So Lonely

JacaRanda

Hobbyist Birdographer
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Orange County California
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Hello everyone. Newbie in SoCal. posting my first pic for C&C.

A little about me: After years of my wife asking for "a camera with a big lens", I finally broke down last Christmas and purchased her a T3I. Not long after begging her to let me play with it :wink:, I purchased a 60D for myself. It all went downhill from there. I am impulsive and now have a crap load of gear.

I have spent the months since joining TPF reading, laughing, lurking, and hopefully learning from others.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts on this first photo.

Jack

Oh, my wife is Rhonda hence JacaRanda!

http://www.thephotoforum.com/photos/data/500/medium/Melancholy.jpg
 
Has promise. But what did you want us to look at? The chair, the back, or the shadow? If the chair, then you cropped it a bit too tight at the top, and it could benefit from some space to the right. If the back, then it takes up too little of the frame. If the shadow... then there's too much other stuff.

Or did I miss the point of your image completely?
 
Thanks for the quick response pgriz. The feeling or thought I get when I view the overall picture particularly when I converted it to sepia, was of a lonely bench that misses the company of people sitting on it. The boulder is all it has to keep it company.

I have a much to learn about naming, and conveying what I see or feel in photos to others. You did not miss the point. I need to figure out how to make the point through composition and naming...I believe.
 
So if the intent was to show an empty bench... We need space to show the emptiness. Think of a composition where the bench is somewhat off to the side, facing the center of the image which is... empty. Close beside it is a boulder... and not much else. By selecting a framing where the bench is (say) in the upper left quadrant, facing the center, you'd have the empty space. Placing the bench facing the empty space creates a link. Now, if you could also have some long shadows stretching from the bench to the center... That would make an even stronger image.

Some ideas to work out the concept...

Remember... photographs are made. You have to place the various subjects/objects into the visual space to convey your vision. That usually takes some thinking and planning, and often serendipity.
 
Thanks again. I will go back this weekend and attempt to implement what you have suggested. The bench is facing the Pacific Ocean, hopefully it won't be overcast so I can catch shadows coming off towards the middle of the frame. Here are 4 others I took at the time.
$IMG_2589.jpg1
$IMG_2590.jpg2
$IMG_2591.jpg3
$IMG_2592.jpg4

My wife said thanks for helping me out since we've gone broke from buying so much SHTUFF! What does she know, she's from Canada...Haaaaaaa
 
From Canada, eh? The best kind of import. :D
 
Oh, i too use canon 60D :D

compared to this new set, i like the lonely bench.... you should have left some space above the resting-support to give a feeling of completion; for me that is the draw back i felt; i liked how the shadow merges and vanishes in the grass.
The rocks seen around the bench in your second set in no way helps evoke any feeling in me
OK; i am eager to see more, especially since you used 60D ;)
All The Best to you two :D
 
Thanks Frequency. I am really happy with the 60D and the quality of pictures it produces along with the lenses (even with the kit lenses) compared to the old p&s.

I am excited about the opportunity for a do-over, and look forward to giving some credit to myself instead of just the gear :lol:. I will be taking a step stool in hopes of getting more space and shadows coming off the back of the chair towards the empty space as pgriz suggested. Wish me luck in keeping the shadow of my big dome out of the picture!

TGIF
 
I have a much to learn about naming, and conveying what I see or feel in photos to others. You did not miss the point. I need to figure out how to make the point through composition and naming...I believe.

Forget the naming part. That comes later. Much later, if ever.

Most of the names I see on pictures lately are either wrong, misleading, or just plain wishful thinking. Besides, naming a picture, even if it is a very good name, doesn't change or improve in any way the actual image.

My advice is to concentrate on the image.

Here's one way to help you improve your artistic ability: Take a picture that conveys an emotion, or thought, or an idea to you. Then show the picture to someone else and don't say anything, just ask the person what they think of when they see it. If they come up with the same thought that you did, then you nailed it.

Your life mission then, is to continue to "nail it" with as many shots as you can from here on in.
 
My wife said thanks for helping me out since we've gone broke from buying so much SHTUFF!

I hope she is in the hobby with you. It's a good way to share time and each other's company. Also sharing equipment, lighting help, and judging each other's pictures.
 
Designer said:
I hope she is in the hobby with you. It's a good way to share time and each other's company. Also sharing equipment, lighting help, and judging each other's pictures.

Thank you Designer. She does not have the same enthusiasm for reading and learning some of the technical things as do I; but dang she puts me to shame when it comes to her photos of dogs and cats. It has been a really cool way for us to spend time together and get out for walks we normally would not take. I encourage all couples to give it a shot; just don't go goofy spending like we have. FUN BUT STOOOOPID! Mostly on my part but she had to get the macro.

I hope Rhonda decides to post some of her work soon.
 
Well pgriz, no such luck on getting the same shot, from the same angle. A sidewalk, a large storage container and the roof of a house were all cramping my style. Too bad I did not remember what was there. Oh well, I will try again at a different place.
 
Well pgriz, no such luck on getting the same shot, from the same angle. A sidewalk, a large storage container and the roof of a house were all cramping my style. Too bad I did not remember what was there. Oh well, I will try again at a different place.

Part of the fun of doing photography is scouting out interesting places, situations, and people. If the environment wasn't right when you were there, it may be worth your while coming back at another time when the light or situation is more favourable to you. In this case, you had a vision, but the local environment did not contribute to a nice pictorial illustration of your concept. That's fine... be on the outlook for similar situations (another park, for instance), where your vision or concept can be achieved.

I keep a notebook of potentially interesting places to shoot, with ideas of when in the day (or the week, or the season) it may be the better to come back and try again. Much of photography is about the light, the moment, and being in the right place at the right time. By preparing yourself for these situations, you increase your chances of getting a dramatic image.
 

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