At the insistence of one of my roommates, Liz, the whole house packed up and headed for the beach a couple weekends ago. Unfortunately, we forgot that although the Antelope Valley is sunny 350 days out of the year, the rest of the world isn’t necessarily the same. By the time we hit Ventura it was cloudy and slightly drizzling. The temperature was not cold however, and deciding that we hadn’t come all that way for nothing, we took a walk on San Buenaventura beach. It ended up being very relaxing, and of course I took the camera along. Here are some shots from that day.
A sand dollar on some seaweed. 1/250 ~ f/5.6 ~ 400 ~ 55mm
A beach vista on a cloudy day. 1/1000 ~ f/10 ~ 400 ~ 55mm
The lovebirds on a stroll. 1/640 ~ f/10 ~ 400 ~ 55mm
Crab! 1/60 ~ f/5.6 ~ 400 ~ 200mm
Sandpiper 1. 1/1600 ~ f/6.3 ~ 400 ~ 220mm
Sandpiper 2. 1/1600 ~ f/6.3 ~ 400 ~ 200mm
Anonymous | 04-Apr-07 at 12:25 am | Permalink
you have a good eye for beautiful moments.
Nalin | 04-Apr-07 at 5:52 am | Permalink
Thank you! Now if only I were better at exposure… I’m getting there I think.
I appreciate the feedback. I get lots of site hits and no comments, its nice to know that people enjoy what I’m doing.
Nalin | 04-Apr-07 at 7:44 am | Permalink
Looking back on these, I think I definitely could have done a better job exposing. The ISO probably did not have to be at 400, as evidenced by the high shutter speeds. The beach vista one needed a smaller f-stop to get everything in focus, so perhaps cranking up the ISO to get that aperture without dropping the shutter below the camera shake threshold for that zoom level was probably justified. However, Sandpiper 2 could have been done at a much lower shutter speed, and probably would have benefited from a wider aperture considering the single subject. This would have allowed a lower ISO, and hence, lower sensor noise. Overall I think they turned out well, but I’m making notes for next time to keep the ISO to the minimum required to maintain proper exposure at the desired aperture and shutter speed.
Nalin | 25-Apr-07 at 6:30 am | Permalink
Apparently, this bird is a Hudsonian Whimbrel. So, scratch that ID.