easy way to check an image onthe screen without any downloading etc.

Cheers,

Robert Amoruso
06-25-2009, 09:08 PM
My use of the the straight edge of a notepad is just a quick and dirty/easy way to check an image on the screen without any downloading etc.

Cheers,

That's what I figured and smart way to do it too. :)

Paul Marcellini
06-26-2009, 12:46 PM
I love the color of the water. A good comp, I would crop some of the sky to focus on the good stuff. Sorry Roman, but your sky doesn't look angrier, just muddier grey. =) The horizon may not be level but to me it looks more like distortion, which can be fixed in filters>distort>lens correction i think