on a dark and foggy night, Nikkor 50mm f/1.4d

[KerryPierce]

Nikon D70 ,Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D AF
1/4s f/7.1 at 50.0mm ISO 1600 on window pod

[jethro]

fantastic shot nice crop as well i very much like sepia tones kerry

[xerubus]

nice shot Kerry... i like it a lot.

what program did you use to get rid of the dreaded noise at 1600?

cheers

[W00DY]

Hi Kerry,

I'm not sure on this shot

It is a nice shot but I think I want to see more of the road on the right hand side leading me into the frame (but then again that might not work). Plus maybe shot from a lower angle so there is not so much space in the top left corner.

What I do like is the way you have almost hidden your signature and copyright

Did you use a filter to get the starburst from the lights? I always thought you needed a special filter for this effect but then I have seen a couple of images display this lately.

W00DY

[redline]

i agree with Woody, theres too much empty space in the sky and the road feels to be cut off. iam suprise at 1600 the contrast still looks ok, or did the darken of the pic reduce what was in the sky?

[KerryPierce]

Thanks, Jethro and xerubus!

hmm, NR... I don't recall if I used NR on this shot or not. Hang on a sec, I'll check the original, be right back.....

Okay, I'm back. The original was shot in NEF, contrary to my usual practice. Noise wasn't very bad at all, IMO. The fog apparently masked some of it and the rest was quite reasonable. I'm guessing that I used a slight NR, with PSP 9's native NR tool. I took a bunch of shots that night, at ISO 1600 and didn't find many where the noise was real bad.

[mudder]

Really like your subject choice... Just would have liked to see the light that's producing the star-burst effect on the right hand side and maybe lost the light that seems to distract me on the left... Maybe the frame just needed to be a little more to the right and include the edge of the road on the right hand side...? Dunno if it's me, or the lens used but it seems really sharp , even with the mist...

Great subject choice, the mist/fog makes it seem really atmospheric...

[KerryPierce]

Hi Kerry,

I'm not sure on this shot

That's okay, Woody. I ain't no Ansel Adams....

It is a nice shot but I think I want to see more of the road on the right hand side leading me into the frame (but then again that might not work). Plus maybe shot from a lower angle so there is not so much space in the top left corner.

I have the shot you describe, taken 5 frames subsequent to this one, and don't like it as much. I wanted the fog over the water and didn't want the street light on the right, fully in the photo. Going lower would just add more black to the bottom of the frame and center the horizon.

What I do like is the way you have almost hidden your signature and copyright

I don't like to make them obtrusive, if I can help it, but no longer post photos naked.... Pirates have been raiding my pbase site brazenly, just by directly linking the photos rather than stealing them and removing the copyright. I want to make them work a little bit for my images.

Did you use a filter to get the starburst from the lights? I always thought you needed a special filter for this effect but then I have seen a couple of images display this lately.
W00DY

No filters. The effect is from the stopped down aperture. I can't recall ever having put a filter on the d70, other than a close up lens....

[KerryPierce]

Really like your subject choice... Just would have liked to see the light that's producing the star-burst effect on the right hand side and maybe lost the light that seems to distract me on the left... Maybe the frame just needed to be a little more to the right and include the edge of the road on the right hand side...? Dunno if it's me, or the lens used but it seems really sharp , even with the mist...

Great subject choice, the mist/fog makes it seem really atmospheric...

Thanks, Andrew! Since you, Redline and Woody state a preference for seeing more of the road, I'll try to run that other frame through the grinder tomorrow or Saturday and post it for comparison.

I'll try to remember to post a pair of shots with and without NR, so y'all can see the difference.

That lens is very sharp, plus the image is rather contrasty.

[Mr Rotty]

I enjoy your shots Kerry, especially your dog shots. You really capture a moment

[sirhc55]

Okey dokey Kerry - I am going to go the other way on what the others have said. First up though I must say that your shot reminds me of London on a good old Jack the Ripper night.

My observations would be to crop the left hand side to remove the light, I would also crop tighter on the right hand side to remove the star burst of the hidden light (or clone it out).

The eye then would follow the natural curve into the centre of the pic without distraction.

Quality as always

[mic]

This is a nice moody shot Kerry, Needs some sort of cropping above & to the right.

But, I think it's a nice capture of a cold foggy night.
All thats missing is a tall long dark coated man hunched over walking away from you with one of the 30's Hats on.

Well, maybe I going off on a bit of a fantasy here from whats going on in my head.

Anyway, yet another one you seem to capture with flair & ease.

Mic. Woof ! Woof !

[PiroStitch]

Love the photo, but hate jpeg compression. It made the fog look clumpy...if that makes sense

[Neeper]

Nice shot Kerry. Personally, I would have liked to see more road on the right.

[dooda]

Your skill really shows through on this shot. Pure magic.
One thing that would lead me into this shot better is to maybe put some of those puddles at the bottom as a more prominent feature, it would give the picture more depth, and who doesn't love puddles?

Otherwise Chris (as always) has great advice.

[ozbenny]

Kerry,

I really like the sepia like colors, it really suits this image.

Like Neeper, i'd love to see some more of the road on the right.
If the curve of the road was more prominent it would be magic!

p.s Do you get the starlight effect on all long exposure bright lights?
I get it all the time, and can't stop it!

[big pix]

You are very lucky to be able to photograph fog, I am very lucky if I ever see any where I live.....

A very good night pix with lots of shadow detail where needed......

big pix

[Raydar]

Love it!!!!!

Great image mate

Cheesr
Ray

[boxerboy]

The sepia really suits the mood of the shot. Like it a lot.

Cheers
Peter

[KerryPierce]

Kerry,

I really like the sepia like colors, it really suits this image.

Like Neeper, i'd love to see some more of the road on the right.
If the curve of the road was more prominent it would be magic!

p.s Do you get the starlight effect on all long exposure bright lights?
I get it all the time, and can't stop it!

Thanks for the comments, Benny.

Yes, the starlight effect is normal with such exposures, AFAIK. IIRC, the number of "rays" is about double the number of blades in the lens aperture.

[KerryPierce]

Wow Many thanks to all, for the kind compliments and the interesting comments. You guys are great!

I'll post another version of this image, one that many of you suggested, in a new thread, as soon as I can run it through the grinder.