How is my NEX sunrise? :)

[Duskbat]

I sure love my NEX 6. I bought it in St Thomas this year while on a cruise. My old NEX5n is sad because it sits in a drawer. I should donate it.

This morning I couldn't sleep and went outside for beautiful Florida sunrise. I hope they are nice. I used the BW one for my desktop wallpaper at work. What do you think?

Im not a pro or aspire to be a pro. I take photos for my enjoyment and I am Happy with my style. I dont have many to share my photos with so a little feed back is nice.







I edit my photos with IPHOTO on a MAC.







Is it best to show the sunrise as it appears to the eye? Is it ok to make it a bit more surreal and enhance the colors?

Would Adams approve of my BW or would he bash the camera over my head

 

[nannyg]

Nice photos. I like the black and white, too. It's funny, because you are the only other person I have seen admit to using iPhoto to edit their pics. I do too - I'm still waiting for the motivation to learn a more "professional" system. Generally, I prefer to let the photos stand as they are whenever possible, just adjusting exposure, contrast and saturation a little when necessary - but rarely more than about 10%. Cropping, too, of course.

I just bought a used 5n body on eBay for $300 and was thrilled (as a 2nd body to avoid changing lenses so much). So if yours is in working condition, you should get some money for it - maybe even enough for another lens There is a mini-cult of folks who are drawn to the 5n - mostly those who do not covet the viewfinder, but still want the great IQ in the smallest possible package.

Keep taking photos!

 

[lyricalmotion]

once u go lightroom u can never go back ... JK JK JK.. but i used to use those... raw converters that sony gave out for free with their nex cameras.

 

[Untameable]

This may sound like a stupid question, but how do you get this kind of photo without worrying about accidentally pointing it into the sun and burning a hole in your camera / eyes?

 

[Duskbat]

Untameable wrote:

This may sound like a stupid question, but how do you get this kind of photo without worrying about accidentally pointing it into the sun and burning a hole in your camera / eyes?

In this instance the sun was still below the horizon. Also no optical viewfinder on the NEX so I am sure the eyes are safe. Over the years I have shot many sun photos and havnt burned a sensor yet. From my experience I think its ok in moderation and if your fast. Maybe someone with more experience can chime in on this matter.

 

[SinSilla]

The good thing about photography is that there are only guidelines and no rules per se.
Do whatever you like and what pleases your eye.

I really like the first one as i like the colors very much, reminds of the Lion King somehow.

 

[Mel Snyder]

Since no one responded to your question about (Ansel) Adams, I'll take a stab.

Ansel Adams wrote the book - actually, a library of books - on how he accomplished his results. I have one I read many years ago. His zone exposure techniques were rarely backlit like yours. His technique depended a lot on overexposing and underdeveloping black and white film. He combined that with waiting until the light was just right - hitting the scene enough to bring out texture, but not long shadows with deep underexposed areas.

I'm intrigued by your question. I'm trying to figure out how we could do the equivalent of under-development on a digital sensor. My sense is, we'd have to shoot scenes under his lighting, and adjust the contrast in Lightroom.

Interesting question. One thing that would drive Adams nuts - the whole bokeh subject on which this forum obsesses.

 

[franzel]

Duskbat wrote:

Would Adams approve of my BW or would he bash the camera over my head

He would tell you to shoot Raw, shoot that scene at f8, and ask what the exposure comp was for .

Nice sky, but the complete lack of detail in the trees is too much .

A brighter exposure and Raw would probably have allowed for recovering at least some shadow detail, and still maintain the tonality of the sky .

 

[imabel]

I think the color photo is fine, but you may want to use a bit of crop but only on the color version. I really think the B&W is stunning. It reminds me of the sillouette B&W pictures from the 30's and 40's.

Bringing up the shadows in the color version would probably help but the B&W needs nothing imo only.

I shoot in RAW + Jpg and until a few days ago I used LR4 or Photo Ninja to process the raw. My buddy talked me into processing the jpg in iPhoto and comparing the shots and I have to say iPhoto does one heck of a job on jpgs. From my perspective they are very very close. I have asked friends to pick which was processed by iPhoto and which were processed by PN and LR4, and no one can pick out which piece of software processed which picture unless they have access to the exif data.

Keep shooting and enjoy the hobby.

Mike

 

[Ken Sills]

You're not a photojournalist whose photos should convey reality. Your photography is for your pleasure. Of course it's ok to enhance colors - whatever pleases you. It's your art. Your color sunrise is stunning.

Ken