BW Landscape

[Robert.4507]

Some photos taken at three of our state parks.

Park 1)



Park 2) In the early 1900's, oil from refineries polluted the river so badly, that it was abandoned until the 1950's. Fill was brought in to extend the land into the river, so that it could be used for industrial sites. Slag and other by products was brought in from steel mills , for a total of 15 acres, appx 3 1/2 miles, by 800 feet at the widest point. This type of fill in wetlands was common and unregulated until the 1970's. In 1991 it was determined to contain contaminated waste and needed to be closed to the public. The area became eligible for cleanup under the State Superfund program.

I want to return now this spring when the ornamental trees have bloomed and the grass is green. Should be one to two more weeks.


Most of the park is a flat, developing field.









Park 3) This state park is located along the Brandywine river. This park Mother Nature created herself.


Should probably take off the UV filter when shooting backlit. I suspect that is causing the flare.

all photos shot with sigma sd14 and 18-200 DC OS.


Sicnerely,

Robert

 

[jasonh]

I honestly kind of like the flare in there. It's not so much backlit as it is staring into the sun...and when I stare into the sun I get a good glare in my eyes

 

[akv]

I like the starburst effect of the sun too. I've noticed that effect in some of my shots where the sun was in frame or reflected. I wonder if it's not the sensor itself as opposed to the lens?

My favorite out of the group is the one of the mast and bare trees though.

 

[jasonh]

I believe the smaller aperture you use, the more starburst effect you get from pinpoint light sources (streetlights, etc)

 

[Robert.4507]

Hi Jason and AKV,

thank you both for your comments! I like the sun trails too, and Jason, your right about the glare in your eye when you try to compose the shot. Usually I start to frame what I want without the sun in the frame, and creep up to the sun as close as I can get, then squint real tight and push the frame the rest of the where I think I got some sun, release the shutter and hope for the best.

I used to look in the viewfinder to compose when shooting these types with the sun in. but with a long lens it can be painful if you sweep across and catch the sun directly. That would give a good case of flash blindness and it took too long for the flash blindness to recede before I could compose any more,,,, it seemed like it effected my ability to compose.

So, i adopted the "point and hope" method of not looking once the sun creeps into the frame.

I might not be using the proper term, but what I am referring to as flaring is the round opaque circles that show in the pics. I think it is caused from the reflection or flaring of the UV filter. In night shots they stick out like a sore thumb, but in the last pic is does add a neat effect. In the second pic, (one with the bare trees and mast) the flare spot is showing in the upper right quadrant, at about 1:00, a small white circle. I think this is caused from the UV filter.

the pic that has the sidewalk running from the bottom right to center, and utility poles on the right, it has the flare at the upper left quadrant, at about 11:00 o'clock, above the building. This kind of spot show up when doing moon shots, and that is actually how it first drew my attention. My experience has been that when I take the filter off to shoot the moon, the spot is not there. So now I usually will notice the circular spot and associate it with the UV filter (which is really not useful when shooting the moon ) I use the inexpensive filters and don't know if the more expensive, multi-coated filters do the same.

Now, unlike some of our more gifted forum members at photo manipulation, I am not able to clone or heal the spots out, so I usually think of it as an ooops when I later see my photos and they have the circular spot on them.


AKV

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Unlike the unintentional spots, the long conical trails that run out from the sun to a point, (star burst type effect) are intentional and are a result of using a small aperature. The smaller the aperature, the more pronounced the effect. It looks really cool when doing night photography, as any light source will have these trails. Think Christmas with lights, can look really interesting.




The term flaring, as I have used it may have been incorrect when referring the small circles of round light. I look forward to further discussing the flare, aperature star burst, or both.

good luck with your pictures,

Robert

 

[akv]

Excellent! Thanks for the lesson. There are filters you can use too to get that effect right?

I noticed the lens flare as well.

You learn something new everyday! lol

 

[Robert.4507]

Yes, tiffen filters comes to mind, star effect filters. They vary in the number of points in the star and different star shapes. Though I have yet to purchase any, they do seem interesting for adding creativity.

And about the flaring, as I posted them, I thought that experienced photographers would notice. Thanks for being graceful Often I use the UV filter for added protection,as I do a lot of nature trail walking. And it seems just as often, forget to take the filter off when I shoot towards a strong solitary light source.

good luck with your pictures,

Robert

 

[jasonh]

I was originally referring to the actual flares I kind of like them, it gives that "sun-in-your-eye" feeling is what I was trying to say.

 

[akv]

I think the flare in your pics are done quite nicely. Especially in the last picture.
I have a 35mm Vivitar Ultra Wide and Slim that has a plastic lens on it and it flares like crazy, I try to use it creatively but usually it ends up being overbearing in the image.

 

[Robert.4507]

So now I ponder too.

AKV

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I had noticed too when I started with the SD14, that the starburst was more pronounced than my canon cameras. I mostly assumed it was the wider lens 18-200. Now I second guess myself; But could it be the Foveon sensor sensitivity to the light? I used to think it had to do with the blades of the aperature. Lens usually have a different number of blades, this one has 7 and these pics have 14 points in the star.

Jason

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Thank you! Until you pointed this out, I had not really noticed that the flare had its own thing going from the sun and bursting adjacently as a 15th point.

AKV

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Thank you! The canon cameras I have never produced such a bolt that shot across the frame, and I am really not sure as to why the one you refer too was much more than the others. I like it too! When you try to look at the house near the bottom of the hill, it makes you feel like the sun is in your face.

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The optics are plastic?!? YIKES!!
So does the ultra wide produce the long length of the starburst? What is the largest number the aperature closes down to? Does it go past F22?

So now today comes to a close and I find myself with more questions to seek answers than when the day started. And that makes for an interesting day. I do have two other sigma lens, the 17-35 (8 blades) and 28-105 (Unkown), that I think may need to shoot stopped down into the sun and see what effects are produced.

good luck with your pictures,

Robert

 

[Steaphany]

Robert,

I hope you don't mind a comment on the subject of eye safety.

If your like me, there are so many warnings on just about every product about proper safety precautions that they are immediately skipped, but your eyes are essential to creating and appreciating photographs.

When composing a shot with the Sun in view, the Lens and Camera's viewfinder optics act as a telescope collecting far more light than you eye can do alone, meaning Sun light from your camera's viewfinder can potentially damage your retina, especially since the lens iris is normally maximally open except when making an exposure.

Luckily, the SD14 has a Depth of Field Preview button which will reduce the iris opening allowing you to see the focused depth of field, but in the case of framing an image with the Sun in view also means less light reaching your eye.

 

[akv]

That's a good idea Steaphany, I never thought of that. Thanks!

And Robert as for my Vivitar, it's just a cheap plastic toy camera. It's set at f8 at 1/125th with a 22mm plastic lens. lol.

I'll include one of the better lens flare shots.

 

[jasonh]

akv you should fit that plastic lens on your sigma camera like I've seen people do with the Holgas

My eyes are pretty sensitive so when I'm outside I always have sunglasses with me. If I'm taking pictures into the direction of the sun, I'll generally keep them on when looking through the viewfinder.

 

[Robert.4507]

Hi Steaphany,

I don't mind at all, it is a good idea to be safety conscious. I had a bad experience once with the sun and a telephoto lens, when shooting eagles and tracking them. I unintentionally tracked across the sun when following the bird, it was an experience I do not ever want to repeat. Since then I have been overly cautious when shooting outside and the sun is out.

It would have been a good idea to bring this up sooner, since someone might see these pictures with the sun in them and then go try to shoot something similar.

I have used the DOF preview function in the past with these shots, however, from my previous unintentional experience from looking at the sun through the lens, I still tend to squint closed and sneak the sun into the composure.

Also, I use strong prescription glasses and the stock dioptic correction is not strong to go it alone. at some point I will upgrade to a stronger diopter. Nonetheless, I need to depend on the cameras auto focus system and prescription sunglasses I find too misleading to do a composure.

careful when shooting into the sun,

Robert

 

[Robert.4507]

AKV,

that is quite an effect for a plastic lens. thank you for sharing.

good luck with your pictures,


Robert

 

[tc95]

Nice shots...I like number...4 the best....I noticed you have two spot in the upper left hand corner...you can use the touch-up tool in PS or NX2 to correct that so it does not show up....

Keep it up..

Tony C.

 

[Robert.4507]

Hi Tony,

Thank you for the CC, I like number four too, that is the park that mother nature created, as opposed to the previous shots label as park 2).

The park 2) was a toxic fill that converted to a state park. Hopefully it will become beautiful as time passes. As it currently sit, it seems stark and barren.

As for the spots, I use Bibblelabs for raw processing. I am going to give it another go round to see if I can remove those. The first attempt did not work.

Robert

 

[Robert.4507]

When I tried to remove the speckles before the original posting, I am not certain why the attempt was unsuccessful. Probably operator error. Previously I remember copying the spot heal points and applying them to all photos in the folder, and running the correction as a batch job. Maybe that is what killed it. Today was success correcting one photo and I posted the results here:



Today I also adjusted the tone curve and used the Andy plug in by Sean Pucket for Bibblelabs.

good luck with your pictures,

Robert