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Early Morning Light on the River's Bank... at Midnight
Early Morning Light on the River's Bank... at Midnight
eschelar


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: 30 Seconds or More (Basic Editing III*)
Camera: Canon EOS-30D
Lens: Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6
Location: Dan Shui River at Guan Du, North Taipei
Date: Jun 16, 2006
Aperture: f/11
ISO: 400
Shutter: 30s
Date Uploaded: Jun 17, 2006

 Taken at the bank of Dan Shui River at around midnight, used a 30 second exposure in Manual, shooting in RAW for the first time.

I really enjoyed playing with RAW... My first time. I probably enjoyed using the brand new version of Neat-Image I installed this evening even more (it's been sitting around for months, but I always felt a bit overwhelmed by it... silly me).

I shot it at full wide, 18mm on an 18-55 kit lens I am borrowing until more information is available on the Tokina 16-50 f/2.8.

The somewhat odd angle can be attributed to the fact that the mud that the boat was sitting in is HEAVILY polluted, possibly containing landfill... It took me over an hour to clean the grey sludge off the bottom of my shoes scrubbing with a toothbrush, and the horrendous odor was still there! Gut-wrenching stuff... NOT a healthy river. I don't know how fish survive in it. Therefore, composition was based heavily on the foreground and the pattern of mud on the path I was on... it was also very slippery.

Anyhow, PP details are as follows:

Canon DPP for manual white balance (turned the sky 'Vancouver Harbour Morning Grey')

PS 7.0
Neat Image Plugin for gentle noise removal
USM 250 0.9 3
Image resizes for web
USM 125 0.3 3 - two passes
Fade USM 50% (normal mode)

Done like Dinner!

For those who were wondering, early morning, right in the first few seconds of sun-up on an overcast day, is quite dark and ombrous.

I was actually trying for that kind of mood... The darkness was intentional... is it really so bad?

Statistics
Place: 111 out of 170
Avg (all users): 5.0343
Avg (commenters): 6.0000
Avg (participants): 4.7973
Avg (non-participants): 5.0918
Views since voting: 1585
Views during voting: 508
Votes: 379
Comments: 10
Favorites: 0

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AuthorThread
Nikon D4
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II
 06/28/2006 08:59:41 AM
My opinion of this shot is that its very flat and dull. Needs contrast and has lost alot of detail in the shadows. Composition is pretty good although it doesnt follow all the rules of composition it works pretty well here. The photo seems almost underexposed for a 30 second entry. I would think that with the sun just coming up as stated that at 30 seconds this might have been alot sharper and with more detail. I'm confused though you say you shot it wide open on the 18-55 which would be 2.8 and on your details you show f11. I can assume by wide open then that you mean 18mm. Anyway thats my take on it and I think it scored about where my vote would have been had I voted.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
Nikon D850
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 16-35 f/4 ED VR
 06/26/2006 08:57:54 AM
The shot is just too flat and dull for me. A curves adjustment might help.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-6D Mark II
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS
 06/25/2006 02:50:36 AM
Composition: 5
Technical: 4 - A little dark
Creativity: 5
Appeal: 4
Challenge: 5
Overall Calculated Average Score: 5
Canon EOS-5D Mark IV
Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM
 06/23/2006 12:20:37 PM
Meets Challenge:2
Aesthetics:1
Technical: 1
Wow: 0
Originality:1
Total Score: 5
Canon EOS-300D Rebel
 06/23/2006 10:05:02 AM
interesting subject to capture, looks peaceful with the hopes of a new day
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D300
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G
 06/23/2006 08:39:12 AM
the titled horizon adds impact to an nice simple composition - beautiful light
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-6D
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
 06/22/2006 11:28:59 PM
I like the texture on the side of the boat.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Pentax K10D
Pentax FA 50mm f/1.4 AF
 06/21/2006 10:36:00 PM
Sometimes you can get very powerful colours in night shots - but this one looks quite plain and dull. It doesn't quite have the richness that morning light can bring, and the rest of the scene is quite dull and difficult to differentiate - which I suspect you did deliberately to compensate for the fact that it's messy? In your desire to capture the boat relic, I think you've had to compromise too much on other things, leaving the result a bit dull. Sorry.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark II
Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM
 06/21/2006 07:38:37 PM
This is simple beauty!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-650/T4i Rebel
Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
06/21/2006 06:45:55 AM
A the light needs to be a tad up but other than that its fine
  Photographer found comment helpful.
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