Sun and Storm.. your thoughts please?

DeeCajun

There was a wicked storm over the lake and the sun came out between the clouds..

I took 100 pictures and not happy with any.. any suggestions?

1.


2.


3.

DeeCajun

anyone?

I'll pass out cookies for opinions...

Tharhawk

With the first two I would crop the bottoms off. If you have something like noise ninja, I would use that to get rid of the noise. Next time, take a longer exposure at a lower ISO to get less noise, then try to get the exposure a bit closer, so you don't lose too much quality (thus gaining more noise again). Also try to work on composition. The reason cutting off everything from the bottoms from the below two pictures, is that the foreground is distracting. You have to look for what is capturing your attention and, well, pay as much attention to it as you can. Eliminate everything else. Also, whenever you are shooting into the sun going +1 or two stops is a good idea or just bracketing your shot in general. The 3rd shot isn't great and I don't see a way to improve as is. Next time you are there, look for better light to get more life in the photo.

DeeCajun

Tharhawk wrote:

With the first two I would crop the bottoms off. If you have something like noise ninja, I would use that to get rid of the noise. Next time, take a longer exposure at a lower ISO to get less noise, then try to get the exposure a bit closer, so you don't lose too much quality (thus gaining more noise again). Also try to work on composition. The reason cutting off everything from the bottoms from the below two pictures, is that the foreground is distracting. You have to look for what is capturing your attention and, well, pay as much attention to it as you can. Eliminate everything else. Also, whenever you are shooting into the sun going +1 or two stops is a good idea or just bracketing your shot in general. The 3rd shot isn't great and I don't see a way to improve as is. Next time you are there, look for better light to get more life in the photo.

Thank you!

I live here so I have this view daily...I did take some without the lake included.. I will take a look at those and also taking notes.. thank you!!!

rainbow

storm.jpg

I played with this briefly in Photoshop Elements 7 to lighten up the shot and remove some noise (already deleted from my PC). It is low resolution but can give you an idea if this is in the direction you are seeking. It appears to me that you are metering for the scene as shown, which means it will appear very dark (as it does) because of the sun. Thus, you need to compensate with the +1 or +2 (or more...) to get the exposure better for the clouds and the foreground. This will reduce noise tremendously, more than adjusting ISO.

I do not necessarily agree on cropping out the foreground unless that is what you want the photo to look like. BUT maybe more foreground with that dramatic sky can also be what you envision.

So keep experimenting. But don't shoot all shots the same. Try metering like you did. Then try metering the water, locking the metering and taking the same shot. Then try metering the sky but not including the sun in the frame when metering then shooting the same shot. Look at the results and figure out which you like AND figure out why they look different and as they do. Then do it again with your new understanding. Hope this helps... And enjoy it!

DeeCajun

Wow thank you!

This sky was the most rare I have seen .. Cirrus clouds way up and storm clouds whipping by below.. with the Sun coming up between them.. I probably took 50 shots with different settings etc ( I am still learning!) .. and the sun is blown out in most all of them.. the clouds would not cooperate and get more in front of the sun...

Thanks for doing this...I really appreciate the help.. I need it!