Couple new pics from a newbie with a fuji s1500 c&c welcomed.

reznap · Feb 12, 2010

Just went and snapped a few today. Tried HDR, mostly experimenting. Nothing great here but I need the practice. Using manual mode on the camera but still a little limited... but the 12x zoom is nice.

I only really like 1 and 4... and maybe 3

Here's a 12x zoom. Couple poor freezing ducks. Snow was a bit crazy, this is the clearest of the bunch. Gave it some more tweaks in PP.
(#1)

Portrait of the same thing basically, without all the PP.
(#2)

Trying HDR... bracketing on my cam is limited to -1/+1 EV.
(#3)

And a closer shot of the log/tree. HDR attempted here also.
(#4)

And a pretty footbridge (the one I stood on to get the duck shots) - somehow much prettier in person than I could manage to capture.
(#5)

Basically, just sharing but open to harsh criticism also (I can take it) and thinking of purchasing the rebel T2i when it's available... even though I have no business owning something that awesome.

-paul

Tulsa · Feb 12, 2010

Honestly, you are never going to get the samequality image from a point and shoot camera, That a DSLR can shoot. that does not mean you cant have fun with it and learn, with that said all the images look blurred, not sure if its the falling snow or what, but its not easy on the eyes. The composition of 5 is ok, but the others do nothing for me, If you are interested in photography, pickup a used Canon XSI or even XS, it will do alot for a newb.

tdiprincess · Feb 12, 2010

Personally, they're awsesome.. but I'm even more of a beginner... :lol:

reznap · Feb 12, 2010

Tulsa said:
Honestly, you are never going to get the samequality image from a point and shoot camera, That a DSLR can shoot. that does not mean you cant have fun with it and learn, with that said all the images look blurred, not sure if its the falling snow or what, but its not easy on the eyes. The composition of 5 is ok, but the others do nothing for me, If you are interested in photography, pickup a used Canon XSI or even XS, it will do alot for a newb.

When you say composition on 5 is ok, do you mean it's the only one with real clarity? I didn't like 5 much, I thought it was boring..

I appreciate everything you said here, and sadly, I agree with you. I humbly post P&S pictures in a forum that's basically centered around DSLR. I will be getting a better camera soon though. I just don't want to buy a nice camera and end up sucking with that too, lol.

matfoster · Feb 12, 2010

i do like the first one. looks like an impressionistic painting...the dimensional proportions are great for a canvas and the snow flakes obliterate much of the perspective - everything appears to be on one, vertical plane with only the ripples suggesting otherwise.

Cass · Feb 13, 2010

I am a beginner so you don't have to really take my C&C for much.

I like #1 but the color on it looks a little drab. For # 3 and 4 I think the shot would of come out better if there was less snow on the log tree. Just looks like a long lump of snow.

I really like #5. I like shots like this. Maybe sharpen it up a little more. Otherwise,#5 is my FAV.

However,like I said. I am new to all of this as well. So my opinion probably won't do anything to help you.

They all turned out pretty good with just a point and shoot though. You were able to get a nice close up on #1. My sony cyber-shot never did good on close up pics.

reznap · Feb 13, 2010

Here's another of that bridge, centered. Ugly metal road-bridge to the right kinda takes away... Thanks for your posts everyone.

Cass · Feb 13, 2010

reznap said:
Here's another of that bridge, centered. Ugly metal road-bridge to the right kinda takes away... Thanks for your posts everyone.

I like the first pic of the bridge better. But thats just my taste.

Yownhouse · Feb 13, 2010

5 is probably your best photo actually. There is just too much going on in the other photos to direct my attention to one subject.

reznap · Feb 15, 2010

I got a few more, thought I'd put them in this thread rather than clutter up the forum any more. Let me know if I'm terrible and should leave the website permanently or maybe just until I buy a real camera.

Sunset down the road (tough to get any decent horizon near where I live).
I actually like the high tension lines though.. The houses take away from it a lot... anyway I'm practicing mostly so no big loss.
---reflection from car roof, tried cropping it off, either way it's a mediocre photo.. I just liked the sky (and the difference in scale).

Taken while out earlier this evening.

Before getting in the car, noticed these menacing-looking icicles. Nearly 5 ft long I'd guess..

Going to pull the trigger and purchase the Canon Rebel T2i when it comes out (early March they're saying?) Choosing this over other models mostly because of the HD video capabilities.

bazooka · Feb 15, 2010

It's good that your trying, and as long as you're willing to learn (as am I), there's no reason to leave. :lol:

You've posted quite a few pics but most of them have one common flaw, at least to me. Your subject is getting lost. I didn't even notice there were ducks in those pictures until I read it. I had to go back and look again. If someone has to do that, then you failed at making it the "subject" or what was supposed to attract my attention.

While falling snow is awsome when you're in it, in these shots it just becomes a distraction to me. I think the subject would be more obvious without it.

Concerning the duck pics, to draw more attention to them, they need to take up more of the frame... perhaps focus on just one or two of them. If you're zoomed in all the way, then you're just too far away. You're fairly limited by your gear, but you can still learn to use depth of field to draw attention toward the subject and away from the other clutter or other competing potential subjects. Also, differences in color and light can draw attention. The ducks are the same color as the water and the snow on their backs... well, is the same color as the other flakes in the frame and the large snow bank. When I saw them, I thought they were rocks or clumps of leaves.

I like the bridge shots... the falling snow might work here. I haven't shot in snow but maybe you could play with the shutter speed to either get rid of the motion blur, or decrease shutter speed to blur them even more. With that aside, the bridge is a nice scene, I like the reflection of the sky and the color of the wood against all the gray and black and white. I think with some PP, one or both of those shots could come out nice.

The sunset also looks like a nice scene, but the houses and the power lines aren't a convincing subject... as they are shown here, they are not something that interest me. That's not to say that these objects don't hold value as potential subjects, but as they are composed in your photograph, they are poor subjects and directly compete with each other, spreading the area of interest throughout the frame. This leaves my eye with nothing to "rest on".

I think I see what you were going for in the waterfall pic... but I actually didn't see the waterfall until the 4th or 5th time looking at the pic. This leaves me to wonder if the intended subject were the pylons or the waterfall? Each would be an interesting subject, but there are many other things in the photograph that are distracting because of shape, composition, lines, color, and contrast. I challenge you to find at least 3.

The icicle shot has interesting lines, but it's underexposed and it doesn't look like you put much thought into it.

reznap · Feb 15, 2010

bazooka, thank you very much for the detailed reply. As for that snowy day, it was coming down pretty hard and I thought it looked nice, and then rather than try to show how nice the snow looked, in most of my pictures I tried shooting 'through' the snow at other things...

And I'm now starting to fully understand just how difficult it is to not only find good subject matter, but to show it in a way that works for a viewer.

Anyway, I think you hit the nail on the head for most of these (especially the icicles... I was cold and rushed it, sort of saw them in passing) and I appreciate your comments. Thanks again.

bazooka · Feb 15, 2010

My pleasure, most people ask for C&C and leave it at that, but you sounded like you'd put it to use which is why I went into such detail. P&S cameras are plenty capable of taking nice shots in good conditions, so don't feel like upgrading to a dslr is going to transform you. Having a dslr would have given you very similar results to what you posted here. I'm not saying you shouldn't upgrade... that's a decision that you alone can make. I'm just saying that your s1500 is capable of nice photos and isn't holding you back at this point. With a little practice and learning, you may quickly grow out of it though.

As far as documenting, the icicle shot is fine, we can see that's it's a big icicle. Perhaps adding something in there to relate the size to would give us better perspective would help. But as far as being a photograph that is just pleasing to look at for the average person, it is not. This requires extra effort, time, and critical thinking.

I look foward to seeing your progress. Any idea when you'll be able to take and post some new photos?

reznap · Feb 15, 2010

Within the next few days for sure. I'll try to put more effort in.

Many people may consider it old news or cliche, but I really want to do some light painting. Guy by the name of Michael Bosanko does some really incredible examples of this.. One of the reasons for wanting a DSLR, the longer shutter speeds. Tried it with my 8 second maximum and it becomes a real hassle (no remote, set the 10 second self-timer in the menu over and over for each frame) and I have to layer all my shots in photoshop, which gets a bit messy.

Don't try and talk me out of buying a dslr..