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Two images from the weekend:

Dad's place, just outside the ACT, long night exposure looks a bit like daylight, a bit of wind around, 50sec @ f2.8:


Bondi 360º Flip:

Not sure about the first one - interesting the top half of the photo looks like night, and then it fades to day as you move down the photo.
Nice action shot with the skate boarder. The fuzzy background focusses nicely on the subject.

I really like the first one - very interesting effect. Bet if you showed it without telling how you'd taken the shot most people would assume it was heavily PPed.

Looks like it may have had a bit of camera movement though, the stars aren't terribly sharp (yes, I know they move, but not much in 50sec) and the tree looks a little shaken in places that would take some pretty serious wind to move. How's it look at full res?

I'd be trying this again, and experimenting with different nights to see how differing amounts of wind made it turn out. Great subject and composition for it!

Edit: What time of day was this? How dark?

Heath

I'll be blunt. You can do way better than either of these.

The first shot, while interesting technically, fails because the subject matter is just not engaging enough.

The second image, while a great capture, lacks the image quality I know you for - in particular the exposure does the framing a great disservice since it's way too bright (especially the lower portion of the image).

I think the last image could be saved with some better PP - something I know you are more than capable off (eg a grad ND effect to darken the bottom).

Sorry to be so brutal.

hmmmm, I think you need to clean your CCD

I prefer the first one...it's different

I prefer the 2nd pic, though it can be darkened just a tad. I think a front shot would have been better so that his ass isn't half hanging out and at eye level to the viewer I know that's the trend with the skaters and riders, but meh.

Thanks for the feedback all. I pped the second in an attempt to isolate it as much as possible from the background/setting. Here is the original, which is not as original as most due to a custom curve. Only PP is size and sharp.

There may have been a little shake in the first shot, but I thought it may be due to using such a wide open aperture and thus narrow DOF. Here is another from the night where the focus is just off - in the foreground a little. Manual focus and barely being able to see through the viewfinder at night could be the cause!

You can see that the stars are still moving but the fence in the foreground is sharp. Perhaps 50 sec is enough for some movement?

I had the same problem with an image I did recently. The web-size version works with the stars because of the reduced image size, but because of using a small aperture, and focussing on the tree, the stars are slightly out of focus. It is hard at night to get the right focus, but I like this last photo you've posted.

Heath - I actually prefer the "original" version of the skater. Of course this is all subjective and what suits you is what is best. BTW - all but the second skater image are larger than our recommended 800 px on the longest side

K - thanks Stubbsy, will take note