Flowers and a mud puppy. Check these out!

darkpbstar · May 29, 2008

I took these tonite in Lake Geneva, WI. It was my first day of using modes other than Auto, which I will never use again after having so much fun just adjusting the photos to my own liking. It makes you feel quite accomplished, say, when you are trying to take a picture, and you just can't get it, and you keep switching settings, when finally everything comes together to make a great photo. Not like the point and shoot of auto. Please leave feedback, good and/or bad. Thank you.
Let's see what you guys/girls think. I have no idea what kind of flowers they, maybe you will?

tirediron · May 29, 2008

I'm afraid I can't comment on your pictures as my work network blocks them, however I will say "Well done" on moving away from the "Only Auto" way of taking pictures. You're right, there is a sense of satisfaction in manipulating the controls and coming out with a better image than the automatic settings would give you. That said, don't discount the Auto/Program mode. It has it's uses, and while I am a dedicated "Manual Man(TM)" I get a lot of milage out of the Program mode on my camera.

In particular, when I'm walking around a city doing tourism/post-card photograpy, I leave my camera switched on, and set to "Program", that way it's instantly ready for that 'Once in a lifetime" shot; it might not be the optimal settings, but it's better than missing it. If I have the time, or I'm composing a shot, I'll always review the settings, and adjust as required. Manual is good, but auto has it's place too.

Just my $00.02 worth - your opinion may vary.

darkpbstar · May 29, 2008

hey thanks alot for your opinion. I hope you do get a chance to check out my pictures, so I can get feedback on them. let me say that I know the mudpuppy isn't like an amazingly set up shot, just thought it was a cool looking animal, so thought I'd share what I saw. With that shot I just through it on auto and took the picture, I didn't want to miss him/her while it was swimming away. thanks

saltface · May 29, 2008

I like the second shot, the third one could be better with a deeper DOF.

MarcusM · May 29, 2008

congrats on getting out of "auto"

#2 is my favorite, although it's a little underexposed. They all seem slightly underexposed.

Next thing to work on after you get your exposure down is composition, IMO. These are all perfectly centered which often times makes for a boring composition. Probably the most-often talked about rule is the rule of thirds which will liven them up a bit.

husky_mom · May 29, 2008

nice shots!!...

the red/whte flower is a tulip....or so it looks like LOL...

Wyjid · May 29, 2008

i like 2 as well. to bad the bug on the flower is not in the DOF. i actually kind of like the shallow DOF in 3. mabey a touch deeper but i like the effect.

as far as auto goes, it is useful, as is manual. however for most pictures your either going for DOF or shutter speed depending on what you are trying to capture. priority modes are the most useful. that way you can focus on what's important for the shot, and let the camera fill in the rest. in some cases you need to do everything manual, but priority modes are a great balance.