First Attempt at Lake/Dam Shots *C&C*

[jordansgotfaith]

My best friend and I found a pretty sweet location on my way home from work yesterday. Didn't have much time to spend out there, but got a few decent shots. Definitely plan on heading back out there next week sometime!


God's Beautiful Creations by jordansgotfaith, on Flickr
Nikon D7000
Aperture: f/11
Shutter Speed: 1/15 sec.
ISO 250
Focal Length: 35mm


Falls Dam by jordansgotfaith, on Flickr
Nikon D7000
Aperture: f/1.8
Shutter Speed: 1/200 sec.
ISO: 640
Focal Length: 35mm


Falls Highway by jordansgotfaith, on Flickr
Nikon D7000
Aperture: f/10
Shutter Speed: 6 seconds
ISO:4000
Focal Length: 35mm
(Didn't mean to bump the ISO up that much...oh well!)

And one noisy one of my best friend (was not trying to get any portraits...this was just a random shot):

Dillon by jordansgotfaith, on Flickr
Nikon D7000
Aperture: f/1.8
Shutter Speed: 1/250 sec.
ISO: 1600
Focal Length: 35mm

 

[bazooka]

Ok, here are my opnions.

#1 Great light on the clouds and great reflections in the water. Unfortunately, I don't feel the composition exploits the weather and light conditions your experienced. About a fifth of the frame at the top is almost solid blue (uninteresting). Against that solid blue, I see some white smearing and it seems you have duped the image on top of itself. I am guessing it's a result of rotating to correct the horizon but you forgot to recrop.

Anyway, back to composition... the right 1/4 is also not quite as interesting as there are no red highlights in the clouds. It serves as a natural frame of sorts, but I think it's weak and would rather see a frame full of that awsome color. Maybe even a portrait crop... I could show you but you have "Don't edit my photos" checked so....

If you wanted something more abstract, maybe zoom in to just the reflections. They look incredible.

... Typed all this yesterday, got sidetracked at work... continuing this morning.

#2. There is way too much going on here. I think there is a nice shot in there though. Crop out everything but the moon down to the more colorful trees near the horizon, portrait aspect. The bridge, the power lines, water, fence, grass, other unidentifiable things things in the background do not add to this image. It's way too much to take in. It's often said that if it doesn't add to the image, it takes away.

Take a moment to imagine something with me. (I think this is a good exercise that helps me improve.) Imagine the moon sitting directly over those colorful trees just after it has risen (or before moonset). Imagine zooming way in on them with just the colorful tops and the moon large in the frame (perhaps you don't have a sufficient lens, I don't know, but it's just an exercise after all). You have the same deep blue sky you captured, the moon at a more proper exposure (it's overexposed in your shot), and all of those incredible reds and yellows in direct contrast. That would be a great shot. But it's something you'd have to do some research to pull off. You'd need to find out when the moon would be in that position (day and time) at an earlier time in the day (to bring the moon closer to the same exposure as the sky and trees). And you'd need a telephoto lens. You shot that at 35 so I think a 200 would work.

#3 It's unclear to me what that light is, is it headlights or a reflection? I hope you're not shooting these handheld. And if not, then you should have your ISO as low as it will go. Shutter speed is irrelevant in these shots.

#4 The pose is straight on and uninteresting. It's usually best to shoot with the person angled one direction or another. Straight shoulders under a straight head is as plain jane as it gets. Had you shot this a bit earlier, you have had a better ratio between light from the sky and light from the streetlight. The streetlight is well-to-slightly-overexposed for a rim light but the sky light is underexposed, and his eyes are almost in complete shadow. The eyes are critical in a normal smiling 'portrait' and they need to be in light.