First night time shot with my first DSLR Nikon D70

[alcistra]

Hi all wonder what you all think of my first effort at a time exposure with my nikon D70 I have not been into photography for a number of years I used to own a minolta xgm but that was a long time before the digital age!
Any way i have attached the uncropped with star trails and the cropped versions would appreciate any thoughts and guidance Many Thanks Alcistra
This was taken from Birdlip in Gloucestershire UK looking towards Gloucester

[JPS]

Hi,
Welcome to CiC from me.
Thanks for posting your picture. I've tried to look at the EXIF data for this picture, but it has been removed. Can you let us know what settings you used? Was the camera on a tripod?

We have some very skilled people here at CiC who I'm sure wil give you some advice that will allow you to progress to the next level.
It might be worth reading the article posted here

Please keep shooting and posting.
Kind regards
John

[Bobobird]

Yes a properly posted shot should be easier to critique.

I like what you did you the cropped version. The stars are distracting.

[DeepWater]

I would agree wit Bobo, much better without the stars. To me this image is all about the light, the color, the contrast between the sky and the city, the wonderful blurred effect and the contrast of the white streaming down into the valley. If you were to darken the foreground on the left a bit so you lost some of those details it would be less distracting and the eye be drawn to your central element - the light. Just a thought. Overall I really like your image - good job!
(You might consider uploading larger images next time so we can see your shots better! - you can get away with at least 1500 px on the large side)

[alcistra]

Hi folks I think I have now attached the correct links for the files with the info intact (maybe) still very new to this!
Thanks for all the replies so far.

Alcistra





File Info 1
File: Gloucester fog.JPG
Date Created: 12.12.12 06:07:28
Date Modified: 12.12.12 06:07:29
File Size: 2.20 MB
Image Size: L (3008 x 2000)
File Info 2
Date Shot: 12.12.12 05:59:36.10
Time Zone and Date:
Image Quality: RAW (12-bit)
Camera Info
Device: Nikon D70
Lens: 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3G
Focal Length: 18mm
Focus Mode: Manual
AF-Area Mode:
VR:
AF Fine Tune:
Exposure
Aperture: f/4
Shutter Speed: 155.3s
Exposure Mode: Manual
Exposure Comp.: 0EV
Exposure Tuning:
Metering: Matrix
ISO Sensitivity: Auto (ISO 200)
Flash
Device:
Image Settings
White Balance: Auto, 0
Color Space: sRGB
High ISO NR:
Long Exposure NR: OFF
Active D-Lighting:
Image Authentication:
Vignette Control:
Auto Distortion Control:
Optimize Image
Optimize Image: Normal
Color Mode: Mode Ia (sRGB)
Tone Comp.: Auto
Hue Adjustment: 0°
Saturation: Normal
Sharpening: Auto
GPS
Latitude:
Longitude:
Altitude:
Altitude Reference:
Heading:
UTC:
Map Datum:

[Donald]

Well done on getting the image posted into your message.

I agree with the comments of others about the stars. If you really want to go for star trails, then it has to be looooong exposure stuff (e.g. 2 hour, or 240 x 30s stacked exposures). So, better having cut out the starts in this one.

On posting up the EXIF - A lot of folk find this helpful and it's good to do it. But maybe you want to edit this a bit. What people want/need to know are - Camera; Lens; Shutter Speed, Aperture Value; ISO Setting; Any filters used.

So, welcome to CiC I hope you enjoy being part of this forum. So that you don't continue to get people asking you what your proper name is, because most us use that on here, you can go to Edit Profile and enter your proper name under 'Real Name'. Then it will appear underneath your Username in all your posts. You can also enter your location so that it does the same, just as in my details alongside this message. Then we all know where everyone is in the world.

[DeepWater]

Glad to see you are getting the hang of posting - everyone goes through a learning curve so don't feel like the lone stranger! One additional thought for future crops: Your image without the stars is the better of the two as far as distraction, but when you cropped you did it is such a way that it put your horizon line right in the center of your frame. Typically a better composition to have your horizon line offset - either the sky wins or the foreground. Try it and you will find that it gives you a whole different feel to the composition. There are no "rules" for which "wins" - that is up to you, after all, you are the artist so you get to choose! Your first image has about 2/3 sky and 1/3 foreground - nice composition, but your crop changed that. I hope you don't mind, but just to give you an idea what I was talking about in previous post and here I made a few slight modifications to your image and posted it again - I did not take as much time removing the stars as you, but added a little contrast, warmth, and dropped the brightness on the foreground a tad - see what you think. Night shooting is a whole different animal, but it's a lot of fun - keep at it and let us see the results

James

[alcistra]

Brilliant thanks for all the advice it has been fantastic and very helpful I have learnt a great deal from all the replies.
Now I just want to get out there and shoot some more :-)

Bryan

[rawill]

Greetings

At first I liked your cropped photo but thought "something was missing". I looked at your original, ans saw why you cropped out the stars, then I saw James treatment of your photo and really liked that version. I like your shot.