Question about summit shots

[dvbl]

Three related questions:

For the typical summit shot...let's say for instance, you're on Mt Liberty and you want to take a picture of the Pemi. There's nothing close in front of you (no people, trees, rocks, etc nearby), just the valley floor a couple thousand feet below, then the Bonds, Carrigain, etc in the distance.

1) If you're using manual focus, what will you focus on?

2) For these kinds of shots, what settings do you usually use?

3) Because everything in the field of view is so far away, is it true that aperture size / depth of field issues aren't as critical here versus when you want to take a picture of a person 15 feet away, and have the person and mountains in background be sharp?

 

[Tom Rankin]

In this case, everything is pretty much at infinity, no matter what f/stop you use. If you have a tripod, use a long f/stop, otherwise, I'd set the camera to the 'mountain' icon and shoot away.

 

[nartreb]

Well, you should almost always try to have something in the foreground to increase the perception of depth. {The exception would be if you have a strong telephoto lens and you want to zoom in on Bondcliff from Liberty.} Ideally, a hiker (or maybe a pet) gazing into the distance as the camera peeps over his shoulder to share the view; otherwise an interesting rock/ledge or the tips of some branches. For example, you can get a neat shot of Flume with the rocks of Liberty in the foreground, and vice versa: flume from liberty In that case you want a small aperture in order to keep both the foreground and the background in focus. (The "mountain icon" landscape mode available on most cameras will do the trick.) Change the exposure time as needed, using a tripod if necessary. (Go with a low ISO setting too [especially if you have a tripod], for the richest possible color.) Search for "hyperfocus" to find other threads discussing how to maximize DOF and exactly where to aim, but if in doubt just focus near the horizon. As Tom said, almost everything in the shot is at "infinity", if one peak is in focus they all will be - the only worry is whether you might blur the foreground a little. (Also: SLR cameras have a button - usually at lower left of the lens - that moves the aperture ring into position, so you can actually preview the DOF for your chosen aperture, giving you a chance to adjust the aperture or focus if needed.)

Also very important is time of day - morning or evening will mean less haze in the sky, golden light on east/west facing slopes, and dramatic shadows which will add texture to your shot. Morning is also a good time for ground fog, which can make hills look much taller. Cool weather usually means drier, clearer air than hot weather.

 

[dvbl]

Well, you should almost always try to have something in the foreground to increase the perception of depth...Ideally, a hiker (or maybe a pet) gazing into the distance as the camera peeps over his shoulder to share the view; otherwise an interesting rock/ledge or the tips of some branches...In that case you want a small aperture in order to keep both the foreground and the background in focus...

Thanks, good info.
Follow-up question: In this case that you describe above, would you manually focus on the nearby rock, pet, hiker, etc, and then recompose the shot before firing?
If using auto-focus, do you do a focus-lock on the nearby subject and recompose, or does the small aperture take care of nearby and distant focus?

 

[nartreb]

The important thing is to use a small aperture for a deep field of focus. You should then be able to focus on either the background or the foreground while keeping the other in focus.
Here's one I shot using autofocus, aimed at the foreground. I wasn't thinking about DOF but the bright light on the foreground meant that the camera chose a small aperture. 1/320s at f11 (full-auto mode)
Here's another autofocus shot, where I aimed at the distant ridge, but the foreground is perfectly sharp: 1/200s at f10 (landscape mode)

Keeping both foreground and background in focus might not be possible if the foreground is very very close. Choosing which one to focus on depends on the composition of your shot - if you can only get one, would you rather see the hiker/flower/rock or the distant mountains? The answer probably depends on how much of the view the foreground occupies - a "big" blurry foreground usually doesn't work. There's a recent shot posted to VFTT where somebody got a diapensia bloom inches away in the foreground, perfectly sharp, and Mt Monroe in the background, recognizable but blurry. It worked well in that case - the mountain was a setting but the flower became the primary subject. The reverse focus wouldn't have worked.

 

[dvbl]

thank you again for the info.

 

[w7xman]

Just a quick addition to the already good information posted here. Typically a quick guide, if you don't have something specific you want to focus on in the fore/mid ground, focus approx 1/3 of the way into the scene will keep things sharp from near to far with an appropriately small aperature...