365/60 – Learning curve

I still have a steep learning curve ahead of me.

Despite shooting manual since almost a year, I still make many mistakes when it comes to the mix of focul length / aperture / f – stop.

It has something to do with doing the math. Math never has been my strong part. But I start to see the mistakes I am making. I guess you can call that progress.

My example shot above is not the perfect example per se. It was a hazy day with a bit of dust. The settings on my camera were ISO 200 at a Focal length of 18mm, at f 14 and 1/200sec (I guess the latter measurement is what killed me. Maybe using the exp. compensation and underexpose a bit would have helped?).

In both photos below I edited the Levels, brightness, contrast and saturation. The first one is edited in Lightroom and the second in Nikons home software Capture NX. Capture NX is harder on the editing progress, but it doesn’t contort the colours and quality as much as Lightroom seems to do in some cases. But for real editing, both pretty much suck. But I am disgressing.

If you can tell what the correct settings should have been for me for the original shot, I’ll be much obliged. Until then, I go and keep learning

I need a serious lens and mirror cleaning too, but I’m afraid of how the Pro shops here do it. Has to wait until we are back in Europe. Costs more, but is done right.