Landscape Capde Spear in the morning

Gareth.Ig · 02-17-2013, 06:50 AM

Hello, everyone. I'm looking for some advice and feedback on this photograph. It was taken on a tripod using a remote for shutter release. I believe the focus point was the foreground rock outcropping, which was several hundred feet away. Focal Length was 31mm.

My own major issue with the image is the Lighthouse and associated outbuildings are not in focus or appear blurry. I get this in many of my photographs where the distant images are not sharp. What am I doing wrong? What can I add to my process to remove this? Also, any other constructive criticism of course. Thanks!

The original has been cropped to a 16x9 to remove a portion of the sky and a small outcrop of rock that appeared at the bottom of my frame.

Attached Images

tclausen · 02-17-2013, 07:01 AM

Well, concretely - as you ask for: use a smaller aperture (bigger number) for more depth of field.

Gareth.Ig · 02-17-2013, 07:26 AM

I do appreciate that and its a note I have made to myself to reduce aperture, but at f5.6 I should have plenty of depth of field for the focus point to have that light house in focus.

tclausen · 02-17-2013, 08:11 AM

Originally posted by Gareth.Ig

I do appreciate that and its a note I have made to myself to reduce aperture, but at f5.6 I should have plenty of depth of field for the focus point to have that light house in focus.

Well, on a 31mm at f/5.6, your photo looks roughly like I would expect, DoF-wise.....

**jac** · 02-17-2013, 08:37 AM

Try f8 to f11. For a scene of this nature, focus about one-third of the way into the shot but that may well be the case since you have cropped already. You might choose to read up on hyperfocal distance. Just Google. There a quite a few useful apps which can assist you with this including some free ones.

johnyates · 02-17-2013, 11:33 AM

Originally posted by Gareth.Ig

I get this in many of my photographs where the distant images are not sharp.

Perhaps you should bracket focus the next time you go shooting. That way at least one of your exposures will have the focus where you want it.

Also, you'll get your most accurate focus using live view.

Allison · 02-17-2013, 05:10 PM

I agree with everyone so far, 5.6 is not the right f/stop to get the desired DOF. F/8 or f/11 should do the trick. You will definitely need the tripod and remote shutter release then.

Gareth.Ig · 02-17-2013, 06:36 PM

Thanks guys. Will definitely use the smaller aperture and the focus bracketing.

bezuidar · 02-17-2013, 10:21 PM

Nice image. It has that "cold" feeling to it.

02-17-2013, 06:50 AM	#1
Gareth.Ig Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Cochrane, AB Photos: Gallery Posts: 508	Capde Spear in the morning Lens: DA16-50 Camera:* K-5 Photo Location: Cape Spear, NL ISO: 80 Shutter Speed: 1/45s Aperture: F5.6 Hello, everyone. I'm looking for some advice and feedback on this photograph. It was taken on a tripod using a remote for shutter release. I believe the focus point was the foreground rock outcropping, which was several hundred feet away. Focal Length was 31mm. My own major issue with the image is the Lighthouse and associated outbuildings are not in focus or appear blurry. I get this in many of my photographs where the distant images are not sharp. What am I doing wrong? What can I add to my process to remove this? Also, any other constructive criticism of course. Thanks! The original has been cropped to a 16x9 to remove a portion of the sky and a small outcrop of rock that appeared at the bottom of my frame. Attached Images

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02-17-2013, 07:01 AM	#2
tclausen Veteran Member Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 1,397	Well, concretely - as you ask for: use a smaller aperture (bigger number) for more depth of field.

02-17-2013, 07:26 AM	#3
Gareth.Ig Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Cochrane, AB Photos: Gallery Posts: 508 Original Poster	I do appreciate that and its a note I have made to myself to reduce aperture, but at f5.6 I should have plenty of depth of field for the focus point to have that light house in focus.

02-17-2013, 08:11 AM	#4
tclausen Veteran Member Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 1,397	Originally posted by Gareth.Ig I do appreciate that and its a note I have made to myself to reduce aperture, but at f5.6 I should have plenty of depth of field for the focus point to have that light house in focus. Well, on a 31mm at f/5.6, your photo looks roughly like I would expect, DoF-wise.....

02-17-2013, 08:37 AM	#5
jac Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Clyde River, Nunavut, Canada Posts: 2,364	Try f8 to f11. For a scene of this nature, focus about one-third of the way into the shot but that may well be the case since you have cropped already. You might choose to read up on hyperfocal distance. Just Google. There a quite a few useful apps which can assist you with this including some free ones.

02-17-2013, 11:33 AM	#6
johnyates Pentaxian Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Saskatoon, SK Photos: Albums Posts: 1,345	Originally posted by Gareth.Ig I get this in many of my photographs where the distant images are not sharp. Perhaps you should bracket focus the next time you go shooting. That way at least one of your exposures will have the focus where you want it. Also, you'll get your most accurate focus using live view.

02-17-2013, 05:10 PM	#7
Allison Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 667	I agree with everyone so far, 5.6 is not the right f/stop to get the desired DOF. F/8 or f/11 should do the trick. You will definitely need the tripod and remote shutter release then.

02-17-2013, 06:36 PM	#8
Gareth.Ig Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Cochrane, AB Photos: Gallery Posts: 508 Original Poster	Thanks guys. Will definitely use the smaller aperture and the focus bracketing.

02-17-2013, 10:21 PM	#9
bezuidar Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Centurion, South Africa Photos: Gallery Posts: 380	Nice image. It has that "cold" feeling to it.