Fall colors around my neighborhood

misa.j · Oct 30, 2007

Hi, I'm a noob on this forum and am liking it already! I just started to get into photography about 6 months ago. Here are some shots taken in my neighborhood this fall. Any comments on them are appreciated. Thanks!

andrew07 · Oct 30, 2007

i really, really like number two the fog makes the picture.

Viperjet · Oct 30, 2007

I love #2 as well. I also like the last one. Fantastic work!

Harmony · Oct 30, 2007

welcome to TPF!!!

my comments:
#1 - there's nothing in the photo to draw my focus, no subject. there also seems to be a white halo around the leaves, i'm not sure what is causing that.
#2 - i like the idea with the layers, but the tree on the right is not in focus and underexposed.
#3 - reminds me of a tree next to my house, it's exactly like that, dying but gorgeous with the different colours. this one is nice, but the harsh sky on the left is distracting and the trunk, IMO, would be better off to the left (rule of thirds)
#4 - this one is my favourite, brilliant colours. try post processing to blur the background, and maybe next time, don't place the leaf in the middle of the picture, or do it without the stem in the bottom, too much dead space around it.

overall, you're off to a good start =)

misa.j · Oct 31, 2007

Wow, thanks guys for the nice comments!

Harmony said:
there also seems to be a white halo around the leaves, i'm not sure what is causing that.

You have good eye! It's actually from the breeze, the leaves were quaking at the tip.

C.Lloyd · Nov 1, 2007

1 is kinda plain. I like #2 with the fog and the layers. 3 is flat, a little too much flash. 4 is ok, doesn't do much for me, but has nice color.

LaFoto · Nov 2, 2007

Hiya, misa.j, welcome to ThePhotoForum.
I personally like Photo 1, I like how you saw that this bush sports all the autumn colours in one, green, yellow, red, all set against the clear blue sky. It is a composition of colours only ... maybe, to point that out more, you might consider an even closer crop?

The morning fog photo with its muted colours and many layers is lovely. It has a bit too much sky for my liking, but then I am also used to a different image size which is wider than the size produced by the compact cameras.

The third is all bland and totally boring to my eyes, though I see that this one has a potential that could still be brought out by using Photoshop, i.e. a potential in colours and contrasts. Whether to bring out the colours that are hidden here will make your compostion more pleasing in the end would need to be seen.

And I find there is a very clear blue cast to the last, as if your white balance were set to lamp light and you were outside taking this photo in natural light. The leaf is a nice colour, but I find that photo way too cold (colour temperature-wise).

misa.j · Nov 2, 2007

Thank you C.Lloyd and LaFoto for your comments! It's very refleshing to hear what kind of impressions my pictures give to other people. I really appreciate your taking the time to comment. Each comment is giving me the opportunity to look at my own photos in prospective.

LaFoto said:
And I find there is a very clear blue cast to the last, as if your white balance were set to lamp light and you were outside taking this photo in natural light. The leaf is a nice colour, but I find that photo way too cold (colour temperature-wise).

I see what you point out, LaFoto. I think I used auto white balance setting when I took that one, but it does look blueish.