Tips for shooting a field...

Youstolemyname

Youstolemyname

Youstolemyname

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I have spotted a wonderful opportunity to shoot a field of gleaming Oil Seed Rape near my house and am planning on popping down there at some point.

The shots will be taken north to south facing and possibly east to west facing.

I plan on using my Sigma 10-20 for this task but so far have not really got on with the lens with most of my shots out of it appearing pretty soft.

Really, I am looking for any tips to help with my shot i.e. What would be best time of day, what f-stop, where to focus etc.

Thanks in advance for any help!
 
Best light: Early morning. And i mean EARLY morning.
F-Stop: For best sharpness use something around F10, then focus about 1/3rd into the scene to maximise the depth of field (The actual calculation is more complex than that, but thats the lazymans version).
ISO: As low as your camera goes, ie ISO100.
Other stuff: Use a tripod, remote shutter and mirror lockup if these are options available to you. This will completely remove camera shake. also shoot with the light, or across the light. If you shoot into the light you are likely to blow the highlights in the sky (Certainly without ND grad filters) and light falling on the lens can make the image softer and less contrasty. Oh, and if in doubt, take lots of shots! :)
 
Youstolemyname said:
Thanks MK! Tripod and remote are not options
Click to expand...

You might not have a tripod, but if you look round the field, you may find large, stable supports. They may be a hundred years old, rather than the latest technology. They may be made of untreated wood rather than carbon fibre. They may be covered with bark rather than painted matt black but they make good supports anyway. Press the side of the camera against the trunk and it will hold steady for a slow shutter exposure.

You might not have a remote release either, but you probably have a delayed release. Provided that the landscape is not going to change significantly during the 10 second countdown, it is rough and ready way to make sure that you don't jog the camera as you press the shutter.

Andrew
 
I've found f8 to be the sharpest on my 10-20. As MK say first thing in the morning is the best light, or if your lazy then sunset is almost as good ;)
 
Indeed early morning can bring stunning effect:

1671567423_c8bb496b9c_o.jpg


With Rapeseed I personally think that you should wait a little longer do you get a really nice deep blue to contrast with the luminous yellow you get off rapeseed flowers.

I would shoot with the sun off to the side (out of shot) and use the lens hood to avoid flare. I would also make sure you use a circular polarising filter oriented in the correct manner. The other option is to use an ND grad filter but you can't use it on the 10-20 with a polarising filter as it causes vignetting at 10mm.

I would also look for something to break up the image a little; something like a tree or an interesting horizon assuming there aren't some nice undulations in the hillsides. Look for leading lines like roads and the like.

The other thing I'd look into is exposure bracketing. It can help with exposing the sky and the field properly. Take the time to look at what other people have come up with on sites like Flickr and see if there is a composition that catches the eye.
 
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