A few images from Garden City Beach

Took a trip to Garden City Beach, SC. over the weekend and grabbed a couple of images while there. These aren't great so if you have C&C for me or just want to throw tomatoes then feel free.

Garden City pier.



Beach



Under the pier



A bird



Thanks for looking.
--
http://gregp.smugmug.com

ah, I'm curious--what's with the insane amount of CA in the third shot?
--
Dave

1954 Sears Tower Companion> Zeiss Ikon Super Ikonta B> Retina IIc> Minolta 16 II> Polaroid 230> Mamiya Sekor 1000 DTL> Polariod SX-70> Minolta XD-11> Canon MC-10> Minolta Maxxum HTsi> Olympus XA> Olympus Accura Zoom 105> Canon S45> Sony DSC-W170> Nikon D3100> Nikon D5100

I'm glad you brought that up as I have no idea how to get rid of it. The lightroom sliders seem to change the color but don't actually remove it. It seems to worsen the more you push the image in PP.--
http://gregp.smugmug.com/

Was the final shot taken with the same lens (as the third one), Greg? what camera and lens, BTW? I feel like I can almost reach out and touch the bubbles at the edge of the water! Nice.
--
Dave

1954 Sears Tower Companion> Zeiss Ikon Super Ikonta B> Retina IIc> Minolta 16 II> Polaroid 230> Mamiya Sekor 1000 DTL> Polariod SX-70> Minolta XD-11> Canon MC-10> Minolta Maxxum HTsi> Olympus XA> Olympus Accura Zoom 105> Canon S45> Sony DSC-W170> Nikon D3100> Nikon D5100

Dave, the first three were taken with the Tokina 11-16. The bird was taken with the Nikon 70-300.--
http://gregp.smugmug.com/

ah! The bird shot seems sharper than the rest--at least when viewing the images right on the forum.
--
Dave

1954 Sears Tower Companion> Zeiss Ikon Super Ikonta B> Retina IIc> Minolta 16 II> Polaroid 230> Mamiya Sekor 1000 DTL> Polariod SX-70> Minolta XD-11> Canon MC-10> Minolta Maxxum HTsi> Olympus XA> Olympus Accura Zoom 105> Canon S45> Sony DSC-W170> Nikon D3100> Nikon D5100

To me, it seems like everything just looks very blurry and full of CA's?

Mabe the Tokina doesn't like f/22 and 3 seconds exposure?
--
Tom
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomsales/

Tom Sales said:

Mabe the Tokina doesn't like f/22 and 3 seconds exposure?
--
Tom
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomsales/

Click to expand...

Actually Tom, I think the Tokina did just fine other than it may be a bit more prone to CA than some lenses might be. I'm not even sure I can blame the CA's on the lens as I was shooting into nearly direct sunlight and managed to blow the under pier image out pretty badly. I think most of the problems you see in these images are directly related to my lack of experience and know how. This is the reason for my post. My hope is to pick up valuable tips and advice.

The blurry water came from me stacking an ND8 and an ND4 in an attempt to get that dreamy looking ocean water I see in so many great photos. It didn't work out so well for me here. I'm guessing at this point that the technique is better used for extreme close up on the water to be blurred? I suppose I need to figure out when it's appropriate to blur the water before I go and start blurring everything...

I appreciate the comment.
--
http://gregp.smugmug.com/

keejoonc said:

To me, it seems like everything just looks very blurry and full of CA's?

Click to expand...

+1, apart from the bird shot...

I like #1 the best. The varied colors in the sky are nice and the pier glowing in the late sun along with the pier's clear reflection is appealing to me. I wonder if the shot is oversharpened as I notice some brightness around the wood. I might have like this pic even more shot just a bit later to lessen the contrast between the wet wood and the bright wood and darken the sky (making use of the Tokina's 2.8). Or, maybe you can just bring up the shadows a touch. Don't fall into the sharpness trap. It is readily noticed and praised yet is just one element in a balanced shot (for me, the last pic is sharp--again, maybe too sharp--but not something I can enjoy).
--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brev00

also looks like you have dusty sensor in the first two pix, upper left quadrant

Brev00 said:

I like #1 the best. The varied colors in the sky are nice and the pier glowing in the late sun along with the pier's clear reflection is appealing to me. I wonder if the shot is oversharpened as I notice some brightness around the wood. I might have like this pic even more shot just a bit later to lessen the contrast between the wet wood and the bright wood and darken the sky (making use of the Tokina's 2.8). Or, maybe you can just bring up the shadows a touch. Don't fall into the sharpness trap. It is readily noticed and praised yet is just one element in a balanced shot (for me, the last pic is sharp--again, maybe too sharp--but not something I can enjoy).
--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brev00

Click to expand...

Brev00,

Sharpening is one of those things (along with just about everything else in PP) that I'm always unsure about. Everyone goes on and on about sharpness and you are quite correct that I over do it a lot.

The images were actually taken about a half hour after sunrise. I was late getting there and missed a chance to make better images. While over sharpening is an issue, I think another problem with these images was that I should have exposed for the bright sky rather than the dark pier. IMO, that led to the blown sky and the CA's. These are the things I need to learn to remember when shooting!

Next time I'm working on an image, I'll definitely remember what you say about sharpening. Good advice.

I really appreciate you taking the time to not only view the images, but also the valuable critique and sharing your knowledge.

--
http://gregp.smugmug.com/

cubivore said:

also looks like you have dusty sensor in the first two pix, upper left quadrant

Click to expand...

Indeed. I've been putting off cleaning the sensor until I felt confident that any excess oil on the shutter had been slung off. I now have around 10,000 shots on the camera so it may be time to do a cleaning.
--
http://gregp.smugmug.com/