Light experiment

[Kaclarity]

Picture taken at night (approx 10PM PST) No tripod. Was trying to use moon light only for clouds and trees. Did PS it a little for sharpness and Temp. I know a lot of things I should have done. I was trying for something a bit unusual and think I failed. But I would like you guys to give me feedback and Ideas. I was trying to express the eeriness but beauty of the trees and clouds (by the moon light) as I stepped out of my car. Thanks JimC

[Donald]

Jim - The single most important thing in relation to this is the fact that you were willing to experiment. To try it. That's how we learn. Well done.

Like you suggest yourself, this one didn't work. The most obvious issue is clearly the movement blur. And you note you were trying this without a tripod. Unless you were going for exaggerated movement blur in order to deliberately introduce and abstract quality, then something like this is impossible without a tripod. But sometimes you only find that our by trying.

The other big issue is the noise. It was obviously significantly under-exposed and you've had to crank up the sliders in post-processing, which has had the result of revealing all the noise. As we know, this shows up most clearly in the darker areas and you can see that this is so in that bottom left quarter where there is the darker cloud. But it's very heavy throughout the image.

So - tripod that allows for longer (correct) exposure. Stops motion blur and addresses the noise problem.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Jim,

We learn far more from our mistakes

I think you might want to look at the WB (white balance) too, "eerie moonlight" to me is far more blue.

Also, for "eerie", I think it needs to be a bit dimmer - this is actually, despite the camera shake and noise, almost over exposed.

For reference the EXIF data is; Sony SLT-A55V, 1/2s f/2.8 sio 1250 at 90mm and (oddly) that the flash fired in Auto mode.

Cheers,

[Kaclarity]

Thanks Dave and Donald. I was happy to see your feedback on this one . Think i was trying to do to much at one time. I remember what Donald said on a thread. Need to learn post processing fundamentals before I jump into the artcy part of the digital world. Back to basics : ))))))) JimC

[Marty]

I was trying for something a bit unusual and think I failed.

Jim,
I agree 100% with Donald's sentiment. The important thing here is that you tried something new and experimental and "not in the book". Well done.

"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." - Thomas Edison.