Autumn mists

Managed a bit of time in the Lakes last week. one lovely evening and morning, the rest either dull or very wet! Here are a few from the short sunny bit first. All comments welcome. Taken with K-5ii and either Sigma 10-20 or Pentax 18-135.

Evening sun on Bassenthwaite Lake



Morning sun on Skiddaw (1)



Morning sun on Skiddaw (2)



Morning sun on Skiddaw (3)



Morning sun on Skiddaw (4)



Morning sun in Braithwaite

These are all superb but for me no:4 is my favourite.

Nice work John, I like these. Funny was using my K5ii plus sigma 10-20 yesterday too. Think yours are much sharper, what were your settings please? I am still a novice so lots to learn. Cheers, Patrick

BTW the above is not a big country house but Darley Mills , a couple of minutes from my home, a workers house associated with the Mills circa 1793.

Patrick, in fact only the Bassenthwaite shot was with the Sigma. FYI, settings were 16mm, f/11, 1/800sec, ISO 1600.
Looking at the Exif data for yours, it seems that you don't have the most recent firmware update for your K-5ii, though I wouldn't claim to know how much difference that would make, if any. Did you use a tripod? Shutter speed at 1/125sec I would say was too slow otherwise.

John,

Thanks for the information on your settings and advices. BTW so please how do I check the firmware to get up dates ? Its only a few months since it was bought from Wex ? That shot in fact was hand held although others I took were from my tripod.
Finally, how do you check EXIF from the photos ? Oooh so much stuff I am ignorant about still. Cheers, Patrick

Hi John, wow it seems I got only version 1.00 on it. Why the fcuk do they sell without updates installed ? It seems the latest is 1.07 so could explain a lot of my ` issues` perhaps but significant .So looks like a tech process to do it but any implications jumping from version 1.0 to 1.07 , without going through the others each time, any ideas ? Cheers, Patrick

One I did on the tripod same afternoon John

This comment is puzzling - am I missing something?. Following the guideline - shutter speed faster than 1/(focal length x 1.5) - a speed of 1/125s without tripod gives the photographer at least 2 stops benefit. In addition, SR was On, so that should give a total hand-held shooting benefit well in excess of 4 stops.

Is it possible that the lens requires focus calibration?

Cheers.
Philip

I doubt you're missing anything at all, Phillip. My comment was not based on anything more technical than personal experience and preference - I didn't even know the formula you quote existed. One reason why I am far happier to read and learn from what is posted on the Forum on "technical" issues than comment myself is my own lack of awareness at the moment.

Guys, I am sure the update from firmware 1.00 to 1.07 might improve my photos. So that will be sorted this week once done I will review. I know tests can be helpful to see if calibration ( you mean focusing right) needs correction too. Looks like I am going to be busy. BTW at what stage do you consider sending back to the retailer to sort out ? Cheers, P

Yes, Patrick - K-5II Custom Menu C4/26 "AF Fine Adjustment", but don't know if it works for that Sigma lens.

Cheers.
Philip

John, your misty photos are all beautiful, especially the soft colours and slight mix of magenta and purple tones also, all lovely. Really good work on the exposure front also!

Apart from the first, which has the mirror image effect and a good sky also, I'd be tempted to try the others with a good bit of sky crowd off, more into a panoramic shape ... Just because there's not cloud interest in the skies and that shape might emphasis the long horizontal lines that cross the frames. Thannks for showing these lovely landscapes.

Thanks for the kind words, Nigel. Cropping off some sky certainly makes a big difference and concentrates the eye better. On the other hand, I think you lose some of the sense of airiness which the big sky gives, so I'm not sure which I prefer. Here's one cropped version:




Perhaps it should have a bit taken off the bottom too to bring the back of the field onto the bottom "third" line. Here's what that would look like:




I quite like this - it seems to bring more focus to the grandeur of the mountain backdrop in the morning light than the others do. Thanks for the suggestion!

I should have said'cropped' in my post, but you got the drift! Yes, I like them more. You could probably get away with a little bit more sky if you preferred. Now we just need a touch more blue saturation (well I would, but then I'm a total colour freak!).