Noob pre-DSLR vacation photos - composition C&C - no, I'm not a troll ;)

ulrichsd · Mar 13, 2011

I love to travel, and I thought I'd post some of my pre-DSLR photos to get some feedback composition so I can improve the next I visit (with my new DSLR). After using it for a few weeks, I'm amazed at how sharp this D90 is - I love this new camera! And I love having more control over the camera!

I'm familiar with the rule of thirds/golden mean... but its possible I wasn't when I took some of these photos

All of these pictures have no editing other than resizing (except for the Angkor Wat photo was cropped). Not that anyone cares about this info, but here it is: Southeast Asia I was using an 6mp Olympus (or maybe Canon P&S), Baja Cal were with an old 3.1 mp Kodak P&S, and Africa and Alaska were shot using a Kodak Z710 10x zoom P&S.

1. Angkor Wat, Cambodia 2010

2. Halong Bay, Vietnam 2010

3. Some beach in Baja California 2007

4. Some other beach in Baja California 2007

5. Lake Malawi Sunrise, Africa 2007

6. Denali, Alaska 2008

7. Denali, Alaska 2008

Thanks for the feedback!
Scott

ausemmao · Mar 13, 2011

Like the skies in the first and fifth shots.

The first looks good, though it seems to me its one where the wat's silouhette could fill the frame more. But that would be a different image. If the idea was to keep the land silouhetted, it seems the brush on the beach shot is distracting. The fifth I think is great. I wonder if there would have been a way to separate the tree from the other flora. It looks as though it should be closer than the stuff to the right. I'd wish for better weather for the sixth

ulrichsd · Mar 13, 2011

ausemmao said:
Like the skies in the first and fifth shots.

The first looks good, though it seems to me its one where the wat's silouhette could fill the frame more. But that would be a different image. If the idea was to keep the land silouhetted, it seems the brush on the beach shot is distracting. The fifth I think is great. I wonder if there would have been a way to separate the tree from the other flora. It looks as though it should be closer than the stuff to the right. I'd wish for better weather for the sixth

Thanks for the feedback! I agree with the brush, now that you mention it, I was probably trying to get most of the cactus. I have about 20 of the wat, so I probably do have a closer zoomed one, but it would have been cool to get closer to the wat looking up at the sky. But its 5am and you only get a few minutes so you pick your spot and see what you get.

And thanks for the compliment on the fifth, its the only picture I've taken where I've felt the need to print it 8x10, now hanging in my office. I had jet lag and couldn't sleep so I was up pre-dawn, walked around and took some photos of the sunrise. Glad I didn't just hang out in my tent being miserable!

ausemmao · Mar 13, 2011

I meant the Baja California one with the brush to the lower left (though now I realise it's not a beach - the British coast somewhat skewed my definition

). I don't think there'd be a way of taking the brush out of the cactus one without making the cactus look wrong or completely removing the immediate foreground.

ulrichsd · Mar 13, 2011

ausemmao said:
I meant the Baja California one with the brush to the lower left (though now I realise it's not a beach - the British coast somewhat skewed my definition ). I don't think there'd be a way of taking the brush out of the cactus one without making the cactus look wrong or completely removing the immediate foreground.

Oh, I see what you mean know. I do like the black silhoute foreground thing, I see what you mean with the brush on the left. I probably could have moved right and avoided it. Now that I think about it, both 3 and 4 baja pics are the same beach, just #4 is the next morning at sunrise from a distance...

ulrichsd · Mar 14, 2011

*bump*

any comments or feedback is welcome

I've heard that when people blame their equipment, it is showing their lack of skills as a photographer. That said, I wish I had my current wide angle and a ND graduated filter on the last picture... going backwards up hill away from the tents this was the best I could find where I could get the tents and the sky in the photo (and the sky is non-existent from over-exposure)

PJL · Mar 14, 2011

As you say about the rule of thirds, the horizon being in the direct middle of a couple of the shots dilutes their impact.

And don't be afraid to bump up the color saturation on your digital camera for landscapes. A couple of them look a little drab.