mind your blinkies

for the camera settings challenge... feel free to ignore...
http://365project.org/discuss/themes-competitions/19210/camera-settings-challenge-32-using-the-histogram-to-check-exposure

i wanted to try this out because i was curious as to what the camera would choose for "correct exposure" on my chess shots... i generally shoot these in manual mode (meaning i choose the aperture and shutterspeed), and pay no attention to the histogram at all...

for this exercise i shot in aperture mode and let the camera choose the shutterspeed... the camera is of the view that the "correct" exposure is the middle shot above... i beg to differ, preferring the one that is -2ev on the far right... ;p

these were shot with my macro (100mm) lens on f/2.8 and iso100... settings in sequence starting from the left are:

1/8s (+2ev)
1/25s (+1ev)
1/50s (0)
1/80s (-1ev)
1/200s (-2ev)

all were processed very very lightly in LR5 - same settings applied to each...

[Kerri]

Awesome shot

[Ian]

Interesting exercise, I pretty much live in the aperture setting for my own photography but will often use the exposure comp function.

[Penny Price]

Very interesting exercise. I love how you've put the result together, very scientific. I quite like the setting the camera chose to be the 'correct' setting and appreciate your preference to the -2ev one. From the picture above it looks a little dull by comparison but I imagine it looks better large on your computer screen. Like all art, it all depends what the artist is trying to convey.

[Alexander]

I have a preference for the well underexposed too. There is so much more drama and moodiness to it.

[Issi Bannerman]

Gorgeous!

[Jocasta]

Interesting to see your results - and the composite photo makes a brilliant photo.

[Daryl O'Hare]

I have been living in the shutterspeed setting lately. Thanks for this demonstration. I really need to do something with this challenge, but I'm time crunched AGAIN. I'm more inclined to like the one next to the far right as more detail seems to be there? Hard to see with just the tile though. You are always the talent for pulling together the process--love it.

[Michelle]

I love this.. this is so cool :) x

[Colleen]

Very well done!

[Katia]

Great one! :)

[Frank Hymus]

"Correct" depends on what metering mode you chose. Spot, Center Weighted or Matrix to use Nikon terms. I'd say the center one probably avaraged over the whole frame (matrix), and that is apparently what you didn't want. Indeed, I think it blows some of the whites at the top of the rook. I'd say spotting on this highlight and locking on that to reframe is what you really were after?

I know that the challenge was about reading histograms, but that is a strategy suitable for images that "fill the frame" with interest, suitable for "matrix" metering acoss the whole frame. IMO

[Amrita]

I really like this...fav