Not B&W
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Hans,,Nice work!..Photographing iridescence is a bit tricky. I’ve been spoiled here in the desert. It seems like just about any alto cloud passing near the sun iridescence is manifested but thin stratus in its variations produce a lot of color when near the sun.It looks like you figured out the exposure problem as well..I start at least 1/2 an f stop underexposed and may go all the way to 1.5 to 2 F stops under exposed..Depends on how near to the sun I get. And there is the danger..the sun . And thats another reason I like a Good tele zoom. I can zoom in and keep the sun out and if need be, slowly zoom out, while panning around the sun picking off the wild colors.
Nice set up you have. I currently am using the 6D with a 28-300 lens and have a 17-40 when I need the extra wide. Yet, Im looking at the new 5’s ; the one with the built in Time Lapse (5R) is driving me crazy.Its been awhile since any one posted iridescence. Myself and Andy Kirk use to post quite a bit of the iridescence. Attached is a shot of a good patch of it. With the new upload ability now everyone can jump in the fun.
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This is very good advice as I am looking to buy a DLSR. Thank you. And (not to change the subject) as I was looking for cameras with time-lapse, I found this on DPReview:
https://www.dpreview.com/news/4861277900/vorticity-the-beauty-of-storm-chasing
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Thank you both for your comments and…. wow George, I never saw a better time-lapse before. The movement takes pace with the music. The film is really well structured. Love it.
I would like to have the time lapse feature also on my camera. Since it is not built in I have been looking for other solutions, but I think I need advice on that one. I read that the built in timelapse on the 5D is driving Michael crazy and I admit it drives me crazy too. The budget is the problem, so maybe another solution outside the camera will help.
As to iridescence, it is nice to read that Michael likes the B&W approach as well as the colorful iridescence.( Nice example you added Michael). It turns out that we have this in common.
I recognize the problems with capturing iridescence and the way you use the telezoom, Michael. Furthermore I experienced that the result always seems to be a pale reflection of what I really saw through the lens. In the beginning I hesitated to add contrast by photoshopping, but I discovered that the right bit of photoshopping gives a result that seems to be more real than the unshopped version. Our brains do clearly different things with contrast then a programmed digital camera.
This summer I saw a lot of iridescence. Some of the pictures will come up later. Let’s jump in the fun, like Michael said.
There are also some B&W’s to post. And that makes me think that there is an opportunity for a separate gallery with only B&W’s. There must be certainly enough material.
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Hans,,,Intervalometer…thats the word..a stand alone interval timer..Canon makes a model or two .Nikon may make one,,and the accessory market has a few you can choose from. For Time Lapse movie making, they are a lot less expensive than the 5DR..Im not sure but the new Canon 80D may also have one built in..maybe not.A while back, at CAS’s original website,,a separate B&W Thread was created and maintained I’m not so sure one is necessary. For displaying pics its of little consequence to me, but for observing, a B&W Titled Thread makes them easy to find. So, SURE!
On underexposing; I shoot with the idea that I will process the pic. I have Adobe Lightroom and use it religiously. I shoot with what Adobe can do in mind. In other words..I don’t shoot with the idea of making a perfect shot right out of the camera. I like dodging and burning and contrast and tints and saturation..etc etc control work. Digital bends the techniques but is a lot more fun and inexpensive than film, light and chemical. So Shooting iridescence is all about bringing up the contrasts and saturation to ones liking. Iridescence close to the Sun is impossible to look at with the naked eye anyway, so the camera and processing is just as much the message as the messenger, imho. I do not feel bad or guilty about ” photoshopping” my pics. I’ve been known to ” help fix” other folk’s pics. I see it as..a Photograph..not reality. The craft is ” fixing”a Shot so that no one notices all the work you did on it to make it perfect…I guess what I am saying is…reality isn’t perfect, but a Photograph can be close. Adobe Lightroom is a great processing software package. Its not ” Adobe Photoshoppe” which is closer to a ” Printing Shop” analogy,,rather Lightroom is closer to the old school ” Photo Lab” analogy. But there are plenty of bells and whistles with Lightroom to keep one exploring for a long time. Just remember,,what are we trying to communicate with a picture..
And yes..I have a couple of years of backlog and of course everyday forward with clouds in the sky just adds to the album.
MEL
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Thank you Michael. Intervalometer is the word I googled immediately around and found a lot of information. Later to decide.
Thanks for your tips for using Lightroom. Acually I have it already installed but still use Photoshop elements. I think I have to develop some more experience with it. It has endless possibilities.
It is funny that Lightroom is like old school developing pictures in a darkroom. In old school days a good picture was also manipulated. Only the tools were different. So I left my hesitation to photoshop behind me and try to keep close to reality which is also a matter of taste. For pictures of iridescence I found out that photoshopping often gives better matches with reality than the original picture. The original often – but not always – seems to miss the splendor. So forward we go!
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Catching up on this thread …
Hans, I don’t think your last shot is iridescence, maybe section of a halo, which would be rarer. Or sun dog? Very nice.
Now, I did buy the camera I mentioned a while back. I got a Sony alpha 6300. And for telephoto, a 50-210 mm. I think that’s enough to start. It’s amazing what a telephoto can do. And the 24MPix helps too. A couple of shots, with some enhancing.
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It is indeed no iridescence George. It was a sundog. The sundog appeaered in a rather blue part of the sky, where the cirrus that produces the sundog was hardly to see. Together with the gentle cumulus it made a colorful composition.
Nice camera and it must be fun to explore the possibilities. You captured the full moon well. In this thread you can read the tips Michael made on capturing iridescence. It is always a challenge to capture it well and some – but certainly not too much – enhancement often helps to meet the reality better, like next one.
In Between
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Another tip or two while i was Thinking about, Canon offers choice for when shooting under cloudy conditions or when in bright sun light. I’ve found just because its cloudy out is NOT a good reason to switch over to ” cloudy” as far as white balance etc goes. Canon Cloudy translates to WARM , yellows etc. I have found to keep the color as I like them,,I don’t switch to ” cloudy” Especially when shooting irridescense . I don’t shoot thru filters when shooting irridescense either.
Sun flare is another problem when shooting for irridescense. Take a few seconds to see when the clouds start showing colors in relationship to how close they are to the sun. Remember, the eye/mind naturally goes to the brightest part of a pic.
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Hans, your Sunsets are absolutely heerlijk! Below is a far cry from where you began this thread, but I share it here for two reasons. 1) where else would this non-B&W image fit? ;) and 2) to show what can be seen when contrast is pushed. The sky was odd looking yesterday and I had no idea what would come of playing with it in post-production. Another instance of following intuition.
This Is An Afternoon
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With the belief that any cloudspotter with a iphone or equivalent or better, has sunset shots they are proud of, a suggestion of a separate thread for sets and rises.? Traditional shots to the pushing the limits shots be welcomed so all can join in the fun? With your two great starter shots there Hans , along with Keelins bounds pushing shot , things could get rolling quick!
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Thank you both! And wow, This Is An Afternoon was certainly worth following your intuition Keelin! Very intriguing picture and great composition. There is so much to explore in color. Like in B&W some enhancement gives sometimes amazing results although it is easier in color to overdo it and get kitsch.
So I like the suggestion of Michael. Maybe others will jump in. Because I will shortly be on a vacation I pick that one up later (unless someone else already wants to start this new topic?).
Delicate Sundog
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On the home page today an exhibition by Catherine Erb is announced. I like the colored cloud scenes she makes very much. She manipulates in a way that adds something to a picture without making it look artificial.
A quote from her (found via the links on the home page): “I love dirty, nasty glass that I can put in front of my lenses and filters so it’s like I’m shooting through a veil. I mean, we all look at life through our own veils, so why not play with that?”
Nevertheless bounds pushing shots (now quoting Michael).
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Iridescense by Andrew Kirk
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Michael suggested some posts ago in this thread to start a thread for sunsets and sunrises. Then maybe others will jump in with colorful sunsets and sunrises to be proud of.
I still like the suggestion of Michael but now I thought the thread is already there with the title Not B&W. The title gives no limitation to sunsets or sunrises, so let’s continue and jump in with sundogs, iridescence, sunsets or ‘just’ a blue and white composition to share here that finds no way to the gallery.
Luminescent Jellyfish
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I can understand Ian’s position on photoshopped shots, yet its a difficult place to be. Drawing a line between acceptable and not …well thats what an editor gets to do. Iridescence is very rarely as photos show it.
This one demanded patience. I kept checking in on the halo I first spotted around 2pm. The sundogs began sprouting arms as the afternoon progressed. Around 3:30 pm they started stretching and for a few minutes as foto shows, the right kind of high altitude ice crystals came along and voila’ , a parhelic circle formed. Seems like a once a year occurrence for me..
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All true, Michael and no problem at all. I wrote once before that capturing iridescence mostly is a bit disappointing relative to what you saw in reality. Our eyes and brain do certain things with relative brightness that is hard to reproduce.
Great parhelic circle you spotted! I had the opportunity myself some times this year already, but never saw it growing. Looking up pays off with these optical rarities, you once stated yourself.
Always Keep An Eye Open
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You are all so right about the challenge of capturing the subtle colors of iridescence, sundogs and the like. In the image below (taken just this past September), I pushed the contrast to make them more apparent. I’m guessing it was too much adjustment for the Gallery, so I’m very grateful to have this forum thread for sharing it.
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You are right Keelin, here we can push it as far as we like. Do I see a part of the 22 degrees halo? I wondered where the sun must be relative to the sundog.
Nevertheless here is one I did not push at all. I used it already in the Black and White thread and gave it extra contrast which worked for the B&W version, but this is the original, just made almost kitsch by nature herself.
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You do indeed see a portion of the 22˚ halo, Hans. And here’s another from a morning last Spring. I posted a different image from the short series I took of it to our B&W thread last summer. It was the first one I’d ever seen and it took my breath away! This one, too, did better with a bump in contrast.
It’s so true, though, that Mother Nature can go wild all by herself with her palette sometimes. And it looks like you caught her in the act!
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Keeling, nice, a halo with colors! Did you look directly up to check for a CZA?
This is a lucky shot from a few weeks ago, the sun dog was very intense. Picture taken with iphone 6, not edited. When using the DSLR, I set the exposure compensation to some negative value to preserve the colors. Here it worked very well without tricks (other than a bit of cropping and whatever an iphone does under the covers).
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Keelin and George, you both caught mother nature in the act with the 22 degrees halo and sundog.
I will remember this figure of speech you introduced, Keelin. And George, you gave a good advise to look up when the sun is sufficiently low (below 32 degrees above the horizon) to search for a CZA. Even when there is no 22 degrees halo and cirrostratus and / or cirrus is overhead a CZA might appear when the sun is low enough. I experienced that a CZA is not that rare when you look up frequently enough in the right conditions. Mother nature hides a CZA round the zenith and normally we don’t wonder that high, but doing so will let you catch mother nature red-handed, or even better: rainbow-handed.
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A brilliant shot of brilliance, George! Seeing something like that would have me doing the Sundog Dance for sure. And thanks for suggestions from both you and Hans to look more up than up. Indeed, I’ll remember that for next time.
Looking further through archives here, this is the only other 22˚ halo I’ve captured so far with my camera (iPhone 5s). Pushing the contrast to this extend, still leaves the colors faint, but the excitement of seeing it undiminished.
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One day this past October, I am walking in the park, where I have a good view of the skies, and looking around, I see conditions conducive to CZAs. So I look up and, sure enough, there is one. Not outstanding but visible. I start taking pictures with the app. A man, curious, stops by and asks what am I taking pictures of. I just point and look up. He looks for a little while and then says: “Oooh, rainbow … but no rain!?”
An optical phenomenon, I explain. I think he was happy to learn something new.
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Hans,,Nice work!..Photographing iridescence is a bit tricky. I’ve been spoiled here in the desert. It seems like just about any alto cloud passing near the sun iridescence is manifested but thin stratus in its variations produce a lot of color when near the sun.
Hans,,,Intervalometer…thats the word..a stand alone interval timer..Canon makes a model or two .Nikon may make one,,and the accessory market has a few you can choose from. For Time Lapse movie making, they are a lot less expensive than the 5DR..Im not sure but the new Canon 80D may also have one built in..maybe not.
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