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what went wrong stickb0y7 !9FVrc11kpo
dear /p/
this is a 100% crop of a sunset picture i took this evening. can anyone help me figure out why it looks like crap? the only post processing done was convert raw to jpeg. i used autofocus and the focus point was on the mountain so it was a good contrasty area to focus on, so i don't think it's out of focus. is it overexposed in the red channel? or just a crappy lens? it's the nikkor 18-135mm. pretty much all of my pictures from this set came out this way.
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Camera-Specific Properties:Equipment MakeNIKON CORPORATIONCamera ModelNIKON D50Camera SoftwareVer.1.00Maximum Lens Aperturef/4.0Sensing MethodOne-Chip Color AreaColor Filter Array Pattern724Focal Length (35mm Equiv)42 mmImage-Specific Properties:Horizontal Resolution240 dpiVertical Resolution240 dpiImage Created2007:07:29 20:43:11Exposure Time2.5 secF-Numberf/8.0Exposure ProgramAperture PriorityISO Speed Rating200Lens Aperturef/8.0Exposure Bias0 EVMetering ModeCenter Weighted AverageLight SourceUnknownFlashNo FlashFocal Length28.00 mmCommentJason.Arends@gmail.comRenderingNormalExposure ModeAutoWhite BalanceAutoScene Capture TypeStandardGain ControlNoneContrastSoftSaturationNormalSharpnessNormalSubject Distance RangeUnknown
>> ac !!VPzQAxYPAMA
... What exactly do you think is wrong with this picture?

I see a little chromatic abberation and some JPEG artifacts. Is it possibly just that you're not used to looking at 100% crops?
>> stickb0y7 !9FVrc11kpo
the border of the mountains and sky isn't very sharp. maybe i'm not used to looking at 100% crops... is this normal? seems like it should be sharper to me. i saved it as jpeg with 100% quality to try to reduce artifacts. is chromatic abberation the sort of colred border along the mountains?
>> stickb0y7 !9FVrc11kpo
     File :-(, x)
oh, and here's the full shot, resized to be more board-friendly

Camera-Specific Properties:Equipment MakeNIKON CORPORATIONCamera ModelNIKON D50Camera SoftwareVer.1.00Maximum Lens Aperturef/4.0Sensing MethodOne-Chip Color AreaColor Filter Array Pattern724Focal Length (35mm Equiv)42 mmImage-Specific Properties:Horizontal Resolution240 dpiVertical Resolution240 dpiImage Created2007:07:29 21:00:25Exposure Time2.5 secF-Numberf/8.0Exposure ProgramAperture PriorityISO Speed Rating200Lens Aperturef/8.0Exposure Bias0 EVMetering ModeCenter Weighted AverageLight SourceUnknownFlashNo FlashFocal Length28.00 mmCommentJason.Arends@gmail.comRenderingNormalExposure ModeAutoWhite BalanceAutoScene Capture TypeStandardGain ControlNoneContrastSoftSaturationNormalSharpnessNormalSubject Distance RangeUnknown
>> Anonymous
My guess would be that the long exposure let some of the light bleed from the horizon into the black of the mountains. The 2.5 second exposure isn't going to lead to a sharp looking sky, either, since those clouds are all probably moving. Since everything you're focusing on is at effectively infinate range, try opening your apature way up next time. That will soften up the points of light, as well, keeping them as dots instead of stars. All in all though I think it looks pretty good. The colors are amazing. You might have had a little more to work with if it was exposed a little brighter. I assume you used a tripod. I could be talking out of my ass, too, I dunno.
>> Anonymous
Long exposure and inaccurate metering.
>> Anonymous
what pogrom did you use to convert to jpeg. some do it better than others. the green/blue channels look seriously fucked to me.

are you sure you didn't alter brightness/contrast after saving cos that's what it looks like.
>> Anonymous
100% crop of a 3000 x 2000 pixel image displayed at roughly 100 dpi screen resolution = 30 x 20 inch print.

Keep in mind you're looking at a very small portion of a poster size print. It's not going to look sharp at this crop. This is pretty much what all digital photos look like at 100% .
>> stickb0y7 !9FVrc11kpo
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thanks for the advice... i guess i am being overly picky. i converted it using PS CS2, just opened it, then saved as jpeg using camera settings. i just noticed the blurry edge and when i zoomed in it looked much worse.

in return for your advice, i give you this picture that i thought turned out pretty cool after brightening it

Camera-Specific Properties:Equipment MakeNIKON CORPORATIONCamera ModelNIKON D50Camera SoftwareVer.1.00Maximum Lens Aperturef/3.6Sensing MethodOne-Chip Color AreaColor Filter Array Pattern724Focal Length (35mm Equiv)30 mmImage-Specific Properties:Horizontal Resolution240 dpiVertical Resolution240 dpiImage Created2007:07:29 22:33:25Exposure Time30 secF-Numberf/5.0Exposure ProgramManualISO Speed Rating200Lens Aperturef/5.0Exposure Bias0 EVMetering ModeCenter Weighted AverageLight SourceUnknownFlashNo FlashFocal Length20.00 mmCommentJason.Arends@gmail.comRenderingNormalExposure ModeManualWhite BalanceAutoScene Capture TypeStandardGain ControlNoneContrastNormalSaturationNormalSharpnessNormalSubject Distance RangeUnknown
>> Anonymous
>>65642

Hello new desktop.
>> Anonymous
The red fringing is caused by using a wide aperture for such a high-contrast shot. Try stopping down to F/8 or F/10 and do the shot over. It'll take 4x-8x slower shutter speed (try 10-20sec) but if the clouds aren't moving too fast, it shouldn't blur too much. Hope you're using 2-sec delay on the shutter release, too. Even when using a tripod, the camera will shake for a second when you hit the shutter button.
>> Anonymous
I garuntee its just going to bleed more if he closes it down. It's the time open that causes that, not the apature. The closed down apature is going to put huge stars on every point of light, too.