So frustrated!!! Help and C&C

[ImageArray]

Ok, so I went out this afternoon for a few hours and I want to scream!! The clouds came and went all day. I have a horrible haze, blur and blown out skies over most of my pictures and it's driving me NUTS! Granted I'm only using a P&S. Now I read somewhere that I can get a polarizing filter to help with the haze and skies and just hold it up to the lens (as it wont fit) of the P&S and rotate it accordingly. Would that actually work???

Some of the pics I took today are below, I'd love to post all of them but alas I can't lol. All have been edited to rid of the haze - but you can still see what I'm talking about in a few. Also some C&C would be nice (more on composition than anything because I know they are blurry, out of focus, hazey and blown out).


1.This is probably one of the best... minimal haze and only slightly out of focus.

2. I know B&W is an "aquired taste" so to speak... personally I love it.

3. I LOVE the colors in this one.

4. Not sure I really like this one. I couldn't get the colors to pop, it's out of focus, and kinda bland.

5. This one would have been a lot nicer if it wasn't for the haze and blown out sky.

6. I couldn't eliminate the haze or the blown out sky here.

Thanks!!

 

[akeigher]

Personally, I would rather have a cloudy sky than a clear one. Clouds add interest - clear is just boring (most of the time).

Of all of your shots, I think I like the B&W best. Its a little crooked, but that can be fixed by a little cropping and rotating.

 

[PerfectlyFlawed]

Ok first off, GREAT composition.. Yes your shooting with a P&S, but you've got the right idea. The first and last shot are not doing anything for me... and does that bee have freakin' ears?? or are those the wings... and im just seeing things? LOL

 

[ImageArray]

Ok first off, GREAT composition.. Yes your shooting with a P&S, but you've got the right idea. The first and last shot are not doing anything for me... and does that bee have freakin' ears?? or are those the wings... and im just seeing things? LOL

LMAO! No, those are the wings :lmao:

And thank you.

 

[astroskeptic]

Clouds come and go most days so I suggest developing strategies to deal with them. The solution to cruddy skies is simply to compose with the sky out of the frame. Bear in mind that clouds alter lighting, creating opportunities that don't exist under clear skies (e.g. overcast days don't have the hard shadows you get under clear skies and are good for shooting flowers).

Haze in my experience is a sky clarity problem that only is noticeable over large distances, like a mile or more. None of the shots above are landscapes with subjects over that kind of distance so I'm not sure haze is much of a factor in these, but maybe the conditions were very severe. CPLs are widely claimed to help with haze but I wouldn't expect much success by holding one up in front of a P&S camera. The reason is that you're almost guaranteed to have the glass misaligned enough to degrade quality more than any benefit you might get from the filter, but I'm only speculating. I've never tried this.

The compositions above are kinda 'meh' for me. The house seems to be the subject in #1 but is puzzlingly chopped off. I'm not sure what the goal of #2 is ... seems awkwardly composed to me. For 6 you could have stood a little to the left and hidden the telephone pole behind the tree which would have helped a lot. The bee is quite nice, very good for a P&S!

 

[KenC]

I know your frustration - around here it's been either sunny or raining most of the time for the whole summer - no dry overcast days when the light is best.

#2 is a good shot. You could straighten as suggested earlier and also crop the sky without losing the railing in the upper right. Then you could try to darken the high end of the highlight range and see if there is any detail to be had at the far end of the bridge surface.

Does your P&S allow you to set an exposure compensation? If so, when there is a lot of glare try using about -2/3 stop - you may lose some shadows, but if the conditions are such that you have to make a choice ...

 

[ImageArray]

Does your P&S allow you to set an exposure compensation? If so, when there is a lot of glare try using about -2/3 stop - you may lose some shadows, but if the conditions are such that you have to make a choice ...

Thank you. My P&S does allow me to set exposure, I had it set at -1/3 for #2 (I believe - but could be wrong). I had so many difficulties. If I set the exposure to anything less than -1/3 the image was way too dark (and the sky was still blown out). If I left it at 0, the skies took over the entire picture. Drove me nuts!!

 

[Robin Usagani]

When do you think you will get a DSLR? Just so you know, you can get a refurbished Sony A230 for like $250 USD (with one lens). It is 10.1MP and it is not bad at all for the price. You should really consider it. Or save for money and get Canon or Nikon.

 

[ImageArray]

When do you think you will get a DSLR? Just so you know, you can get a refurbished Sony A230 for like $250 USD (with one lens). It is 10.1MP and it is not bad at all for the price. You should really consider it. Or save for money and get Canon or Nikon.

I convinced my husband to buy me a Nikon D3100 for Christmas lol. Chances are I'll get it a bit before Christmas - so within the next 2 months or so I'll have my DLSR (thank god!!! lol).

 

[Robin Usagani]

Tell him you want it now!

 

[ImageArray]

Tell him you want it now!

I have!! LOL! But my husband is a little sadistic and likes to torture me. I may very well push to have it sooner... Especially considering that winter will be here soon and well - to be frank... I hate the cold lol. So I'd like to get out with the DSLR before the snow comes. I'll see what I can do ... lol ...

 

[Robin Usagani]

It is very easy to persuade men you know... especially if you are a woman hahahaah

 

[Lazy Photographer]

I like the b & w shots, although I think #2 might have worked better if you'd moved about two feet to the right so that railing was more on an angle.

For kicks and giggles I did a bit of work on #1 and #4 for you. You may or may not like it, but that's okay.