A Missed Setting

The sky is still generally crappy. By that I mean clear blue dome, no clouds. I'm always looking for some cloud definition, because landscape photos are often boring with clear skies. I rode out to catch the sunrise from the Hidden Valley Wildlife Preserve a few mornings ago. It is about a nine mile ride to the southwest in a group of low hills along the Santa Ana River between Riverside and Norco.

I guessed right about the rain that was coming from the coast. Nothing rain happened until I was back home, and gearing up for the day. I also guessed correctly that we'd have a good sunrise: Plenty of warm colors between and through the clouds to the east beside Box Springs Mountain. I hiked up to the crest of a hill, planted the tripod, and attached the camera. I captured photos for nearly an hour, then rode home, "knowing" that I had some good frames.

When I uploaded and looked at the photos in the evening, I discovered that every one of them was unacceptably grainy. A quick check of the camera's settings jogged my memory. During the previous morning's hike in Sycamore Canyon I made a few handheld predawn photos and dialed up the ISO to 1600. I never thought to change it back to my preferred ISO 100 or 200. Typically, I will shoot at ISO 200. On the tripod, I'll set it down to ISO 100 unless I'm shooting some kind of action. And I always check my exposure compensation setting, and always format the 8GB memory card. Good habits, both.

But this isn't the first time I've missed the ISO setting when returning everything to normal settings. Fortunately, I never missed such a good landscape before. Maybe this will help me form a better set of habits when preparing for shooting...