Noise, noise everywhere

CaveDweller

CaveDweller

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Name
Paul
Edit My Images
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I got all set up for star trails then mist and clouds started to come in, so I just started taking normal shots...but, I forgot to change from a higher ISO to a lower one and ended up with lots of noise. I use a higher ISO for trails because stacking the images at the end reduces the noise.

Anyway, I found it quite nice how the cars were acting like a back light in the fog behind the trees.

Canon 550D and 18-55 kit lens
18mm
f/3.5
ISO 800
24 seconds

This was my first edit:

IMG_6428-3 by Peanut651, on Flickr

This is after a few attempts:

IMG_6428-5 by Peanut651, on Flickr



this one is from the same angle, settings, etc. Just without the cars back lighting the trees.

IMG_6422 by Peanut651, on Flickr
 
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That is absolutely lovely.
 
Cheers, it was quite a challenge. The cars only took a few seconds to come out behind those trees but I didn't want to catch their actual lights. I had to listen for them coming in the background to give me a long enough exposure so I could stop it just before they popped out. Was surprisingly fun lol
 
You could probably reduce the noise a fair bit in Lightroom if you use it ? I love the shot & to be honest don't mind the noise too much on this occasion, agree with your about the car headlights :)
 
-Baz- said:
You could probably reduce the noise a fair bit in Lightroom if you use it ? I love the shot & to be honest don't mind the noise too much on this occasion, agree with your about the car headlights :)
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Thanks. I did try in Lightroom, but it made it look very soft and out of focus because of all the fog around the trees and bushes. I did reduce it slightly but I couldn't find a mix between reduced noise and detail.
 
I tried this just now. I reduced the noise so it was nearly gone. do you see what I mean about the bushes in the light being blurry, it might just be me though being picky.

I'm still trying to improve my processing, so anyone feel free to have a mess with it if you're bored :)

IMG_6428-4 by Peanut651, on Flickr
 
Great shot, a lot of mood.

The noise in the first was noticeable but not to the point of distraction. In re-processing, you've softened the definition of the light rays - I guess you might have originally had the clarity slider pushed a long way to the right and subsequently wound it back? The ideal image may be somewhere between the two- as a Lightroom user you might be able to magic up a compromise using the selective editing tools.

I don't really see the blurriness around the trees and, to a point, it wouldn't bother me if I could. Even on a still night an amount of movement in the trees is to be expected and beyond your control.
 
AndWhyNot said:
Great shot, a lot of mood.

The noise in the first was noticeable but not to the point of distraction. In re-processing, you've softened the definition of the light rays - I guess you might have originally had the clarity slider pushed a long way to the right and subsequently wound it back? The ideal image may be somewhere between the two- as a Lightroom user you might be able to magic up a compromise using the selective editing tools.

I don't really see the blurriness around the trees and, to a point, it wouldn't bother me if I could. Even on a still night an amount of movement in the trees is to be expected and beyond your control.
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Cheers. I did have the clarity along a little bit, only about +15. The light rays softened only by doing noise reduction, I left the clarity as is on the re-edit.

My problem is every time I go back to give it another try I seem to do something different, like it, then look at it later and decide to fiddle again lol.

I tried again just now and came up with this. It's hard to please everyone and the effects of different processing is endless.


To be honest I think this is about in the middle of my other two and quite pleased with it.
IMG_6428-5 by Peanut651, on Flickr
 
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CaveDweller said:
I forgot to change from a higher ISO to a lower one and ended up with lots of noise.
Click to expand...

You wouldn't want to reduce the ISO though, as then you'd end up with an underexposed image.

I think the second edit in the first post is the winner. Maybe just reduce the purple a touch / shift it a bit bluer.

You need the high ISO to expose the stars before they start to trail. I was shooting stars at 12,800 ISO the other day. Quick clean in Lightroom, good to go, stick them up for people to buy. (y)

Really like the photo by the way.
 
Jayst84 said:
You wouldn't want to reduce the ISO though, as then you'd end up with an underexposed image.

I think the second edit in the first post is the winner. Maybe just reduce the purple a touch / shift it a bit bluer.

You need the high ISO to expose the stars before they start to trail. I was shooting stars at 12,800 ISO the other day. Quick clean in Lightroom, good to go, stick them up for people to buy. (y)

Really like the photo by the way.
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Cheers. The second picture in the first post is my last attempt at it, pretty happy with it like that now. I was getting frustrated with it this morning so I left it and came back to it earlier and managed to do what I wanted (y)
 
Have you played with the clarity slider on this? If not, it might be worth a go. Nice image btw.
 
Thanks. Yeh I've had a play about with the clarity. Too much just makes the noise worse. It took me a while to find a happy medium lol
 
Like what you've done with 6428-5 lol I got a bit lost with them ! You can go round & round with the processing as you've found out, I still go back to shots mostly sunsets & fiddle, lightroom therapy :D
 
Just layer mask the land out and boost the sky. That is if you have PS of course!
 
To be honest I'm not the best at that sort of thing. I'm still learning post processing so I will give that a shot though, I need to learn. I did similar using the brushes in light room though.
 
Super pictures, Paul! Absolutely lovely.

I've been using Elements 11 for while now, and only recently got PS CC 2014 (£8-something a month), I've found that's great for reducing noise in RAW.
 
-Baz- said:
Like what you've done with 6428-5 lol I got a bit lost with them ! You can go round & round with the processing as you've found out, I still go back to shots mostly sunsets & fiddle, lightroom therapy :D
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cheers. I got lost editing them. Gonna leave it as is for today lol
 
BintyMcFrazzles said:
Super pictures, Paul! Absolutely lovely.

I've been using Elements 11 for while now, and only recently got PS CC 2014 (£8-something a month), I've found that's great for reducing noise in RAW.
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Thanks. I have PS cs6 but I normally try to process in lightroom first. I'm going to have another go at it tomorrow (y)
 
Editing aside, this is a really, really great shot, love the atmosphere created by the cars! Sod the noise, as mentioned before the eye isn't drawn to it, spend less time playing around with it and more time going out to take more images like this! In my humble opinion of course!
 
Speak up! I can't hear you for all the noise. :)

Noise really doesn't spoil the image with the car headlights. The stars are pin points of light, you've got interest with the car headlights and mist, foreground has interest in it with reflected stars. If anything it enhances the picture.

What's not to like?
 
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BMG said:
Editing aside, this is a really, really great shot, love the atmosphere created by the cars! Sod the noise, as mentioned before the eye isn't drawn to it, spend less time playing around with it and more time going out to take more images like this! In my humble opinion of course!
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:agree:
 
Thanks all, much appreciated. I went up there with completely different intentions. Although it's nice to get a normal shot for once rather than making the stars trail. I anted the milky way, but where it was in relation to my location I couldn't get a decent composition without the nearby roads and I didn;t have the time to hike up Pen Y Fan, the highest point in Brecon.

BMG said:
Editing aside, this is a really, really great shot, love the atmosphere created by the cars! Sod the noise, as mentioned before the eye isn't drawn to it, spend less time playing around with it and more time going out to take more images like this! In my humble opinion of course!
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Cheers. I don't really do much editing. This shot in particular I really liked and it took me about half an hour to get it, but the RAW was too underexposed. Night time is when I come out to play with the camera (y)

It was trickier than it looks to get that shot. The hills in the background also have roads on so I had to wait for them to clear as well as time it right for the cars to come behind the trees. I'll be going back there again.
 
CaveDweller said:
It was trickier than it looks to get that shot.
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Ha!! I've just come back from Cornwall and tried night time photography, which was a disaster!! Managed to play around with slow shutter speed stuff at sunset, but could t get to grips with taking photos of the stars! Lots of black with very few little white dots! Needless to say delete the lot! Think that's what makes your shot all the more impressive to me!!!!
 
BMG said:
Ha!! I've just come back from Cornwall and tried night time photography, which was a disaster!! Managed to play around with slow shutter speed stuff at sunset, but could t get to grips with taking photos of the stars! Lots of black with very few little white dots! Needless to say delete the lot! Think that's what makes your shot all the more impressive to me!!!!
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Cheers. Did you delete them on the computer or on the back of the camera? On the live view screen you don't really see a lot of detail in the stars. It's not till you get it up on a big screen that you see what you've really got.
 
Straight off the camera, tbh, the location I was in wasn't brilliant. I couldn't really find a worthwhile composition to make it worthwhile! Might have also helped if I didn't go off half cocked without a proper torch! But I will give it another go & be better prepared!
 
BMG said:
Straight off the camera, tbh, the location I was in wasn't brilliant. I couldn't really find a worthwhile composition to make it worthwhile! Might have also helped if I didn't go off half cocked without a proper torch! But I will give it another go & be better prepared!
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i'm always going out unprepared and the location I went to I'd never been before. I was driving about blind to the area sticking the camera out the window now and again to see what it would pick up lol
 
Well I now have a plan of action... Drive around & hope for the best! & there was me thinking that suburb picture of yours took hours of dedication to find/set up etc! & now I know the secret of the trade!!;););)
 
BMG said:
Well I now have a plan of action... Drive around & hope for the best! & there was me thinking that suburb picture of yours took hours of dedication to find/set up etc! & now I know the secret of the trade!!;););)
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Lol I did have a plan. I was going to go up Pen Y Fan, but I didn't think it would be a great idea to hike the highest mountain in Brecon Beacons for the first time in the pitch black lol
 
Why not - the Army do it all the time with their recuits....lol....
 
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