Some Pictures from My Trip to Seattle

Sorry I don't have any critique, just a question :D

How do you get that effect on the pictures with the water, where it kinda gives it that "brushed" look? Sorry if thats a bad way to describe it.
 
Sorry I don't have any critique, just a question :D

How do you get that effect on the pictures with the water, where it kinda gives it that "brushed" look? Sorry if thats a bad way to describe it.

I used my camera's built-in ND Filter to get that brushed look on the water.
 
Is that a filter as in a lens filter, or is it something you select in the options menu?
 
the G9's "built in ND filter" is nothing more then just the lens being stopped down.
 
Is that a filter as in a lens filter, or is it something you select in the options menu?
The ND filter is being used as a way to lower the light coming into the camera to make the shooter able to use a slower shutter speed. Bottom line is a slower shutter speed will make the current and moving areas of the water blur to get the "brushed" look. Of course when you do this it will be necesarry to use a tripod.
 
They are some nice shots, however they skies look overexposed and some of the highlights blown out.
 
What is some good advice for keeping the sky from being overexposed and having blown out highlights?
It's quite difficult. You can either set & lock the exposure for the sky, then in PP use a "D-lighting" (or the equivalent) to brighten the shadows, or you could take 2-3 photos and create an HDR image with them. Or, possibly, you can use a circular polarizing filter to darken the sky, which will hopefully turn it into a blue.

As for the photos, they are really nice! I particualrly like the one with the copper-coloured... er... stuff in the lake, although something tells me that's not natural. :lol: I know you probably can't fix this (it's either Flickr or your camera) but the images seem to be of a quite low quality; there's a lot of noise in the images and they're not all that sharp.
 
What is some good advice for keeping the sky from being overexposed and having blown out highlights?

I agree with TG. I always shoot with a CPL when I'm outside, and if that doesn't work I use the "darken highlights" feature in Photoshop Elements 6. Another thing you can do is use the burn and dodge feature in PP. There are many ways to darken the highlights and make the sky look nice.
 
There's a lot of noise in the pictures because it was dusk when I took them, so I had to use a high ISO, and I didn't have a tripod so that may be why they aren't very sharp. I'm not sure why the stream is copper-colored. I think it may be from some kind of minerals in the water or from the mudslides they have been having around Mt. Rainier. Thanks for the help too. I'll look for a CPL for my camera also.
 
Great photos! like the composition on 86, just think that a little more light would have added to the defenition of the photo.
 

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