The Atlantic coast of Cornwall #2

[lhosphotography]

And this one if you would.

Duckpoole Bay, Cornwall, England

[Marko]

I quite like the diagonal lines here and it's an interesting scene. It's not wowing me though. I think I would have needed more more water crashing into the rocks for that.

[Wicked Dark]

the lines are good like Marko says, but the thing to watch with extreme foreground shots is the focus in that area. If you're taking the time to put it in the frame as a visual element itself (not as a way to focus attention on other elements) you will need to make sure it is sharp. I had a situation like this on Sunday where I wanted the closest end of a mossy log to be in focus as well as the rest of the frame. I chose an F-stop that would get me the range I want (based on experience, not sound science or measuring), put the camera into manual focus and took the shot. I used manual focus because it's easier for me than using Auto-focus Lock and recomposing. AF point spreads often reset themselves when confronted with something else in the frame, so manual means I get what I set and that's it. Does that make sense???

[Marko]

good post WD - you are right.
When foreground elements like this loom really large, it's nice to have them very very sharp (more often than not). This is why a tripod is so essential even though it's a pain in the butt. For a shot like this closer focus on the foreground at something like F16 F22 would have helped imo.

[kat]

With what was said. I think that is wonderful information to try out. With the F16 (or higher number) you may notice changes in the waters appereance as well that might change the shot (specially on those overcast days).

[Wicked Dark]

absolutely the f-stop will change how things look, but bear in mind that with a wide angle lens you don't really need a small aperture to get a deep focal range. With a telephoto, definitely, but the essential nature of a wide angle means you can use a wider aperture and still end up with most of the frame focused. Conversely you'll also be able to render bg elements OOF by opening up the lens very wide.

And yeah, Marko's right about the tripod. It's a PITA sometimes, but worth it. I use a tripod every time I go out (and the damn thing is a 25 year old beast that weighs more than your turkey at Christmastime, but I still lug it).

another thing to bear in mind is that most lens's sweet spots are between 1 stop down from widest to about f8 or so. In that range the lens is sharpest and its flaws (like barreling, chromatic aberation etc) tend to show the least. I try to stay within my lens's sweet spot as much as I possibly can.

[kat]

Ha ha.. I forget about that..I only have the one lens.

More great info! I always have the tripod on hand..I regret it when I don't.