Alfred Nicholas Gardens

[Grumpy John]

Some images from one of the best gardens in the "Dandenongs"

#1 Upper ponds.
f10,0 1 second ISO50


#2 The rotunda.
f10.0 0.5 second ISO100.


#3
f10.0 0.6 Second ISO100.


#4
f10.0 0.6 second ISO125.


#5 The boat shed.
f10.0 0.5 second ISO50 -1 EV.


#6
f 10.0 1 second ISO50.


#7
f10.0 0.6 second ISO50.

[Isac]

Hi John. Is it my etes or do these seem a tad soft? I assume you're using the ND filters. Do you take shots without the ND to compare and maybe blend? #7 looks the sharpest to me. Good you're getting out there mate, so keepo it up.
PS: I just saved one of the images to see if it was my eyes playing up and noticed they were very small (#1 is 575 x 788 and 139kb). are these the sizes you are posting?

[Isac]

Thanks John, but I'm not sure why you say you have to use AP to control DOF. I never (or rarely) use AP (or Av on a Canon) and I always get the DOF I want in Manual. The Aperture setting is only one of three things that affect DOF, the other two being focal length and distance from subject. When I have taken shots of trees in a breeze in AP they always had blurry leaves and that was annoying, so now it's Manual and I can get a faster shutter without the blurry leaves. I suppose AP is good when light is OK but if things get a bit dull it doesn't work for me - maybe it's my skill level being tested. Anyway, if you're getting great shots using AP then stick to it.

[wigz]

Do you use a remote release or shutter delay timer John. Sometimes you can give the camera a bit of a shake when you press the shutter. I don't have a mirrorless camera so could be wrong, but mirrorless cameras may close the shutter (obviously open for viewing) then open it again for exposure; electronic first curtain doesn't use the mechanical shutter to start the exposure and avoids closing and re-opening the shutter, perhaps avoiding any possible vibration, although I doubt if this would be a problem.

I think any exposure mode, Aperture priority, shutter priority or manual, can be used to control depth of field - you just have to keep an eye on the automatically set components. Use whichever you find easiest. I often use manual with auto ISO to ensure I get the aperture and shutter speed I want, but you then have to watch ISO if the light is low.

[Grumpy John]

Alan, I used a RF remote on a 2 second delay for these shots.
I have been thinking of reasons for these images that these images are soft (apart from the wind blowing foliage) and two thoughts come to mind.
1. although I turned off the lens based IS (as you are supposed to do when the camera is mounted on a tripod) the IBIS was still set to on. I cannot find anywhere whether you are supposed to turn off IBIS when the camera is mounted on a tripod. The manual states that IBIS should be turned off when using a tripod in movie mode, but does not mention still mode.
2. I still had the camera in Servo mode from when I was shooting some puppy shots, maybe this has something to do with it.

[K1W1]

Did you go to the George Tindale Gardens just down the road. IMO they are more interesting photographically simply because there are far fewer photos taken there.

[Grumpy John]

We didn't go to the Tindale Gardens nor Piriander Gardens as we had our dogs with us and they are dog free gardens.. K1W1, do you know what the small red brick structures dotted around the Alfred Nicholas Gardens are?

[K1W1]

Water valves for irrigation of the original gardens. Water was pumped from the large storage tank below the lake all the way up to the house garden. There is a pump station in “the cave” to the right of the waterfall to the lake plus you can get into the lower pump house beside the storage tank and the upper one which is just off the last sharp left corner as you walk back up the main road to the top.

[Grumpy John]

Thanks for that info K1W1.

[Ozzie_Traveller]

G'day John

As Isac above - I am bothered about the lack of sharpness in most of your long exposure shots - those above and some others in recent days

In #1, the birds and the water around their feet - presuming that is your focus point - it's all soft and if it were one of mine, it would be deleted
Looking at the bridge / water / leaves etc in #4 and #7 - the sharpness differences are quite marked
Composition-wise, they're all beaut so keep on keeping-on

Hope this helps
Phil

[Grumpy John]

Thanks for your feedback Phil. I'm trying to nut out the softness issues.

[K1W1]

What camera and lens are you using?

[Grumpy John]

Canon R6 mirrorless and Sigma 24-105

[K1W1]

Ta. What is the native iso? I wonder if using iso 50 which I guess is not native was the issue with the fountain shot.
BTW. They are not the original bird statues. The original ones were in the pool on the other side of the drive and were stolen 25 years or so ago. I guess that they may have been bronze.

[Grumpy John]

Native ISO is 100, I was also thinking that the low ISO could be part of the issue.