Horses ,sunlight and the New Forest

[Eddie101]

Basically went out to take a few shots of the horses and got carried away with the low sun ,right up my street playing with direct light ,but landscapes etc is not .

Anyway heres what i shot
1.
2.

heres where it gets interesting
3.
4.
5.
6.
another pylon
7.
and some of the forest
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
I generally went out to get back in the groove with changing light ,and generally didnt do anything other that little tweaks post .

[C3Grimmy]

some great shots but why the fooking pylon ???

[karlos130]

Some of the lens flare is a bit to much for me mate but the 2nd horse is a good shot the first one has a strange sky behind it

8 and 9 are nice shots of the logs

the pylon would be better if that bush wasnt in the way lol (story of my life)

10- would like the see that B&W with the levels tweaked a little

11- a little too light for my taste but good effort

12 like the angle you took it at a little different

overall some nice shots and I know it aint easy this time of year with the weather

[Eddie101]

some great shots but why the fooking pylon ???

I have never photographed a pylon other than the reflection one , and i thought it made a nice composition .
@ karlos130 ,the lens flares were just an experiment as i dont tend to get much time out of controlled light ,even though i dont take much landscapes or outdoors i did enjoy the day out ,has gave me a few ideas for further shoots .Got some well earned rest this weather so i should be able to get out more ! .

[neo2810]

I prefer the 1st horse shot actually. The position and eye contact work really well. DOF controlled well and although the sky could have been a little more of a "true" blue, I don't feel it ruins anything.

Not liking any of the flare shots, but understand the experimentation (been there)... The first log shot ("8") is a nice composition, and would have worked nicely had the sky not been totally blown. Shame that, there's something about that shot.

Again the other forest shots don't really appeal much apart from the B&W which I feel works very well for some reason. It may be the sense of peeping from behind the trees and the mystery of where the path leads. Whatever it is, it's a good capture and the contrast is spot on.

[karlos130]

@ karlos130 ,the lens flares were just an experiment e to get out more !

Totally understand mate, i didnt want to come across all critical etc just wanted to have my say lol

[B B Leo]

how do u get any from the lens flare???
the log pics are nice m8

[Eddie101]

how do u get any from the lens flare???

Are you asking how to achieve a lens flare ,if so its pretty simple ,just simply make sure the sun is partially hidden from view when taking the shot ,need to be careful when doing it with the iso settings as they need to be cranked as low as you can get them .Also i never used a polariser ,just a plain lens ,and would advise that any sun shots you do not stare through the viewfinder ,on the d3 i have live view which i used for these particular shots .

@ Neo that was the actual colour of the sky ,kinda washy blue colour ,and the cloud cover just made the sky blow out as the underside of the clouds were lit up so i had to compromise between a sillouette and the sky blowing as i never took my filter case with me lol .

[B B Leo]

more asking how to avoid them m8

[Eddie101]

more asking how to avoid them m8

well dont do what i said ,and avoid partial sun shots

[B B Leo]

what about a lens hood would in help??? btw im just asking cause i ve had a few with flare which ruined the pics
(not that mine r that good )

[Eddie101]

those were taken with a lens hood ,hence the streaks and weird light in them .If you want to avoid flares altogether ,i suggest getting a graduated nds filter set ,possibly one for the bag of any landscape photographer ,also a polariser will help with glare as well .

[[wingnut]]

more asking how to avoid them m8

Don't use cheaper lens mate they tend to flare like no ones business. Best advice is not to shoot directly into the sun, always keep it at 90' to you, if you have to shoot into the sun use a polariser and try to sheild the lens from the worst of the glare. Check out Wikipedia for info on Lens flare

One form of flare is specific to digital cameras. With the sun shining on an unprotected lens, a group of small rainbows appears. This artifact is formed by internal diffraction on the image sensor, which acts like a diffraction grating. Unlike true lens flare, this artifact is not visible in the eyepiece of a digital SLR camera, making it more difficult to avoid.

Or the excellent site here which explains it very well with diagrams too.

Regarding your pictures mate, sorry all but the last does nothing for me. Not a fan of the blown highlights or lens flare. But the last a certain errie quality about it.

[Eddie101]

Nikon Af-S 70-200/2.8 Vr Ifed G Nikkor: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo
That was the lens used ,if its of any consequence .

[peterc4]

like the 1st and last best, not keen on the direct light ones

[ise438]

Really nice shots...