First Posted Photos. Please C&C

[CrM45]

We were anchored on SF Bay and were awakened to the sounds of the Olympic Triathlon trials. It was quite a sight to see. I am attaching two photos form our outing. I'm new to Photography and am reading everything I can get my hands on. I'm most concerned with composition as well as proper exposure technique. Thank you.

1.


Triathalon 2011 SF Bay by Crm452011, on Flickr


2.


Sailors by Crm452011, on Flickr

 

[The_Traveler]

no picture showing

 

[timbearden]

Reminds me of Rothko paintings. Very simple, and not much to look at. Photos still no showing.

 

[CrM45]

Is the link fixed now?

 

[cletusjermal]

still not showing up.

 

[The_Traveler]

no.

Pull down that drop menu at the red arrow.
copy the BB code (not html) and paste it in your post.

 

[CrM45]

How about now? There is a learning curve for sure.

 

[timbearden]

There you go. Nice work.

 

[The_Traveler]

Glad you got over the first hurdle.
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Most of the time we aren't looking at an entire scene, not every part is as important as another
You need to look at each picture and decide what you are trying to show here.
Then minimize what isn't important and frame the picture so that viewers look at what is important and what isn't doesn't either distract or let attention drain away.
I don't mean that you can't have empty space but that any emptiness must contribute to the impact. Ideally you do this when shooting but that's not always possible but you need to do it.

Look at your first picture.
The main in front is looking up as he takes a stroke and the second man seems almost to be looking at him. The interaction caught is between teh two men, not the men and the water so much. The water isn't used to show emptiness or distance or anything, it's just there because they're swimming and most of it isn't needed. Why not crop so that the interplay of the two men fills the space more; we know they're in water, we don't need most of it.

Your role is deciding what is important and what you see and making the viewer see it too.

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I don't know what you want me to look at in your second picture.

Lew

 

[CrM45]

Makes good sense to me. The crop does change the impact and brings out the interaction ( story ) more. The second picture was from the same location and obviously not part of the event. I liked the image of the boat heading into the fog and the lighting at that time. I was just wanting an opinion from experienced eyes on the composition. Thanks