Some swamp shots from today

[DoubleD-D40]

Hi All, I took some time out to do some shooting today locally and here are a few of the keepers from today. I am looking for C&C on everything from exposure to composition. I've only had my SLR for a week so be gentle but let me know what I need to focus on.

These were shot around 1:30 PM today, sunny and hot as hell!

Overall of the area

Interesting the way this tree has grown on the left side of the shot, its almost like someone bending over backwards with arms outstretched to the sky.

Left side of the bayou

These were all shot in Aperature Priority mode at F11 on my D40

 

[Keith Baran]

Hey dd40, I'm new to photography so take what I say with a grain of salt. The first thing that comes to mind with the three pics is there seems to be a lack of main theme. the panoramic view probably looks cooler when your standing there. I live in Tennessee, it is also very green. I look around and say to myself : wow that looks cool, but the picture looks all green. Try zooming in closer. Like #3 if you could get in real tight with the bent tree off center to the left and little less sky, I think it would be a bit more interesting. I zoomed in close and that tree has all kinds of awesome roots around it that if brought into the pic would look very cool.
Overall good pics, just need a main focal point. Rock on!

 

[DoubleD-D40]

Thanks Keith I definitely see your point.

I also have another question...I'm taking the family to the beach this coming weekend and was wondering what other do to keep sand out of their gear. Do you bring a sealable bag to store your gear or what? Any advice/settings on shooting beach pix?

 

[macdsean]

In your last picture the sky is washed out. That is something to watch out for when shooting on a bright sunny day. You can manually set exposure compensation to keep from overexposing on a sunny day. It is better to under expose than over expose because the former can often be fixed with editing software.

As for the beach, I would be interested to hear others ideas as well. I am always terrified to take my camera out on the family beach trip. I have done it (I keep it in a small old camera case and put it in a plastic grocery bag and that has kept the sand out so far) but I am always worried that somehow the bag will get opened or the camera dropped in the sand. I lost an old point and shoot camera that way, a little sand in the lens and zoom is sticky and lens cover won't close.