Went for a walk C&C

[minicoop1985]

I've been trying to put some of your advice to good use, and am wondering how I'm doing, if any better. I appreciate it as always. These were taken on a bit of a nature walk with the OM-1n in my profile pic, 50mm f1.8 lens.

1. I think this one could stand as is or be cropped.

R1-04325-0022 by longm1985, on Flickr

2. I liked the way the stick was perched on that rock.

R1-04325-0003 by longm1985, on Flickr

3. Though I wanted to get closer to the water (not possible at this particular spot), I thought this one came out pretty well.

R1-04325-0012 by longm1985, on Flickr

Any help is appreciated. I feel like being limited to 36 exposures helps force me to take my time and set it up right the first time, which gets me to think about all the advice I've been given so far. And yes, I do find myself trying to trigger the autofocus and look at the preview... At least I loaded the film right! (the last bit is a legitimate concern, you see)

Edit to add: slight editing done due to overexposure (I trusted the meter as it was and it shot everything about one stop over, now I know better)

 

[sashbar]

The photographer is only as good as his subject. The subject here is just boring. Do not use your film for shooting nothing. That is all I can say, sorry if I disappointed you.

 

[limr36 6]

The photographer is only as good as his subject. The subject here is just boring. Do not use your film for shooting nothing. That is all I can say, sorry if I disappointed you.

It depends on why you're shooting, though. What are you trying to accomplish with that roll? Yesterday, I took out my K1000 out with a roll of Lomo 100 color film. I'd only used this film once before in the little plastic Konstruktor I put together a few weeks ago, so I wanted to use it in a proper camera to see how it performs, how it renders color, etc. I took several shots whose purpose was solely to gauge the film's performance in certain situations, even though I wasn't overly thrilled with my composition options (messy background no matter the angle, for example). I took another picture which will probably be totally boring because it's just a picture of the side of a building with some garbage cans, but I took it because it had good light, it included blues, reds and several shades of green.

So what were you trying to practice, minicoop? If it indeed was composition, then I have to agree that the subjects were not as interesting as they could be. I think the leaf is the strongest one and yes, I think it could do with a bit of cropping, if nothing else than to get rid of that dead leaf on the top left of the frame. But I like the dof and the textures of the leaf.

The middle one would be stronger if the interesting stick weren't dead center. Remember with a prime lens, you might end up with more in the frame than you want (unless you can zoom with your feet) but that can be cropped out. Play with the cropping tool, putting that stick into different positions and see how the picture changes.

The third one might have been more interesting at a lower angle to get a sort of 'sweeping' sense of the expanse of water between you and the other shore.

It might help to give yourself very specific assignments for each roll of film. For example, for your next roll, experiment with angles. Take 2-3 of the same subject from different perspectives. Or look for certain types of subjects - reflections, angles, shadows...stuff like that. That second shot, for example - there was a reflection of the rock and the stick in the water and by positioning yourself differently in relation to that rock, you might have been able to highlight that reflection a bit more and made the composition more interesting.

And lastly, I think it's awesome that you're playing with film! :thumbup:

 

[minicoop1985]

Thanks for the help, guys! And yes, I was trying to practice composition as well as exposure which I royally screwed up, but now I know how far the meter is off. I got some more interesting subjects in that roll, like a duck taking off, BUT the duck is brown and so is the river, so it kinda washes out. Maybe I'll play with that one a bit more and see if I can get the duck to stand out more. I do get what you mean by more interesting subjects. I thought the landscapes would work out a bit more, but you are right that they would have benefited greatly from a lower angle. I didn't even think about the reflection of the stick, so that's most definitely a helpful point. Is this a bit more interesting? I think it may have come out a bit dark, but as for the composition, is this an improvement?


R1-04325-0024 by longm1985, on Flickr

Edit: I need some filters for this lens, but the threaded part is dented and I don't think I could thread one on. Maybe I'll just get another 50mm prime for it or another OM and swap the lenses so I can use filters.

 

[limr36 6]

I do like that composition better for a few reasons. First, you've got a nice balance between the smoke stack on the left and the pattern of the clouds that stretch out to the right. You've also got nice reflections of both in the water, creating an interesting symmetry. Finally - and this is certainly the most subjective part - there's a contrast that I really like: the colors and pattern of the clouds are subtle and very lovely, suggesting a peaceful scene, and yet the main subject is a factory, which conjures unpleasant images of labor and dirt and grime. I find that kind of juxtaposition between ugly subject and beautiful setting to be quite interesting. Again, I can easily see someone saying "Nice picture, but why ruin it with an ugly factory?" but I quite like it.

 

[minicoop1985]

Thanks! You're on the track of what I was going for, actually. I saw the factory poking through the trees and thought of how man and nature interact. I did get quite lucky on the clouds, and thankfully was able to be close enough to the water to make that work. I can also attest to how dirty that particular factory is. It's a paper mill, and I filled in as a security guard for a few weeks there. Wow, I would be just plain filthy when I got home.

 

[limr36 6]

Yup, that line in the clouds and its corresponding line in the reflection makes a big horizontal V that points to the smoke stack, highlighting and balancing it even more. The luck involved is being there at that time and having a camera with you. The skill comes in when you recognize the opportunity and know how to take advantage of it. Good job

Those paper mills really stink too, don't they? I went to college in Florida and had to smell the paper mills in Georgia whenever I drove past Savannah on my way back home to NY. Is that a Georgia-Pacific plant?

 

[minicoop1985]

Thank you! It's a company called Thilmany, and I have no idea who owns them. They may make paper for GP. As for the smell, I've been in the place that's the source of that smell, called the "Effluent Plant." It's horrific. The whole town has a pretty awful smell, and that's where it comes from. I've been trying to repress the memories, but haven't been successful yet. :mrgreen: