A few of my beginner attempts...

TheGreatGonzo · Jan 18, 2011

Well, I am as beginnery of a beginner as you can begin to be, so...please be gentle. :blushing: These are straight from the camera with no post processing attempted. They are, for the most part, sunrise at a state park.
Thanks,
Gonzo

spacefuzz · Jan 18, 2011

Nice sunrise, I would try to get down lower and include some rocks or shore as a foreground next time.

Lunchbox · Jan 18, 2011

why 400 iso on all of em?

TheGreatGonzo · Jan 18, 2011

spacefuzz said:
Nice sunrise, I would try to get down lower and include some rocks or shore as a foreground next time.

I was limited on where I could shoot from during the sunrise because I was not familiar with the terrain and the conditions were very icy. Now that I have learned the shoreline a bit, I will definitely shoot from the shore.

Lunchbox said:
why 400 iso on all of em?

Just experimenting.

sobolik · Jan 18, 2011

"Well, I am as beginnery of a beginner as you can begin to be"

LIAR!

"so...please be gentle"
Well OK seriously misguided.

You are either well beyond beginner level or incredibly lucky to get quality compositions as these. Perhaps you just have that thing called - aptitude. Well done.

TheGreatGonzo · Jan 18, 2011

sobolik said:
"Well, I am as beginnery of a beginner as you can begin to be"

LIAR!

"so...please be gentle"
Well OK seriously misguided.

You are either well beyond beginner level or incredibly lucky to get quality compositions as these. Perhaps you just have that thing called - aptitude. Well done.

Ha ha! Nope, I'm a true newbie. I'm so new I still squeak. I've always seen the world around me as "snapshots", if that makes any sense. I was just never sure I could translate what my eye and brain were seeing into a photographic medium. In this case, I thnk it was just right place, right time. But thanks so much. The kind words mean a lot.
Gonzo

TheGreatGonzo · Jan 18, 2011

Here, for instance, I could not get the angle I wanted because the ice was extremely bad and the shoreline slope was quite steep. I got very frustrated because I could not get where I wanted to be to take the picture. I think that is a frustration I will have to deal with a lot in this hobby. :grumpy:

v3nom · Jan 18, 2011

Gosh i wish my Beginner pics looked as good as yours! You must have the gift.

willis_927 · Jan 18, 2011

Nice job. I like the birds in the 4th picture. I think the birds would have looked really good if you had a longer zoom lens and got a closer silhouettes against that nice orange glow.

TheGreatGonzo · Jan 19, 2011

willis_927 said:
Nice job. I like the birds in the 4th picture. I think the birds would have looked really good if you had a longer zoom lens and got a closer silhouettes against that nice orange glow.

Thanks very much. A really good zoom is on my list of "wanted glass", but given how much lenses cost, I'm having to build up slowly.
Gonzo

Juanka · Jan 19, 2011

Im with the others. Those are awesome for someone new at it. Seems like you have the foretold... eye of destiny.... or maybe... just a good sense for composition!

warthog · Jan 19, 2011

I really like the ice, are the sun burst from pp.

TheGreatGonzo · Jan 19, 2011

warthog said:
I really like the ice, are the sun burst from pp.

Warthog,
I'm guessing "PP" is post processing (probably a stupid newbie question, but I'm slowly but surely learning). If so, the answer is "no". To be honest, I have not really worked up the courage to do much post processing yet. I was trying to get the sun reflections off the ice, but it took me about 12 shots before I realized I was shooting it from the wrong angle. I got very frustrated trying to make the picture match what I saw in my brain.
Gonzo

Tight Knot · Jan 20, 2011

Really, really nice shots. You're definitely going to want to learn how to do HDR photos, that will help you get the picture your brain sees better (IMHO) and they're really not difficult to learn.

TheGreatGonzo · Jan 20, 2011

Tight Knot said:
Really, really nice shots. You're definitely going to want to learn how to do HDR photos, that will help you get the picture your brain sees better (IMHO) and they're really not difficult to learn.

Thanks. HDR is definitely on my "to do" list. All I know about it is what I have read in books, but I am eager to give it a try. I recently purchased a good (I believe) tripod, so I think I am about ready to give it a whirl.
Gonzo