newbie, sticking my neck out

[altair005]

hi-ya...

i have a canon rebel xti. i have never formally trained in photography. i do, however, have a fine art degree and several of my friends in college were photo majors. i used to tag along on their shoots and thus had exposure (ha! a pun) to photography. i enjoy photography, though i'm really just a silly lay person/amateur. i am very paranoid about looking like another schmuck who got their hands on a dslr....

regardless, i don't think i'm TOO shabby!

for three years i've been shooting with the kit lens. i just got a 55-250mm is for my birthday this past weekend. wowwee! what a difference. i strolled downtown this morning and gave it a shot (ha! another pun).... photos are posted below

so why am i here? i think it's time i start getting some real honest-to-god feedback. sooo please humor me with some constructive criticism.

 

[pbelarge]

Hello Altair and welcome to the forum.

If you really want feedback, then post your pictures here, instead of linking to them.

 

[altair005]

Hello Altair and welcome to the forum.

If you really want feedback, then post your pictures here. instead of linking to them.

yeah, okay.

 

[altair005]

alright, maybe this will work. here are my images from playing with the new lens this morning. i realize i typically underexpose. hmmm. i guess i really like saturated color, and i am afraid of losing focus with longer exposures.

p.s. if i broke any photo-posting rules please tell me.

 

[white]

#1 has a lot of potential. I think it is worth revisiting so you can get the focus right.

 

[mdtusz]

I think #2 is the best of the bunch, I'd try to create some separation between the tug and the bg and bring out the tanker.

 

[Misfitlimp]

Might be my screen but they all look underexposed.

 

[altair005]

Might be my screen but they all look underexposed.

they are. i suppose i should take my tripod next time.

 

[white]

 

[altair005]

wow! thanks, white! (note to self: stop using iphoto).

 

[Minolta3xiNewbie]

I love the last one of the smoke pipes... but not so thrilled to see parts of cars at the bottom kinda brings me out of the picture, but hey I'm new and could be talking out my rear =o) but I do like it.

 

[altair005]

I love the last one of the smoke pipes... but not so thrilled to see parts of cars at the bottom kinda brings me out of the picture, but hey I'm new and could be talking out my rear =o) but I do like it.

yes, i agree about the cars. i even thought of that while shooting the photo. i definitely think the whole scene is worth revisiting, and with a plan. thanks for the feedback!

 

[LarryD]

I like the last one too...... This photo would look fine cropped at the top of the autos............:thumbup:

they are all slightly underexposed, but that is easily corrected in post processing.. It is likely because of the sky reading overpowering the scene..

 

[altair005]

yeah, underexposure is my weakness! i hate OVERexposure, so i always put my metering to the left of 0. i also try to compensate for shooting sans tripod. i think you guys have convinced me i should revisit my favorite spots and reshoot, especially now that i have the new lens.... as time goes by i learn more and more and feel that i get better at handling the camera.

 

[PJL]

^ You could try bracketing.