Two new pictures for critique

[rlemert]

I took advantage of the warm weather yesterday to get some practice at a local park. These are the two shots I got that I think show any promise. They're not aimed directly at the afternoon sun, but it's not too far out of frame to the left. I also just caught the action because I was walking back to the car when I heard the birds scattering, so I didn't have a lot of time to set up the shots. Given these constraints, I'd appreciate any suggestions for what I should have done if I'd had time to prepare - or even how I might better have reacted with no time to prepare.

Also, I was not sure how to process these. I thought the originals were too dark, but felt they lost some of their character if I just brightened everything. What I wound up doing was moving the mid-point slider a little to the left. Here, too, some pointers on other changes to consider would be appreciated.

(Honestly, I am trying to get better. I just don't feel like I am.)

Waders on the lake

Waders on the lake by richl27613, on Flickr


Taking flight

Taking flight by richl27613, on Flickr

 

[jamesparker1250]

Well I like them.:thumbup:

 

[bribrius]

i don't know im a novice too. are they raw format too? maybe if you keep the brightness down and bring up the exposure and dlighting or shadow or something?
They do have a certain glare to them. They are okay, but i don't think the sun was being your friend.

 

[crimbfighter]

I think there are some good things here, and some things I think could go in a different direction. I think #2 is the stronger of the two. One of the issues I find with both of them, is they are lacking a definite subject. The people in them are hard to pick out at a glance, so my eye is confused. I think that both of these would be better suited as landscapes, without the people. I also feel they're a little too blue. Feels like the WB is off. Not sure if that was intended or not, though. I like the birds in #2. Hope that helps.

 

[Mike Lamb]

I like the composition. They both could use some lightening and are a little too blue for me.

 

[rlemert]

The lightening issue was one of my concerns, and I did try to play with it a little during processing. I was thinking the people would look better as silhouettes, though, and couldn't find a way to brighten up everything else without bring them up more too. What I'm hearing, though, is that this shouldn't be my main concern.

As for the 'blue' - I'll play with that tonight too.

 

[QuarterNote]

I would think the people in the first photo should be darker, kind of a silhouette, if that makes sense.

 

[rlemert]

Here's a revised version of the second picture. I brought the blue down quite a bit and raised the green a tad. It's also cropped just a bit different, but I don't think that's critical.

Better?


_Flight_revised_reduced by richl27613, on Flickr