# Gas Station Night Photo



## Abbenquesnel (Dec 10, 2007)

One of my first night photos. Taken at a cold (-21) midnight.







Maybe some of you could give some comments on how to improve my photo?

Info:http://www.flickr.com/photo_exif.gne?id=443741842


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## Sideburns (Dec 10, 2007)

grab a tripod and turn the ISO back down to 100 so it's not all grainy.


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## Abbenquesnel (Dec 10, 2007)

I used 100 ISO and I did use a tripod.
The top link under the photo shows my settings: ----> :http://www.flickr.com/photo_exif.gne?id=443741842


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## LaFoto (Dec 10, 2007)

Well, then unfortunately this photo doesn't represent it. I wonder why this is so? 
You're sure it was well exposed at 100 ISO and you did not lighten it up afterwards (for that creates noise, too)? 
What quality is your camera set to? RAW? Highest .jpg-quality possible? 
Does your camera allow for RAW? How far can you stop down? 
What is the absolutely lowest ISO?


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## Abbenquesnel (Dec 10, 2007)

LaFoto said:


> Well, then unfortunately this photo doesn't represent it. I wonder why this is so?
> You're sure it was well exposed at 100 ISO and you did not lighten it up afterwards (for that creates noise, too)?
> What quality is your camera set to? RAW? Highest .jpg-quality possible?
> Does your camera allow for RAW? How far can you stop down?
> What is the absolutely lowest ISO?



I might have lightened it up a bit. But not much though.
Camera is set at .jpg
I never used RAW yet.
Lowest ISO I believe is 100 on this camera, but I could be wrong.
It's rebel XT.


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## cloudmorning (Dec 10, 2007)

Grain doesn't bother me much here, but what is the picture of? It's poorly composed in my opinion.


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## kalmkidd (Dec 10, 2007)

Abbenquesnel said:


> I might have lightened it up a bit. But not much though.
> Camera is set at .jpg
> I never used RAW yet.
> Lowest ISO I believe is 100 on this camera, but I could be wrong.
> It's rebel XT.



this look like 1000 ISO.
you sure this is 100? if so thats very very strange.


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## DSLR noob (Dec 11, 2007)

yeah my XT never showed that much noise below ISO 400 strange indeed. You might want to get that checked out. Also the shot is too dark.


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## kalmkidd (Dec 11, 2007)

DSLR noob said:


> yeah my XT never showed that much noise below ISO 400 strange indeed. You might want to get that checked out. Also the shot is too dark.



i think he had it at 1000 and read it wrong.. its cool either way let us know the deal.


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## Jbs (Dec 11, 2007)

lower your iso.

for a shot like this (forground is dark, and then there is some stuff lit up by truck lights etc) you might want to experiment with HDR.


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## kalmkidd (Dec 11, 2007)

Jbs said:


> lower your iso.
> 
> for a shot like this (forground is dark, and then there is some stuff lit up by truck lights etc) you might want to experiment with HDR.




hes saying its a ISO of 100.. i don't find that possible.


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## LaFoto (Dec 11, 2007)

Well, the exif data does read ISO 100 - 30 sec - f18. :scratch:


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## jstuedle (Dec 11, 2007)

Corina, you beat me to it.  I think the 30 sec. exposure is the problem. The sensor will start to get warm and  noise will rear it's ugly head. (even at minus 21 degrees) I would try an aperture more like f/5.6. This will make your exposure more like 8 sec. This should be well within the XT's capabilities. Also, try bracketing your exposure, like 4-8-16 sec. This will negate the need to lighten up the image in post. Hope this helps.


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## Battou (Dec 11, 2007)

kalmkidd said:


> i think he had it at 1000 and read it wrong.. its cool either way let us know the deal.



the EXIF speaks 100, 


My personal oppinion would be to try a higer ISO and/or wider aprature and shorter exposure time.


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## LaFoto (Dec 11, 2007)

30 seconds should be possible for the Rebel XT without the sensor getting warm. The small aperture makes nicer lights, f5.6 would produce wide blobs of light, though. I still suspect the 30 seconds were not enough and the photo had to be brightened up in post processing...

OR :idea: ...

...this is a big crop out of a much larger photo???

OR :idea: ...

...it was saved at a low resolution? At 1023x682px (speaks for a pp crop) it is only 204KB, which seems little... :scratch: 

Actually, I don't know. It isn't the best image quality, that much is for sure.


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## sweet_a (Dec 11, 2007)

yes there is way too much noise in the image, i saw you were using a tripod were you also using a remote shutter relase cable?

also there is too much black (empty) space, move in closer so there is more to look at


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## Abbenquesnel (Dec 11, 2007)

> By jstuedle: "I think the 30 sec. exposure is the problem. The sensor will start to get warm and noise will rear it's ugly head. (even at minus 21 degrees) I would try an aperture more like f/5.6. This will make your exposure more like 8 sec. This should be well within the XT's capabilities. Also, try bracketing your exposure, like 4-8-16 sec. This will negate the need to lighten up the image in post. Hope this helps."



Thanks for your help.:thumbup:
Out of all the responses you are the only one offering help. 

I'll go and make another photo and use your suggestions.


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## sweet_a (Dec 11, 2007)

Abbenquesnel said:


> Out of all the responses you are the only one offering help.



.... alright


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## Abbenquesnel (Dec 11, 2007)

sweet_a said:


> .... alright



Well, look at it this way. When a person without much knowledge about photography comes in asking for a comment on his photo it's easy to say how lousy the photo is, but it's a nicer thing to tell that person how to improve.

Just my two cents. No harm done.


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## den9 (Dec 11, 2007)

try f/11 and see how it works out


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## Coldow91 (Dec 11, 2007)

I would try for shorter exposure time and also work on the composition a little, maybe include the whole truck  or more of the gas station.....

other than that I think you have a great idea and with the proper composition and exposure it could turn out great!


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## DSLR noob (Dec 11, 2007)

Abbenquesnel said:


> Well, look at it this way. When a person without much knowledge about photography comes in asking for a comment on his photo it's easy to say how lousy the photo is, but it's a nicer thing to tell that person how to improve.
> 
> Just my two cents. No harm done.


we wren't trying to say it was lousy. Just awestruck that the XT did that, its not your fault noise was there, YOU did the smart thing and used ISO 100, I would'nt of been able to help you if all I was doing was scratching my head about that. I shot with an XT for 9 months and never saw that much noise even at 30 seconds at ISO 400, I don't know about others but whern I see somehting like that, I can;t focus on anyhting else, so looking at the photo I could not give you a critique as I was distracted. Next time, post your EXIF data because Firefox does not show it, so I didn't know what to tell you, if I had seen 30seconds @ F/22 I would've reccomended that you go to 20 seconds in TV mode and let the camera pic an aperture for you.


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## Abbenquesnel (Dec 11, 2007)

The camera was in TV mode. And the data was in the link I posted. 
But yes, next time I'll try a shorter exposure. 
It might work out better.

 Thank you.:thumbup:


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## Abbenquesnel (Dec 13, 2007)

Camera:	Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT
Exposure:	0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture:	f/8
Focal Length:	170 mm
ISO Speed:	100
Exposure Bias:	0/2 EV
Flash:	Flash did not fire


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## Phazan (Dec 14, 2007)

Could the site he's uploading it to add the noise??
I don't know much about this stuff, just a thought.


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## rob91 (Dec 14, 2007)

You should figure out what's causing the noise, just to know.

Personally I like the look, especially the dark blue sky at the top, it simulates the sort of look you would get from an hd or dvr cam at night...adds another layer of realism . If you cropped the left side out of your photo I think you'd have something pretty sweet...just the truck rolling up in the darkness.


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## C.Lloyd (Dec 14, 2007)

I like it. It has a very "I Know What You Did Last Summer" feel to it.

Keep it up.


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## Robstar1619 (Dec 14, 2007)

I like the pics aswell..especially of the plane!


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## Abbenquesnel (Dec 14, 2007)

> You should figure out what's causing the noise, just to know.



Maybe it happened when I was cropping/fooling around with it in iPhoto.
I will pay more attention to it in the future when adjusting in iPhoto.


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## Abbenquesnel (Dec 14, 2007)

I went out this morning (cloudy sober day) and made a series of photos.
I shot 10 subjects. Each subject I shot 2x, one time at 100ISO and one time at 1600ISO.

After putting them on my iPhoto I saw only a very slight difference between the two ISO settings. The ones shot at 1600ISO were a little darker, much not much.

My question is: should there be a "big" difference between the two settings?

I used the P mode on my Canon Rebel XT EOS

In general I find it hard to get a nice photo on a dark cloudy day, but I guess that's normal?! There's snow on the ground here, does that have an effect on this as well?


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## C.Lloyd (Dec 14, 2007)

It's been my experience that ISO is a factor less during daylight shooting (the factor goes up when you're using a zoom) than at night.


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## Abbenquesnel (Dec 14, 2007)

I was not aware of that.


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## C.Lloyd (Dec 14, 2007)

My daytime shots seem to come out fine no matter what ISO I'm using (I shoot a lot more film than digital, if that matters), but in low light, the lower ISO's get really noisey. 

P.S. I've been shooting pictures for a lot of years, but I have absolutely no formal training, so if I get teminology or technical stuff wrong - please correct me. I generally try not to get into technical discussions, due to my limited knowledge. I know how to make my camera (an old AE-1, by the way) do what I want it to - most of the time -  and that's all I need.


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## kalmkidd (Dec 14, 2007)

Abbenquesnel said:


> Thanks for your help.:thumbup:
> Out of all the responses you are the only one offering help.
> 
> I'll go and make another photo and use your suggestions.



um i did offer help i said change settings/ check setting sand make sure ur positive. so easy ther killer


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## Abbenquesnel (Dec 14, 2007)

Kalmkidd, Sorry, it was not my intention to offend, but you said it could not be 100ISO, but I supplied the link to my camera setting.....anyhow, no harm done. I apologize if it came over in an offending way. Sorry.:blushing:


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## Abbenquesnel (Dec 14, 2007)

C.Lloyd said:


> My daytime shots seem to come out fine no matter what ISO I'm using (I shoot a lot more film than digital, if that matters), but in low light, the lower ISO's get really noisey.
> 
> P.S. I've been shooting pictures for a lot of years, but I have absolutely no formal training, so if I get teminology or technical stuff wrong - please correct me. I generally try not to get into technical discussions, due to my limited knowledge. I know how to make my camera (an old AE-1, by the way) do what I want it to - most of the time -  and that's all I need.



I also have no formal training.
I'm just fooling around with the camera and I am certainly no expert.
Thanks for your comment.


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