Sunsets, trees and C&C

[laydros]

I finally got around to getting some of the pictures up from my first real photographic outing. My wife works at NIEHS in NC, and they share a campus with an EPA division. There is a very nice lake with a walkway in the middle of the campus, and we went out to shoot some one day about a week ago. I haven't actually shared any photos in this forum yet, and I was pretty happy with some of these, so I wanted to share, and request some comments and constructive criticism. I forgot to bring my 75-300 that day, so all of these are with the *cough* kit lens. And of course I'm new to this so my abilities are the real limitation.

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The set, including much higher resolution are at flickr. Please take a look to get a better idea at a higher res.

[DonSchap]

1) Post-process and straighten the trees to vertical and also that pole. It'll look more balanced.

Original


After PP


2) The building might be an interesting candidate for an HDR run.

Original


After HDR


3) What is the subject of the third image?

Original


After "Curves" Adjustment


4) About 50% too much negative space, on the right hand side.

Original


Curves, Saturation and Crop

[dr4gon]

Looks nice

First one is a bit overexposed and yes crooked.

Second is great, I'd like to see an HDR too and it could use maybe a bit more cropping so there's less sky above

Third looks very average since it lacks a subject, and the sky is pretty dull (I'm sure the sky looked nice when you shot it).

The fourth would be best as a vertical crop

[BobJohnson]

Nice photographs and good so see some feedback too.

I'm seeing that not only is there loads to learn regarding getting the light into the camera, but also lots to learn around post processing. hmph lol.

I like the HDR manipulation the best... it makes the picture look so much more interesting!!

[seanhoxx]

Jason, might want to take a bit of care during the day, that looks to be a pretty bright sun right into the sensor, not sure but could lead to some damage? Trying to stay level kills me also, you would think that would be so simple to overcome!!

[laydros]

Thanks for the feedback. I've been a bit to busy the past day so I haven't really looked over them before now. I think HDR is a big improvement. I was thinking about doing that, but don't have the software/knowledge to do it yet. I shoot everything in RAW so I can probably get a really strong HDR out of that one.

Thats a good point that there wasn't really a subject in the 3rd one. It originally had a building in it, but I cropped it out. I was thinking "oh, purty" and didn't really get a useful composition out of it.

[DonSchap]

Jason ... your stills will improve as you practice, practice, practice. No one solution does it all, but when you frame your shots ... take a moment to:

• look beyond the subject ... for "other subjects" and interference.
• Balance the real subject (composition) ... rule of thirds, side to side, up and down
• Balance the horizon (level is usually best).

Then ... take the shot.