Sunrise and exposure compensation

[ST]

7:17 a.m. this morning - It was overcast and dreary, with thunderstorms in the forecast. I wasn't expecting a sunrise. But there was a brief break in the clouds. The clouds rolled in moments later, obscuring the sunrise.

ILCE-1 FE 200–600 mm F5.6–6.3 G OSS 
200 mm  f/5.6  1/2000 sec  ISO 100  EXP-2

Notes:

In the early mornings, I often have the camera set to Aperture Priority with ASA Auto (100-10,000), with ISO MIN Shutter Speed set to SLOW.

I could have stopped down the aperture for this shot, but it has been easier for me to think in terms of exposure compensation. I set it to EXP -2.

I could have lifted the shadows in post, but I wanted to leave the trees as silhouettes rather than draw the eye away from the sky.

I'm open to suggestions about this photo. Thank you.

 

Edited September 26, 2023 by ST

[CarolineJensen]

Have you ever dialed in the exposure manually? I find these tricky situations are easier to tackle if you can dial in things exactly for that moment. I like to set my shutter speed to indicate the style (soft or sharp clouds, movement or not) and then choose my aperture..again to determine the look. The ISO then can be chosen to get the image just the right brightness. I have always struggled with any priority mode!  

[CarolineJensen]

I love the mood of this image, btw! 

[ST]

On 9/26/2023 at 4:00 PM, CarolineJensen said:

Have you ever dialed in the exposure manually? I find these tricky situations are easier to tackle if you can dial in things exactly for that moment. I like to set my shutter speed to indicate the style (soft or sharp clouds, movement or not) and then choose my aperture..again to determine the look. The ISO then can be chosen to get the image just the right brightness. I have always struggled with any priority mode!  

Hi, Caroline,

Thanks for your thoughts and ideas.

I shoot full manual often, but at this time of day, and with the FE 200–600 mm F5.6–6.3 G OSS, I'm usually set up for birds in flight*, but the conditions change quickly. I noticed the sky and sensed this was a fleeting moment. So rather than turn the Settings dial to Manual, and then adjust Aperture and Shutter Speed, I composed the shot, and turned the Exposure Compensation to deal with the light. I use exposure compensation all the time for wildlife, so it's pretty intuitive for me.

Every day I walk around from an hour or two before dawn until an hour after sunrise. This is my favourite time of day to walk. This habit preceded photography for me, so my approach to light and exposure was shaped by that.  I usually start with the FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II (often full manual), and as it gets lighter, I put the FE 200–600 mm F5.6–6.3 G OSS on the A1 and add an A7 IV with the FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS for landscapes. This morning, with the threat of thunderstorms, I opted to stick with one camera.
 

* Birds in flight exposure settings for me are 
Aperture Priority 
ISO Auto and adjust the upper boundary to suit as it gets brighter
ISO Min Shutter Speed 2000 (edited) 

I use the custom recall settings (1, 2, 3) and custom memory recall assigned to buttons to override customer recall settings. 

Cheers!

 

 

 

Edited September 27, 2023 by ST

[CarolineJensen]

21 hours ago, ST said:

Hi, Caroline,

Thanks for your thoughts and ideas.

I shoot full manual often, but at this time of day, and with the FE 200–600 mm F5.6–6.3 G OSS, I'm usually set up for birds in flight*, but the conditions change quickly. I noticed the sky and sensed this was a fleeting moment. So rather than turn the Settings dial to Manual, and then adjust Aperture and Shutter Speed, I composed the shot, and turned the Exposure Compensation to deal with the light. I use exposure compensation all the time for wildlife, so it's pretty intuitive for me.

Every day I walk around from an hour or two before dawn until an hour after sunrise. This is my favourite time of day to walk. This habit preceded photography for me, so my approach to light and exposure was shaped by that.  I usually start with the FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM OSS II (often full manual), and as it gets lighter, I put the FE 200–600 mm F5.6–6.3 G OSS on the A1 and add an A7 IV with the FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS for landscapes. This morning, with the threat of thunderstorms, I opted to stick with one camera.
 

* Birds in flight exposure settings for me are 
Aperture Priority 
ISO Auto and adjust the upper boundary to suit as it gets brighter
ISO Min Shutter Speed 100- ... this varies depending on how much light there is

I use the custom recall settings (1, 2, 3) and custom memory recall assigned to buttons to be ready for most things. 

Cheers!

 

 

 

Thank you for all of this! Very helpful. It's all tricky for sure!