Help ..I cant seem to get Metering right

[Deepak]

All,

I have for a quite sometime struggled to get correct and pleasing
exposures especially in high contrast scenes.I use the built in meter
on the Canon 20D.

For eg:If I am shooting a landscape which includes a bright blue sky
with clouds,a foreground (tree),I either blow up the sky or kill the
tree in shadows.I do understand that we need to correctly meter against
these.I am able shoot different exposures and 'blend' them in
photoshop.BUT its tough for me to beleive that is the only way to do
that.

Can I walk away with a very evenly exposed Landscape shot 'in the
camera' ?

Having to take multiple exposures entails having your tripod with
you.There are time when I 'dont' have it with me and multiple
exposures+blending would not work isnt it?

I am wondering how you guys deal with this.I realise this is among the
first hurdled most photographers deal with.It would great to know how
you guys get there evntually

BTW I do understand the role of aperture+shutter speed+ISO and their
interdependancies in the context of landscape photography.What I am
really looking for is clues for metering correctly.

Thanks

Deepak

[Joseph Meehan]

For starts you may want to try playing with RAW to see what happens.
Also shoot some bracketed exposures. Try a variety of exposure techniques
with each of the above and see how those results work for you.

I don't believe there is any one answer for all people. Photography is
90% art and 10% science.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

[Gene Palmiter]

The advise about shooting RAW is good. The problem is more than just
metering. It may not be possible to get the extremes of a high contrast
scene to fit within the range of the camera. RAW gives you a bit more
range...but even then it may not be enough. If you don't have your tripod
you can set up your camera to shoot a burst of bracketed shots and if you
are lucky they will line up.

--
Thanks,
Gene Palmiter
(visit my photo gallery at http://palmiter.dotphoto.com)
freebridge design group
www.route611.com & Route 611 Magazine
"Deepak" <deepak....@gmail.com> wrote in message
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[Bill Hilton]

> Deepak writes ...

>
>I have for a quite sometime struggled to get correct and
>pleasing exposures especially in high contrast scenes

It's tough because of the high contrast ...

>I am shooting a landscape which includes a bright blue sky
>with clouds,a foreground (tree),I either blow up the sky or kill
>the tree in shadows.

With slide film I'd spot meter on the clouds, open up say 1.5 - 2 stops
and let the shadows fall where they fall. With digital there are some
tricks you can try ... these three 'tutorials' should be of help ... if
the links wrap around and are broken go to
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/ and look at the bottom of the page
for these links ...

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-series/understandexposure.shtml

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-series/u-contrast-masking.shtml

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/digital-blending.shtml

Bill

[wilt]

Using tools like Photoshop, you can selectively alter brightness and
contrast of areas of the photo as well. So you do not necessarily have
to take multiple exposures.

--Wilt

[Mike Rooney]

Deepak, I'm not aware of any camera meter that will handle the difference
between the brightness of the sky and most landscape foregrounds very
well.....the amount of light from the sky is much more than the reflective
light from the foreground. You can confirm this yourself -- meter just the
foreground and then meter just the sky -- except in the early morning or
late evening, there will be 2 stops or more of difference. You can do a
couple of things:

1) Use a graduated neutral density filter -- the basic ones come in
1,2, and 3 stop graduations. For the 20D, I'd recommend the 3 stop. There
are many companies that make them and most of us pros use the Conkin type
filter holder......go to your local photo professional shop and they'll
explain further but, basically, the top part of the filter lets in 3 stops
less light than the clear part. You merely position the filter in the
holder to cover the sky. Meter the foreground (don't include the sky) and
then position the filter to cover the sky. Takes some practice.

2) Another very very useful filter is a polarizing filter.......it's
maximum polarization occurs at 90 degrees to the sun and reduces glare (and
darkens skies). You can over polarize so, again, practice.....there are
many articles on the net and in photo magazines about the varied uses of
polarizers.....

Hope this helps.

Know this is brief

"Deepak" <deepak....@gmail.com> wrote in message
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[Don]

Deepak

Log onto Arthur Morris's Birds as Art Site and buy his book "the art of bird
photography". Chapters 3 & 4 have some of the best explanations and "how
to" that I have read on exposure etc. If you don't photograph birds, give
the book away as a gift (after reading the chapters). The material applies
to all areas of photography except perhaps flash.

regards

Don

"Deepak" <deepak....@gmail.com> wrote in message
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[Craig Dunn]

You may also find it helpful to play with the reading settings on the
camera. Try similar shots using spot and center weighted metering
instead of the default and see if that produces more accurate readings
for what you're trying to shoot.

[Brian Chapman]

Here's a link to the raw challenge thread - you can see some examples
of what people did with an image that definately fits in to the high
contrast category.

Here's the thread link (the first message links to the file)
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.photo.digital.slr-systems/browse_thread/thread/af9e74f1536655c1/b54a78ee9c0ecd5d#b54a78ee9c0ecd5d

Here is where a lot of the example images are:
http://foto-ceif.com/cpg/thumbnails.php?album=45

Here is where one of the guys posted all the images from the thread
together (I'm not sure which ones are also on the previous link).
http://www.edgehill.net/1/?SC=go.php&DIR=Misc/photography/raw-challenge&PG=1&PIC=1

Hope this provides some more information!

Brian

[Brian]

[Deepak]

All,

Thanks a lot for those valuable tips.It sure looks like there is no
'one size fits all' thingy here.Which I dont really complain about.I
should admit I have already got a hang of it after having a look at
this discussion.Though I knew about how PS can be of help (and I do
intend to get better with it - Thanks Brian for the links).I did some
more reading through all the links that you guys pointed me to.Apart
from the very useful -luminous-landscape/fredmiranda/etc write ups,I
found the following links also which gave me some clues

http://www.spotmetering.com/spc20d/20dtech.htm

I am planning on a quick trip to a photo store this weekend to check on
ND Filters.This brings me to the next question

I live in London and would really appreciate any references to 'good'
photography equipment shops with knowledgeable people behind the
counters.
I have been to many shops on the street at the end of Bond St/Oxford St
(dont quite remember the name),but found these guys to be basically
selling everything else under the sun 'including ' cameras and they
appeared more keen on making the right salesmen sounds.I did not think
any of those stores were well stocked on lenses/accessories either.

Once again thanks for your help on this

Cheers
Deepak

[Craig Dunn]

Jacobs on Oxford Street are pretty good and cluefull, failing that,
theres a Jessops across the road from them.