EOS 90D HDR or Multi Shot for train photography

[Ramsden]

Hello from a snowy North of England 

EOS90d to hand and a new ef 70-300 IS USM just added. The attached photo was with my kit  135mm lens and I intend to take more railway + infrastructure. So I know some guys say switch off HDR probably because of its 'automatic' nature.

So I'm planning more viaduct shots and wondering about using multiple shots and learning to use bracketing. I still intend to mix freezing the train and blurring. Up to now the blurrs havent worked very well - more of a smudge! I learnt to use manual focus and try to work in M as much as possible.

So basically, will multi shots help or hinder in this process.

Thanks

Ramsden

 

[Ramsden]

HD filter in the post! 

We've still got snow - so catch up later this week.

Ramsdeb

[Ramsden]

Hi

I ventured out in slippy conditions yesterday, but couldnt access my usual place because of of compacted snow. I managed a couple of shots in poor light with one blurr. On the way home the sun was setting and I stopped the car and grabbed my camera - hand held - and shot. So hopefully get out later this week.

Ramsden

 

[Ramsden]

 

[jrhoffman75]

It's a small JPEG, so limited in data. but a little work in Lightroom:

 

[ebiggs1]

OK the first thing to do is get the exposure correct. Your shot is drastically underexposed. That's why I wondered if it was supposed to be a silhouette. If you want bridge detail expose for the bridge. This is simple with a 90D. Aim the 90D on the bridge while holding the SS button halfway down then recompose. If you do want the upper part of the shot in correct exposure then you may need to bracket and stack.

[Ramsden]

Thanks EB

My new years resolution is to seriously up my game!

This afternoon I managed to get the Canon eos utility on my laptop and transfered all last years photographs across and the deleted around 40% of them...Ive got a great camera and must try harder. No excuses.

Thanks

Ramsden

[ebiggs1]

"Ive got a great camera and must try harder."

First yes you do have a fantastic camera. It is the best cropper series Canon made and perhaps the best one anybody made. Everybody started at the beginning. Baby steps not long jump!

[Ramsden]

Thanks EB. You've made me think and go back to square one. My previous camera was (still is) a Canon Powershot SX620 HS which just sits in my pocket - till point and shoot. So I'm transitioning, and really enjoying the process. 

So after your recent feedback I started to think about composition, which then led me to think about the steps I go through when the camera comes out of the case. I have a tripod and monopod + the plug in remote if I need it.

So do you have a procedure that you run through when you look at a scene?

So when I go back to my viaduct (when the snow and ice melt) camera on tripod - what questions would you be asking?

Thanks for your help

Ramsden

[DougsGraphics]

Ramsden,

I have the advantage (i.e., I'm getting old) of coming through the photography learning process over decades, starting with a very fundamental film camera where I learned the zone system. Film and developing were expensive so you had to learn to get it right the first time. (Shoot a wedding on film -- you better be confident in your ability to expose correctly!) I then spent almost 2 decades shooting all manner of subjects with the manual focus film Canon T-90s, which had a fantastic feature -- a 1° spot meter and the capability to measure  up to 8 (if I recall correctly) different points in a scene and adjust your exposure accordingly -- a fantastic way to visually and seemlesly implement the zone system. Nowadays with digital, you have the ability in a static scene to get instant feedback and adjust, but the zone system still applies and I still intuitively apply it.  The zone system simply put is an 11-stop scale from pure black to pure white, and 7 stops from darkest detail to brightest detail, which as a general rule is the dynamic range of most cameras. When you are faced with a high contrast scene, you want to center your exposure in the middle of that 7-stop range. The trick is then to break down the scene to the different zones and adjust your exposure from the way your camera interprets the scene (so you have to understand how your camera does that) to where it needs to be to render all the right details in a scene. That takes experience, but I would suggest that learning that will in the long run help you the most. It will help you to look at a scene and know if you can get everything in one exposure or if you will have to stack images at different exposures, add filters, etc. General composition rules come after you first work out the exposure. As a nature and wildlife photographer, I face complicated exposure situations every day that require manual exposure manipulation on the fly. Here are some examples.

 

 

 

 

 

[Ramsden]

Hi Dougs

Thanks for your post. The photographs look great. What is the burst on that sun set picture - it looks dramatic on my phone.

The Zones concept is really interesting. I was telling EB that Ive just today got a hard copy Understanding Exposure and on P16 he has the roof top parking photo. He talks about focussing on 1/3 rd into the scene to set his camera up. I was wondering how this applied to the viaduct unless because at the moment our favourite place is to the right of centre - but face on. Given that Ive never done any layering before I can see how it works. So Ive got the filter and plan to take a few pictures on tripod focussing on the stonework,.with the filter dark side up on the sky. Then either remove filter, or turn it 180° to capture trains going across ( probably frozen and blurred). Then I have merge them with software. 

Is this correct? So I now have to apply the zones to the composition  before I start - what is my focus point or story. We're in the middle of a cold spell, minus 20°  tonight so Im going knowhere with my camera. Ive got the filter and can see how it works. With the 2 scales do you play around with them in tandem to get the best combo? 

Bryan P has some interesting  views on White Balance - so my heads swimming  now!

Thanks

Ramsden

Hopefully I'll have something to work with early next week, if the snow melts.