RETAKES and a new photo Hope these are better than before. C&C Please Thank You

[JH100]

WOW, I answer someones question from just a little earlier in the thread and now I am hated again. Oh Well. Quite a lot of people don't like me for my paying job when they see me at their doors and now I am hated here. Should've known with all of the rude / bashing replies that were being posted.

Ditch the dang thin-skinned attitude you keep copping and your problems will go away. You're being told how people think you're crossing the line and instead of learning from it, you get ugly.

 

[LightSpeed]

I think I love you Lightspeed!

I've heard that before a few times. Got the notches on the headboard to prove it.
lol

 

[enzodm]

To follow better the good advices you received here, forget auto mode, landscape mode, and any other substitute of the brain. This is the kind of scene you cannot automatically take. The reason why you don't use tripod when you need, is because you do not know how long will take - the first picture is at 0.5 seconds, too much even for a trained hand, but is a camera choice, not yours. So, forget also the Kodak camera: no manual mode, which the Fuji has (do not complain for it, is not bad: it has even a night mode with tripod, from the manual, but there is no need for it).
8 seconds max exposure is sufficient, if you follow the Strobist indications linked by someone, and choose the right time of the day: not fully dark, but just after sunset.
Put f/8, ISO 100, and the start around 1 second shutter time, experimenting with shutter only, until the image is good. On tripod, always.

This is not sufficient to take interesting pictures, but at least they will be technically ok. As many told, even if you think the main subject of your pictures is christmas lights, you have to communicate that they are the subject. And thus you should put them in context in some way, e.g. by making some of them a real subject, or finding a fictitious subject to balance them (look at the fountain in picture #2 here). As is, the perceived subject is some dark desert place, barely illuminated by coloured lights. No joy.
It's not like documenting fire damages in an apartment: or, if you think that for you is the same, then there is no need for c&c .

 

[gsgary]

This has got to be a wind up, a 2 year old child could do better

 

[naptime]

WOW, I answer someones question from just a little earlier in the thread and now I am hated again. Oh Well. Quite a lot of people don't like me for my paying job when they see me at their doors and now I am hated here. Should've known with all of the rude / bashing replies that were being posted.

are you a grown man or a 14 year old girl?

come on dude. get some thicker skin.

either accept the ADVICE being given to you, or go away.

you cry at every little thing that someone gives to you. and they have all given you ADVICE. valuable advice.

you need thicker skin.


i was in your corner too. i've tried to give you HUMAN advice, as well as photography advice from one new guy to another. but you don't want to hear what anyone has to say unless they are feeding you cotton candy and brushing your hair with a velvet brush at the same time.

you obviously are in the wrong place if you want to be cuddled and told that your work is beautiful and is already perfect.

my 16 year old daughter was told flat out that her pictures SUCKED. instead of crying about it, she said THANKS FOR THE HONESTY, and asked what she could do to make them better. AND THAT WAS HER FIRST PHOTO THREAD !!!

surely you have thicker skin than a 16 year old girl?

you are making it very very hard to help you.

 

[cgipson1]

I think I love you Lightspeed!

NO NO NO!! Don't encourage him! lol!

 

[RebeccaAPhotography]

NO NO NO!! Don't encourage him! lol!

Roflmao! Did lightspeeds head just get bigger! It's blowing up like a balloon!! Hahahahaha jk!

 

[kamerageek]

WOW, I answer someones question from just a little earlier in the thread and now I am hated again. Oh Well. Quite a lot of people don't like me for my paying job when they see me at their doors and now I am hated here. Should've known with all of the rude / bashing replies that were being posted.

Seriously, man? This is over the top. Nobody here hates you. We don't even know you. The only emotion I sense from anyone is frustration that you seem to be taking good advice for granted and that you don't react well to criticism. You feel you are being bullied, but your behaviour is only helping perpetuate that feeling.

We are all here to have some fun and learn what we can from those who are more experienced and knowledgeable. If we're lucky we'll make a few friends along the way.

I have three pieces of advice for you.

1) Use a tripod when it's dark outside (yes, even when it's cloudy) and it's not an inconvenience to do so. Get a monopod if it works better for you. I bought my first one for $20, but it did the job. You don't get bonus points for holding a camera rock steady for a full second of exposure time.
2) Read as much as you can about exposure, focus and composition. There is a lot of good advice here and articles on the web that you can find. Adorama's Learning Center might be a good place to start.
3) Adjust your attitude! Be pleasant, cheerful and humble and your experience here will be much better.

I feel like you're taking the role of the school nerd. This is not a high school cafeteria. No one is beating on you for fun. Everyone is striving to become a better photographer and to help their peers accomplish the same goal.

Get with the program and take the good and the bad in the spirit it's intended. Above all, don't make this personal!

 

[Bitter Jeweler]