Scotland - a query on how to

[Paranormalist]

I is going to Scotlandshire in a few weeks for a week. Long exposures along with the sunrise and the sunset will be the order of the day (conditions permitting). Thing is I ain't been into doing photography of this type so much. So basically what I is after is advice on how best to go about getting good results - ie not coming back with loads of under/overexposed photies.

Para

 

[Some Bloke]

"Scotlandshire" I'm sure someone will complain, they did when I used that phrase

A tripod, low ISO, small f stop and a neutral density filter (or circular polariser if you don't have a ND filter) will all help you get long exposures.
And you could also bracket your exposures to get it bang on.

 

[Paranormalist]

What about metering for the sunrise/sunset?

 

[=]*]

"Scotlandshire" I'm sure someone will complain, they did when I used that phrase

Some people have no sense of humor.


All my ideas were mentioned above. Slightly under exposed shots bring out the sky and darken the hills, which looks good if you get it right.

 

[Gordon @ Convergent AV]

calling allymac, calling allymac!

 

[TonyH]

hope your up for an early rise, coz the sunrise is around 5am here at the minute and sunset is roughly 9.30-10pm

 

[Paranormalist]

hope your up for an early rise, coz the sunrise is around 5am here at the minute and sunset is roughly 9.30-10pm

Should be.

 

[Paranormalist]

bump... please help!

 

[TonyH]

your gonna need a filter system and a selection of grad ND filters. This is for long exposure to get the correct exposure for the land and to stop the sky burning out.

 

[Paranormalist]

Will HDR suffice instead??

 

[allymac123]

calling allymac, calling allymac!

You called Sire??


To be honest this is the kind of thread I just get a bad feeling from.

My concern is that you are letting technique dictate vision, which can be okay in some individual circumstances but I think it's wrong to set out to take just take long exposures and sunrise/set shots. For a lot of the landscapes long exposures won't be desirable so you'll be sacrificing the result from the out. Again you mention HDR, a very usfull process when you want to increase the dynamic range, however use of such process should be decided on location and not in advance.

If you don't know how to do something or have little experience then try before you go. It would be a waste to come back with nothing decent because you spent your time trying to take precontrived shots with little understanding on how to do them even if they were the right technique for the location.

 

[T0MAT01]

My concern is that you are letting technique dictate vision, which can be okay in some individual circumstances but I think it's wrong to set out to take just take long exposures and sunrise/set shots. For a lot of the landscapes long exposures won't be desirable so you'll be sacrificing the result from the out. Again you mention HDR, a very usfull process when you want to increase the dynamic range, however use of such process should be decided on location and not in advance.

I agree, it's far better to determine the type of shot you want on location when you can see what you have to work with. Different situations will suit different techniques.

The key is to have all the tools with you to be able to do what you want when you get there. In that respect you'll need a good tripod and a few filters - ND, ND grads, CPL, remote release, maybe a hot shoe spirit level... I'm sure there's more.

But the most important things to have are a keen eye and the knowledge of how to meter the scenes and that will only come with experiance. A sunset will always have differing levels of light as the sun dissapears, so using full manual mode is probably the most tricky way to shoot one. But using one of the semi auto modes (Av for example) means that you're reliant on the metering to get it right. The trouble is there is no right way to do it. Every scene is different and even then it depends on what result you want to achieve.

What I'm trying to say is that there is really only one thing for it... Go out and start practising!

HTH.

 

[senu]

You called Sire??


To be honest this is the kind of thread I just get a bad feeling from.

My concern is that you are letting technique dictate vision, which can be okay in some individual circumstances but I think it's wrong to set out to take just take long exposures and sunrise/set shots. For a lot of the landscapes long exposures won't be desirable so you'll be sacrificing the result from the out. Again you mention HDR, a very usfull process when you want to increase the dynamic range, however use of such process should be decided on location and not in advance.

If you don't know how to do something or have little experience then try before you go. It would be a waste to come back with nothing decent because you spent your time trying to take precontrived shots with little understanding on how to do them even if they were the right technique for the location.

Very astute points . letting creativity and indeed the scenne as you see it , not technique dictate shooting style and location.

However. Is it also not possible to have been inspired by images such as you had taken and try and move in that direction ;Not so much as duplicate but develop that " flair"
Also Scotland ( as a choice of location) certainly does seem to offer a lot of natural Beauty ( If you are ready to brave the elements!!)

In short.. do you take the pictures them decide PP techniqes later?

Do you decide which kind of PP at the time of taking the pictures , then shoot with that in mind
or do you simply let the scene you see before you decide how you go?

Technical expertise aside, it would be interesting to know how you endup with some of those shots in terma of what thought were going through your mind at the time