Sunset at Nash Point

[Digifrog]

Hi

I have decided that landscape is one of the subjects I want to concentrate on after about a year of doing all sorts.

This is a couple of shots taken on a glorious sunset evening at Nash Point on the South Wales coast.



Any tips and polite critique is welcomed.

Rgds

Scott

[david156]

HI.

Great pictures!

When I have a go at landscapes i'll have to ask you for some tips

David.

[Kayleigh]

lovely shots Scott, cant give you any tips apart from always take your camera out with you..

[Digifrog]

Thank you David & Kayleigh

I can give one tip now, make sure you have a pair of wellies. Seriously.

[Richard G.]

Cracking shots Scott.
Prefer the first, much stonger lead in from the causeway and has a lovely soft, muted feel to it.

The second one, I keep ending back at the rock everytime I look at it, but still lovely, the reflections and textures in the wet sand are superb.

If I'm being hypercritial, I'm not so keen on the vignette, it's a little too noticeable for my taste. I'd also consider cropping or cloning the cliff on the causeway shot, though it might not work, since it's a good counter to the bright sky.

I'd be more than a little pleased to have those in my collection though. Out of interest, have you printed them? The causeway would make a fantastic print I think

[Digifrog]

Hi Richard

Thank you. I like the vignette but I am trying to find a balance with how much I'd like and what is generally acceptable. When you say "soft muted feel", do you mean in the colour or in the focus? As much as I'd like I'm not shooting with pro glass. The 2nd one, my eyes are fixated between the sky and the ripples, but that rock is there to get you too.

Both of these shots have gone to print yes, and I have sold one each so far. I'm working on getting my own site up and running which might mean that somebody else might buy one too.

Scott

[Richard G.]

It looks plenty sharp enough, I think it's just less contrasty than the second, perhaps due to the water being less of a feature, but it has more appeal to me as a result.

Tell you what though mate, if it's only taken you a year to get to this standard, I'd like to see what you'll be producing next year

[big bill]

Hello Scott nice set of pics they are really good sunset love the colours and the reflections,the secong image I think is the strongest for me .
My only criticism is that they appear as bit soft to me ,the is no point in either image that is perfectly in focus wether it is something you were trying to achieve or due to the wrong aperture setting I dont know ,as there is no exposure details.
Other than that they are like I said lovely images well done lovely colours

[Digifrog]

Originally Posted by big bill

Hello Scott nice set of pics they are really good sunset love the colours and the reflections,the secong image I think is the strongest for me .
My only criticism is that they appear as bit soft to me ,the is no point in either image that is perfectly in focus wether it is something you were trying to achieve or due to the wrong aperture setting I dont know ,as there is no exposure details.
Other than that they are like I said lovely images well done lovely colours

Hi Bill

Thanks for the feedback. I am afraid I do not understand the first part of the second paragraph (the "the is no point in either image that is perfectly in focus" bit)

I think the 'softness' you mention is due to is aperture setting, it certainly is my intention to get my images as sharp as I can, if not tack sharp or pro sharp. I don't think the 2nd image is that soft.

The EXIF for the first image "Causeway" is f/6.3, 20 seconds, ISO 100 at 10mm, in A (Av) mode using the Sigma 10-20mm lens, and the second image "Sunset" is f/14, 1/3 second, ISO 100 at 15mm, in A (Av) mode using the same lens.

The Sigma 10-20 isn't the sharpest glass and I don't know how much of it is down to the settings used. I am not sure if I am doing all I possibly can in order to achieve maximum sharpness for the lens I have and lighting conditions. Before I step up to the D700/D750 and the Nikon 17-35mm I need to know exactly what to do.

I often shoot f/11 or smaller (f/14 average) but I was forced to f/6.3 in the first case because of very little light. I could have gone into Manual mode at f/14 and used a remote shutter for 1 minute but I didn't want to lose a special moment in case I got it wrong.

I am completely self taught. I do not belong to a camera club so haven't really bounced ideas or gained too much technical knowledge.

I have spent a lot of time working on composition and editing techniques, now it's time to work on achieving maximum sharpness with the lens I have, then move up to full frame (next year) and semi pro glass (pro wide angle lens for Nikon is no good to me as there is no filter thread and I use Lee filters and the magical ND110 filter (77mm))

Sorry for the lengthy reply, but I hope this makes it clearer.

Rgds

Scott

[big bill]

Hello Scott what I was on about was that in both images no part of the image was in perfect focus.
Looking at your exposure details it looks like it could be down to your aperture setting in the image causeway you used a aperture of f6.3 ,I would have tried to achieve something around f16 and focused about 1/3rd of the way into the image to ensure sharpness from front to back.
In the other ahain I would have went for the same and focused on an area just of to the right of the rock again this would have ensure everything being in focus back to front.
In low light conditions like this the can be a bind but a tripod is a big asset as it slows you down and lets you get the composition spot on before tripping the shutter.Also it also helps to ensure if you have spirit levels on the tripod that your horizon is level and not sloping.
Otherwise like I said previously they are nice pics the colours are outstanding and you should be congratulated well done