2012 Edition
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The stated objective of this assignment is to: "begin the process of visualizing
images in color". A further purpose is to: "begin learning the importance of shadows
in an image". "SHADOWS" will be the subject of the images you create.
A further requirement is that the pictures need to be taken outdoors (in Oregon where
we won't be seeing the sun again until mid-July). The pictures are to be taken using
ISO 400, and containing 4 shots, one each at f2, f2.8, f16 and f22. Tripod use is
mandatory.
We are required to submit 24 prints of the pictures we've taken... 100% of the work
I do with my camera is for use on my web sites so this requirement seems arbitrary
to me. Many of the students bring laptops/iPads to class each week. Additionally, 4x6
prints are really too small to determine the quality of a shot, in most cases. Using
a high resolution, large PC monitor, it is a LOT easier to determine which shots came
out really well and which didn't. I have been really unhappy with the prints of many
of the pictures I've taken. But if I veiw those very same pictures on the computer,
they often look excellent.
We are also to make a list of what we learned from this exercise.
1) For at least a few of the scenes I selected, NONE of the manadated aperture settings
producted decent pictures. For example, my 35mm f1.8 prime lens generated a fair
amount of diffraction at f16 and f22 that softened the focus more than I like.
2) As a control measure, I took a shot of each scene with the camera set to auto
scene (landscape) mode. For reasons that escape me, the auto mode pictures often
came out at least as good if not a LOT better than the one's I took in manual mode...
including manual mode shots using settings that were VERY close to the same settings
that the D7000 selected. Some experts explained that this is because the D7000 does
significant processing to each shot taken in auto modes whereas this is not done
in camera for manual shots.
3) The sky is completely blown in the fire hydrant pictures although the exposure for
the intended subjects seems fine. Wondering what I could have done to improve this
shot. An expert explained that the scene exceeded the dynamic range for my camera's
sensor. This could have been overcome by using a graduated ND filter, among other
things.
4) In the daffodil shots, using a small (f16 and f22) aperture resulted in WORSE
overall focus and depth of field. The flowers were less in focus AND the handicapped
parking sign in the background was more difficult to read when expanded. This has
me scratching my head. An expert said the best focus/DoF for the lens I am using
would be at around f11 or larger. In scene mode (which produced the best results)
the camera selected f10.
5) Since the objective of this class is to (obstensibly) learn how to take better
pictures, I have my camera set to override the specified ISO setting if the requested
setting will produce an inferior shot. This does result in adding another variable
to the exercise.... but fixing the speed at ISO 400 resulted in quite a few poorly
exposed pictures while providing no up side advantage that I could see.
6) Someone needs to explain the following to me: My D7000 takes excellent shots
95% of the time when using automatic scene mode. It takes two seconds to set the
camera up and take the shot. In manual mode, it takes a LOT longer to set the camera
up and it's pretty much a requirement that you'll need to take at least a half dozen
shots at various settings in order to get ONE that's ALMOST as good as the pictures
the D7000 takes in auto mode. And except for tricky exposure situations (e.g. snow)
I have yet to take a better picture in manual mode than the D7000 provides in auto.
Soooooo..... what am I doing wrong that I am not getting great shots in full manual
even when using settings that are VERY similar to those that the D7000 selected in
auto mode?
SUMMARY: I'm learning that unless there are tricky lighting circumstances, I'm
better off using the D7000's landscape scene mode in most cases (for landscape shots).
An f8 in aperture priority mode (or manual mode) also seems to do consistently well
in many cases.
The percentage of really bad pictures that I get when shooting in full manual mode
is pretty high. I suppose with practice the keeper rate will increase. One
epiphany for me has been that with enough fiddling, it is possible to get even the
best camera to take really horrible pictures.
This was a "just for fun" shot taken during a brief period this week when it wasn't
pouring buckets.
1/200" @ f10. Taking this shot using ANY of the mandated aperture settings
resulted in really lousy results. Since I already know how to take bad pictures,
it seems rather silly and wasteful to me to pay to have poor quality shots printed
so I will only be submitting samples of these assignments that actually come out half
way decently.
BELOW: 1/400", f16 in manual mode. The focus/depth of field was noticably worse at f22.
Ditto for this one taken @ f10, 1/200"
BELOW: taken @ f22 which doesn't look so hot to me.
1/2000" @ f8
1/400" @ f8 (not f2, f2.8, f16 or f22 as mandated in this assignment).
1/400" @ f8. What confuses me is that f16 and f22 aperture settings resulted
is worse (not as well focused overall) pictures... an expert advises that this is
due to diffraction. I probably could have taken more care in selecting my focus
point(s). The shot looked ok in the viewfinder though.
The above picture was taken in automatic scene mode (landscape) and came out
pretty well, I think. The cones are a little over-exposed but the focus and
exposure seems pretty good overall. The shots I took in manual, using similar
settings to what the camera chose also came out "ok" but not quite as good as
this one....
f2.8, 1/1250". The f2.0 shot resulted in WORSE focus on the hydrant... :(
Again, more care in setting the focus point might have helped that.
Below: 1/250"/f5.6. Pretty decent depth of field. The smaller aperture settings
did not come out as well. I'm wondering, based on what experts are telling me, if I
should just avoid using f16 and f22 on this lens altogether, in most cases.
Last set. You can click on these images to expand them. This first one is a control
shot taken in auto landscape scene mode. Theoretically at least, a human "should"
be able to take a better shot than a "dumb" camera. We shall see...
This shot looks "ok"... the focus could be a little crisper though.
The f16 shot looks better to me as compared to f22. I don't see a huge difference
between this one and the control shot. I did scale the files to reduce their size though
so that they won't take forever to load.
Not surprisingly, the large aperture shots have better focus in the foreground
but fuzzy with regard to the more distant objects.
I think this shot came out the best of all. I scaled it less than the others so
that it can be expanded more for a closer inspection. This is consistent with some
advice I received advising me not to go over f8/f11 in most cases. This fellow has
offered some spot on insight in the past... looks like this is another valuable
nugget of information.
I also used spot metering for this shot. The others were taken in matrix mode.
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