Is there a better way to take ths photo? (There must be!)

PGMPGM Registered Users Posts: 2,007 Major grins
edited January 11, 2014 in Landscapes
Hi everyone,

I don't take too many landscapes photos, and certainly could use some help. I took the photo below on Halloween, when we have a bonfire out behind the pepper fields as part of a party and cookout for children on Avery Island. I'd love to know the best way to take this photo. I love the scene, and if I'm lucky, the bonfire ends up being behind an oak tree, though not every year. This year I set my camera up on a tripod, set it to BULB, and then just took various exposures. I wanted to capture the silhouette of the oak tree with the fire behind it. The dynamic range was too much for my camera (Canon 7-D), so the below photo is a composite of one shot that properly exposed the fire, and another that made the tree look better, plus a fair amount of processing to darken parts of the tree. I am thinking that I should have taken lots more varying shutter speeds, since different parts of the tree lit up differently. Anyway, I love the scene, but think somehow I should be able to do a much better job next year. All help appreciated!

Best, Pam

2013-1030_Halloween_Bonfire_Avery_Island-1F-L.jpg

Comments

  • JCJC Registered Users Posts: 768 Major grins
    edited January 9, 2014
    The easiest fire shots, if you don't want effects like this, are taken at dusk, while there is enough ambient light to illuminate the surroundings.
    But it's not totally clear from your text what is your desired shot. Are you trying to design a stark silhouetted shot?
    Yeah, if you recognize the avatar, new user name.
  • PGMPGM Registered Users Posts: 2,007 Major grins
    edited January 9, 2014
    JC, good question. We don't actually light the fire until it is dark, so I don't have the dusk option, but I am glad to know about it, as I have never attempted to photograph fire before. To the naked eye, this scene does have the silhouette look, though not quite as dramatic. Many thanks, Pam
  • captnemocaptnemo Registered Users Posts: 186 Major grins
    edited January 11, 2014
    PGM wrote: »
    JC, good question. We don't actually light the fire until it is dark, so I don't have the dusk option, but I am glad to know about it, as I have never attempted to photograph fire before. To the naked eye, this scene does have the silhouette look, though not quite as dramatic. Many thanks, Pam
    Is there a better way to take ths photo? (There must be!)

    Well as already mentioned depends what you're trying to achieve. I don't particularly like the red color cast of this image- where did that come from? A fire would not typically give that(more orange/yellow). If you wanted a silhouette you would probably need a shorter exposure as the tree has too much light on it in this exposure. I might have gone the other way though and used fill flash to illuminate the tree. Only way to know for certain which you'd prefer would be to try both and compare. Also since you're shooting on bulb and can therefore have the shutter open as long as you need a smaller aperture (at least 8) would give you a crisper image if thats what you want. (assuming a good steady tripod)

    Hope that doesn't sound too critical I rather like the pic but you wanted to know how else you could have done it.
    p.s I love Avery Island, I lived in New Iberia when I first moved to Louisiana, and I enjoyed browsing your other pics.
  • PGMPGM Registered Users Posts: 2,007 Major grins
    edited January 11, 2014
    captnemo wrote: »
    Is there a better way to take ths photo? (There must be!)

    Well as already mentioned depends what you're trying to achieve. I don't particularly like the red color cast of this image- where did that come from? A fire would not typically give that(more orange/yellow). If you wanted a silhouette you would probably need a shorter exposure as the tree has too much light on it in this exposure. I might have gone the other way though and used fill flash to illuminate the tree. Only way to know for certain which you'd prefer would be to try both and compare. Also since you're shooting on bulb and can therefore have the shutter open as long as you need a smaller aperture (at least 8) would give you a crisper image if thats what you want. (assuming a good steady tripod)

    Hope that doesn't sound too critical I rather like the pic but you wanted to know how else you could have done it.
    p.s I love Avery Island, I lived in New Iberia when I first moved to Louisiana, and I enjoyed browsing your other pics.

    Not too critical at all! Thank you for the many helpful suggestions! Best, Pam
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