Yup. He is correct.
I agree. I got a series of shots of the Canadian Pacific business train leaving Milwaukee today, and the locomotive pics were the only thing really salvageable – with plenty of help from Paint Shop Pro!
However, I also disagree. I’ve been able to take some pictures when it was cloudy that would’ve turned out horrible had it been a nice sunny day! One example is this photo of CP 9769, a former Christmas train engine. Had it been sunny, I would have been on the wrong side of the tracks, i.e. the shadow side of the engine, with the sunshine staring the camera right in the lens. The picture would have turned out awful. Also, my photos of RSSX 5524 were taken on a nice dreary overcast day. Since I didn’t have to worry about sun light angles, I was able to get photos of all different sides of the engine – impossible on a sunny day, unless it’s on a turntable for a ride!
Of course, what would I prefer? Sunny days, naturally. My photos of the LLPX 2205 on the UP Marsh Job wouldn’t have been anywhere near as spectacular with an overcast sky! But sometimes, you gotta get what you can get…
And a digital camera makes it that much easier to “try” on those “not-so-nice” days…! [swg]
Just a few hints about cloudy day shooting.
Minimize the amount of sky visible in the shot.
i.e. shot from a bridge or cut down onto the train
Meter from the ground and not the sky.
For film attach an 81A or 81B warming filter
For digital use the cloudy or shade color balance
When processing digital images raise the color temperature
Take advantage of the chance to silhouette trains against
the sky making the units dark grey or black
Shoot with B&W film or B&W digital settings.
I kinda like em.
Well, I don’t quite always know what to do with an overcast sky, I try to avoid shooting on days like that, but I have had some turn out well.
I wasn’t too impressed with this one, but our department photographer pointed out that I got a good solid photo of the train, and the shadows weren’t so harsh. I will probably play with the sky in this one, it is, in my opinion, too “hot” but, what do you think?
http://www.fotofight.com/images/members/3369/portfolio/81902082.jpg
I LIKE THAT.
[#ditto][tup][tup]
Sometimes. There are, however, ways to make 'em all better. Especially with high skies. [:D]
That is quite a difference.
DUDE. THAT IS TOTALY SWEET.
Not sweet. MAGIC!
Actually, the color of the sky aside, overcast days are great because there are absolutely NO HARSH SHADOWS. That’s the trade-off.
You need to learn to set your lens aperature manually – one-half to one stop open, based on available lighting. From looking at your pictures, you’re using the “automatic” setting – and the more “white” sky showing in your frame, the more the camera shuts the lens down. That’s why your closeups are slightly better exposed. Not great, but “slightly better.”
It also does this on sunny days, but the sun throws enough light to properly expose the subject. In other words, your pictures are exposed for the overall frame lighting “happy medium” – when you should be exposing for the train (the object of your photo) and nothing else.
The same thing (lens shutdown) will happen even on a sunny day if you shoot a locomotive head-on and its lights are turned on.
Learning how to do these things is what turns an amateur into a pro.
Ok. I got it. I can increase the amount of light coming into the camera. I just had the setting set to 1.0. Next time ill set it to 1.3. Thanks.
Well, you can crank in some exposure compensation or you can prefocus and premeter the shot by locking in the exposuer by composing the shot with no sky at the place the train will be when you want to take the photo. Basically, focus and meter on the ground at the photo location. Hold the shutter release down a bit to lock in the focus and exposure data and then lift the camera up to the composition you want when the train gets into view. Release the shutter at the proper moment and you will get a properly exposed train.
The skies will be blown out but if you shoot raw you can underexpose the shot by including some sky in the shot as you are doing and then photoshop the details back into the sky and use the Shadows command to bring the detail back into the train.
Ok I get the idea now. Thank you so much.
That’s the method that I plan on using when the situation arises- it’s just a matter of REMEMBERING to do it. My problem is I don’t take enough pictures to get it pounded into me as a habit.
I couldn’t help but to notice that some of the UP units in the posted pics were just as cloudy as the sky! A nice bright shinny yellow UP unit would certainly brighten things up on a cloudy day.
CC
Photographs are made from incident light and reflected light. Incident light is like light coming through a stained glass window. Reflective light is what is most common to photography, especially railfan photography. You see and your camera records the light which is not absorbed by the subject but is reflected back to your eyes and the camera. Clean units reflect more light than dirty units and thus make brighter pictures.
Cheater.
I learned how to do that stuff when I worked in the Photo Department at Playboy. [:D]
But that’s a story for another forum… LOL
So that’s why everything in Playboy looks so fake… [}:)][:P][:O]