My photos: for your consideration and commentation

[morbidsteve]

Ladies and gentlemen,

I am here creating a thread in which I will post some of the photos I take and videos I compose. I am a very amateur photographer so I would definitely love to get your input on how to make them better or what you think is good.

First, I went to Annapolis, MD to get some shots for a time-lapsed video. While I did get a lot of shots, I don't much like the composition of them because I failed with improper shutter speed and ISO settings. Nonetheless, after leaving, I went over a bridge and just had to stop and get some photographs. I have done coin photography in the past and have realized the importance of white balance, and so tonight I set it what I think is properly. So here are some photos for your consideration.

This is my favorite from the night. I like it a LOT, but as you see there are a lot of places where light looks like it's cut off. 1.3s, f/3.5, using 18-55 macro lens, AF. Is there anything I could have done to make this one better? Also, if you look at the largest version on flickr, you'll see quite a lack of detail. Next time I'm going to film using a higher density photo setting.


This is almost on par with the one before. This one is 1/4s, f/3.5, same lens. What do you think?



Here are a couple ones that I also like, not as much as the other two above, but they are aesthetically pleasing to me.





Now this one, similar issue as to the first photo. Light looks like it's being cut off. Maybe this is just the way the light actually is and it's being blocked by the building and other things that are in front of the light. .6s, f/5.6, same lens.




This last photo is just to show you what the photos of the dock looked like before setting the white balance.




Thanks for your input.

Steve

 

[Ilovemycam]

Last one looks little faded. Rest very nice!

 

[manaheim]

Many are tilted and the subjects mostly lack interest. For night shots they lack the excitement of painting with light. A couple have some potential... the one with all the posts... but it just doesn't quite work.

You need to work on developing an eye for compositions and what makes art work.

 

[morbidsteve]

Thanks. Yea the last one was without the white balance set. Same other details.

 

[bart2]

I like the 2nd one alot,very nice|

 

[morbidsteve]

Many are tilted and the subjects mostly lack interest. For night shots they lack the excitement of painting with light. A couple have some potential... the one with all the posts... but it just doesn't quite work.

You need to work on developing an eye for compositions and what makes art work.

Not quite sure how to take much of this constructively? Okay, tilt, got that. But I'm not sure what you're saying about everything else. I saw something that I liked, and I photographed it. I went to the locations I had available to shoot something that I thought looked nice.

 

[ceeboy14]

In flickr, on all but one image your focus looks a little soft, especially the first one. What was your ISO setting?

 

[manaheim]

Many are tilted and the subjects mostly lack interest. For night shots they lack the excitement of painting with light. A couple have some potential... the one with all the posts... but it just doesn't quite work.

You need to work on developing an eye for compositions and what makes art work.

Not quite sure how to take much of this constructively? Okay, tilt, got that. But I'm not sure what you're saying about everything else. I saw something that I liked, and I photographed it. I went to the locations I had available to shoot something that I thought looked nice.

What you see that appeals to you does not always translate into a good photograph.

I can't exactly tell you how to do it differently other than to tell you that you need to learn how to do it... and learning how to do it takes time and effort to study composition, learn what makes good "art", etc. My comments are constructive... they're just not overly helpful, because I can't really shortcut this for you... and that is, in part, because you appear to be SO far from where you need to be that it's not just a matter of a few tweaks.

Don't worry though... most people, including myself, started where you are.

 

[morbidsteve]

In flickr, on all but one image your focus looks a little soft, especially the first one. What was your ISO setting?

3200. Good point. When I go tomorrow to get more photographs I will experiment with this.

 

[morbidsteve]

Many are tilted and the subjects mostly lack interest. For night shots they lack the excitement of painting with light. A couple have some potential... the one with all the posts... but it just doesn't quite work.

You need to work on developing an eye for compositions and what makes art work.

Not quite sure how to take much of this constructively? Okay, tilt, got that. But I'm not sure what you're saying about everything else. I saw something that I liked, and I photographed it. I went to the locations I had available to shoot something that I thought looked nice.

What you see that appeals to you does not always translate into a good photograph.

I can't exactly tell you how to do it differently other than to tell you that you need to learn how to do it... and learning how to do it takes time and effort to study composition, learn what makes good "art", etc. My comments are constructive... they're just not overly helpful, because I can't really shortcut this for you... and that is, in part, because you appear to be SO far from where you need to be that it's not just a matter of a few tweaks.

Don't worry though... most people, including myself, started where you are.

I got ya. I appreciate your input. I am all about learning and doing what I can on my own to get better at things, and I definitely should have changed some settings on the camera for each scenario. It's just a bit difficult to use your comments to increase productivity, which as you said is because I'm so far off from being a few tweaks away. I'll get there.

Thanks

 

[TATTRAT]

I would suggest shooting these types of things when it's either sunset, or sunrise. At both times you are more likely to get some vehicle activity, and it creates some interest in these style of longer exposures. They aren't horrible, but they are't really anything that I would hang on a wall either.

Feel free to check out this set:
All over Washington - a set on Flickr

And for straight up NIGHT TIME shots, check here:
London Nights - a set on Flickr

I LOVE to shoot at sunrise/set/night, and if you are kind of local to DC, we have a couple groups that go out on the weekend to do just that. We have loads of fun, and it's a great source of folks to learn from. Also, if you have a tablet, shooting tethered will really help you understand your ISO, F-stops, and other settings right then and there, instead of waiting to upload and start the process.

 

[morbidsteve]

Okay, so after receiving some comments I realized that I need to learn what I'm doing, not just go point and shoot (thanks guys ). I'm not saying I'm a pro, not even good, but I have started to understand what's going on with the different parts of the camera and different settings.

I also still need to work on many other things, for instance, finding out what actually composes ART in a photo, rather than just saying oh here's a photo.

So if you guys wouldn't mind giving me your thoughts on these, I would appreciate it. There is one photo that I did a little bit of post-processing of with GIMP, so I'm curious of your thoughts on them as well (they're more for me, not something that I would think can merit public grace).

You're going to see a few similar shots of the same thing, maybe just moved a bit, but I'm really trying to figure out how to eyeball the good shots... or even what I should take pictures of and what I shouldn't. I drove around the dock/harbor or whatever you'd like to call it for a few hours last night trying to get good spots for shots. I found the spot I took these with and I was happy.

Please refer to the numbering I give each for comments.

Without further ado:

1.

IMG_5961 by morbidsteve, on Flickr

2.

IMG_5958 by morbidsteve, on Flickr

3.

IMG_5956 by morbidsteve, on Flickr


4.

IMG_5952 by morbidsteve, on Flickr

5.

IMG_5954 by morbidsteve, on Flickr

6.

IMG_5950 by morbidsteve, on Flickr

7.

IMG_5949 by morbidsteve, on Flickr

8.

IMG_5946 by morbidsteve, on Flickr

9.

IMG_5947 by morbidsteve, on Flickr

10.

IMG_5944 by morbidsteve, on Flickr

11.

IMG_5932 by morbidsteve, on Flickr

12.

IMG_5932 retinex by morbidsteve, on Flickr

13.

IMG_5932 blackwhite by morbidsteve, on Flickr

 

[batmura]

I really like #2. Did you process the sky in these pictures or did it come out that way? How long was the exposure for number 2?

 

[MK3Brent]

Watch out for tripod shadows in your photos. Very rookie mistake.

 

[KmH]

If you want good C&C, post 1 photo at a time.

13 photos at 3 minutes spent evaluating and typing each for C&C = 39 minutes.

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