Rustic Scene

OBrien

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I'd appreciate some comments on these shots please. Background is that it was a beautiful warm evening with lots of sunshine, the type we don't get here very often. I liked the rustic footbridge and just wanted to capture the atmosphere and tranquility of the place. I've posted both tgether as they're different interpretations of the same place.

I like the first, but is the bridge too centred in the frame? It's uncropped, but playing around with it, I couldn't find a crop that enhanced it. Metering was difficult with the bright sun, and I had to lighten a few shadows in PS. Shot on D70, handheld, manual, 1/80th 29mm, ISO400.

The second puts the bridge in a wider context, but I'm not sure I've composed it all that well. Again at ISO400, handheld, manual, 1/80th F8, 18mm.

Thanks for looking.

bridge1.jpg


longbdge.jpg
 
You've got some nice light, but the subject really doesn't do much for me -- there really doesn't seem to be a point of interest here. The top photo is certinly stronger in my opinion, and the light on the railing makes a nice pattern, but it still feels a little empty to me.

The top photo looks like something destined for a motivational poster. Might have been more interesting to shoot from a spot on the bridge.
 
is there any way you could post them bigger? for photobucket, I resize my photos so that the largest dimension is 700 pixels, then i save it as 11 or 12 quality, sometimes 10, depending on how high quality i can get it but still under 250kb. I tested it and making the quality lower really doesnt effect it at all. I like the second better personally, but i am kind of curious as to how you had 1/80th of a second shutter speed on ISO 400 and f8 on a sunny day (?). so if you could post a larger size, that would make it easier for me to critique them.
 
Oh, I love these - but then I do like old bridges. :)

The top one is really catching my eye - I wish it were a bit larger. ;) I understand your concerns with it being too centered - but let me tell you why I think you'll get away with it here. First, the bridge sides appear to be leaning out, so there is this wonderful feeling of distortion. My eye does go to the center, but is immediately pulled away, following these great angles from the bridge. I find it very attractive.

Secondly, the bridge is surrounded by the natural framing from the trees, which are beautifully lit on top and again, invite the eye to start from the center and wander out.

It's a little small to notice details, but from this size I think it's an excellent shot - great angles, nicely composed and beautifully lit - I love it.
 
I don't know why these are so small - I'll try and follow your directions beginning. It was sunny, but it was late evening so the light wasn't all that intense, and there was a bit of haze around too, but when I checked the data I was a bit surprised too.
 
Beginning, the exposure is calcualted based on the light actually reaching the subject or being reflected from the subject. Even though it was sunny, the canopy of trees left much of the frame in deep shadow. Using the sunny 16 rule, you would expect the exposure to be f16, 1/400th second. you'd add one stop for slightly overcast, two stops for overcast, three stops for heavy overcast, etc. The very deep shadow would require a 4 to 6 stop adjustment in exposure. Opening up to F8 gave 2 stops, and dropping down to 1/80th second gave a little over 2 stops additional exposure. Total exposure adjustment, 4+ stops for very deep shadow.

I personally like the first picture better. The bridge is more the focal point. Maybe a less centered, or even a less "straight on" position would make the picture more interesting.
 
The pictures are classic post card photos of a lovely place. I too woul dlike to see them bigger but there's not a lot you can do to improve them. You have perfect light and a good angle.

--Don
 

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