Joske's Thumb

[Stagecoach]

Another from this afternoons visit to the foreshore in Suva. The peak that can be seen right in the centre is a landmark known as Joske's thumb named after one of the pioneers in the sugar industry here.

Went for a panoramic crop on this one. This view is nearly always cloudy and the area is subject to much rain, unfortunately I live on the foreshore there

f11, 1/500s, ISO200, 28mm. D300 & 18-200mm handheld


I think I may consider some long exposures on this view with similar cloud conditions but wonder if I may lose too much detail in them.

Any comments welcome.

[Dave Humphries]

I like the toning, rays and depth given by the layers of reducing contrast as we look more into distance.

If the aim of a long exposure is to smooth the water, with such a nice straight edge, you could always 'cheat' and use a single quick shot of sky (like this) and a longer one of water

Cheers,

[Geoff F]

Suitable shutter speeds depends on the actual speed of cloud movement; if you want to retain fine details.

With calm conditions, you should be able to shoot at 1/100 for example with no problems but going considerably slower is likely to cause blurring and loss of detail.

However, what are you going to gain with slow shutter speeds? The settings you used here are working well.

[Stagecoach]

Dave,

It was the toning of the mountains and sunlight that appealed to me for this shot but I'm not happy with the water area and wonder if it is a bit bland. I would not want it to compete with the land/sky so was wondering if a slightly smooth/silky effect may be more interesting but not be in competition.

Thanks for the 'cheat', I would not have thought of it.

[Geoff F]

Try reducing the water by around half and a similar amount from the right side. That will concentrate more on the clouds.

Going over the water with a blur brush will reduce the 'texture' but I wouldn't want it too bland. The strongest water ripple effect is closest to the bottom edge.

[Stagecoach]

Geoff,

The idea of possibly re-taking with slower shutter speeds was to get a smoothing effect on the water but as you say this is going to impact with the cloud detail and I also suspect the suns rays. Dave has suggested a good 'cheat' and I also suspect it could be achieved in PP.