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Kelvin Scale - Digital Photography



 
 
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  #3  
Old August 3rd 08, 11:50 PM posted to rec.photo.digital
Robert Coe
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Posts: 4,901
Default Kelvin Scale - Digital Photography

On Sun, 3 Aug 2008 07:43:56 -0700 (PDT), wrote:
: Thank you all -- there is much more to this than I anticipated and I
: will try to absorb the info.
:
: What started this was an attempt to photograph the sunrise in a rural
: area. Not just before sunrise, when the sky and clouds are
: illuminated, but just after. I don't think it possible to describe
: the mornings here, but to make an analogy, it looks as if there is a
: huge conflagration in the next field each morning at about 5:00am.
: When the sun breaches the horizon, it is a flaming ball of intense,
: bright, flickering orange, that appears almost "sky" sized. However,
: it appears as nothing more than a disappointing white circle in
: photos. Someone suggested using a pair of polarized sunglasses as a
: filter, but this changes only the surrounding colours - sky/trees/
: cornfields, while the sun remains a burnout. I am not looking
: directly at the sun, but using the camera screen to focus. And I do
: know that pointing the camera at the sun for long periods will damage
: it. I just want to know how they manage to do such things
: commercially and to preserve the memory for myself.

That makes it sound as though your problem is a fairly simple case of
overexposure. If you're using auto exposure settings, it may be that your lens
can't stop down enough to get the exposure right, in which case using a lower
ISO setting should help. (I believe someone suggested you turn the ISO setting
up, but that's wrong. You want to tell the camera to make the sensor less
light-sensitive, and you do that by using a lower ISO setting.) Also, make
sure you use center-weighted metering; that's the usual way to avoid blown
highlights in a backlit scene (which a sunrise or sunset is, by definition).
As a last resort, you could add a neutral-density filter.

BTW, I don't believe I've ever photographed a sunrise, but it figures to be
more difficult to get right than a sunset. That's because sunsets get dimmer
and redder, so the extra shots you take have a good chance of being usable and
may even be better. But if you let the right moment get away with a sunrise,
you may as well pack up and come back tomorrow.

Bob
  #4  
Old August 3rd 08, 11:58 PM posted to rec.photo.digital
Robert Coe
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Posts: 4,901
Default Kelvin Scale - Digital Photography

On Sun, 03 Aug 2008 11:31:58 -0700, Paul Furman wrote:
: Robert Coe wrote:
: On Sat, 2 Aug 2008 07:11:45 -0700 (PDT), wrote:
: : I have read that increasing the "warmth" of the Kelvin setting
: : improves sunrises/sunsets. My camera does not use the Kelvin scale and
: : I have been experimenting using the three fluorescent settings on my
: : Fuji S5200, which adds a little yellow, red, or both to a picture.
: : --Does anyone know how these settings relate to Kelvin numbers?
: : --Also, can anyone explain what the three types of fluorescent are?
: : Presumably, one is the old-fashioned very cold light and one the
: : newer, more-natural light, but which is which?
:
: If you think you need to "improve" a sunset, the most straightforward way to
: do it is to turn up the color intensity setting a bit. A sunset is usually red
: enough (i.e., the color temperature is low enough) already. What you're trying
: to do is make the colors stand out more, not change their wavelength.
:
: Or set the white balance to daylight. In auto, the camera may try to
: remove the color cast attempting to make it look 'normal'.

A good point. I didn't think to mention it because I always shoot RAW with
auto-WB. If the camera happens to get the WB right, fine; if not, I fix it
with DPP.

Bob
  #5  
Old August 4th 08, 12:35 AM posted to rec.photo.digital
John McWilliams
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Posts: 6,945
Default Kelvin Scale - Digital Photography

Robert Coe wrote:


That makes it sound as though your problem is a fairly simple case of
overexposure. If you're using auto exposure settings, it may be that your lens
can't stop down enough to get the exposure right, in which case using a lower
ISO setting should help. (I believe someone suggested you turn the ISO setting
up, but that's wrong. You want to tell the camera to make the sensor less
light-sensitive, and you do that by using a lower ISO setting.) Also, make
sure you use center-weighted metering; that's the usual way to avoid blown
highlights in a backlit scene (which a sunrise or sunset is, by definition).
As a last resort, you could add a neutral-density filter.


If you're using any auto mode you're simply lucky if you get it right.
Manual exposure is the way to go.

BTW, I don't believe I've ever photographed a sunrise, but it figures to be
more difficult to get right than a sunset. That's because sunsets get dimmer
and redder, so the extra shots you take have a good chance of being usable and
may even be better. But if you let the right moment get away with a sunrise,
you may as well pack up and come back tomorrow.


Or go back to bed!

--
john mcwilliams
 




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