[mtnbearhug]

I am trying to get a good handle on my camera.. These are some pictures I took this weekend just using the following (auto).. I am pretty proud of them, but I know they can be better,

1/125, f/8.0 ISO 200, 18 MM..


1/180, f/6.7 ISO 200, 55 MM.. (zoomed in from first shot)


1/180, f/6.7, ISO 200, 31 MM.. (set camera on ground, no flash)


1/180, f/6.7, ISO 200, 31 MM.. (tried to get red rake in the background, no flash)

[Adam]

Since you posted in the critique forum, here's my $0.02's worth:

I don't care much for the first two photos at all. The first is blurry, blown out, composition-less, and tilted off at a very strange angle. The second is a bit better, but the subject (stem of the tree) isn't very appealing, and we still see some hotspots and bluriness.

On the other hand, I think the third shot is a really great attempt at seeing the leaves from a different perspective. The colors in the bottom half of the photo are great, and so it the sharpness. Having the rays of the sun appear in the upper half of the photo was a great idea, but in this case it doesn't work very well because of the ugly bokeh your lens is generating. The big while blurb in the upper left doesn't help much, either. Shooting at a faster speed would smoothen up the background a bit and would almost certainly produce a much better photo.

Your fourth shot, just like the third, is also crisp and sharp. Having the rake there (for its contrasting color) is a great idea, and IMO this picture would be much more pleasing if you again used a faster aperture and tilted it so that the tree stands vertically. Those hexagons in the background are much more harmful than they are beneficial in this case.

Those are some great fall colors, though, and if you get around to shooting them again, please post the pictures!

[little laker]

mtnbearhug,

Just my $0.02 worth here.

I don't like seeing power lines in photo's all that often.
And they're in the background of the first picture

In my opinion power lines are the biggest curse to photographers. And they're so easy to go unnoticed until it's too late

You can't control most of those issues that Mo mentioned in the automatic modes. So don't worry about it too much until you learn a few of the more advanced settings

It'll come soon enough. The important thing for you to do now is have fun, and try learning form your mistakes.

[and]

Auto is not a good idea

Yes there are some problems here. Both technical and compositional, lets look at the technical side.

nr1>
You have got some very strong sun coming through, if you look at the shadow of the tree then the shadow is very light so the exposue is a bit over. you can see where the sun hits the ground you have got some hotspots where the leaves look like they are getting melted away into yellow goo buy some powerfull beam. You are shooting agaist the sun more or less, you can see the direction of the sun from the shadow on the tree. try moving so the sun is in your back instead, some expsure compensation might be needed.

nr2> eliminating the strongest hotspots from the composition helps, but you see the leaves in the back are overexposed and distracting, furthermore youre subject is in the shade and is kind of disappearing because of the contrasting lit areas.

nr3>
here you have the lens pointed at the lightsource which is giving some strong flare which is not good, dont point the lens straight at the sun.

nr4>
here you have turned the camera so its not pointing directly at the sun anymore and thus the flare has gone. however, what is your subject, if its the rake against the tree then its being hidden by the leaves too much. now the subject is the leaves and grass in the foreground, not all that interesting and the subject is in shade but hte background is lit, which takes all attention away from the subject. you see the leaves in shot nr 3 look quite nice, because they are lit, the ones in nr 4 are in shadow and dont look all that special.

in general> get the sun in your back, or if you want a backlit shot (emphasizing siluette) then watch the camera angle, dont have sun shining straight into your lens. get your subject lit, or get everything in shadow. have a subject in mind. the pictures of this series that has the strongest subject is nr 2.

[egordon99]

WOW, you have a lot of leaves there! You should be raking instead of photo-ing

I agree with Mo, first two have a lot of issues, but the second two are great! I think the flare/sun-in-the-frame work well for the third shot. As you can see, getting down on the ground often leads to some nice shots....
I was pretty much lying down for this shot (@10mm with my Sigma 10-20mm), so much so I scraped/cut my knees up Hey, you gotta suffer for your art.


Keep it up, get out of the Auto modes and you'll be set!

[Mopar1973Man]

Sorry to say but the sea of yellow maple leaves are now gone...

[mtnbearhug]

I don't care much for the first two photos at all. I think the third shot is a really great attempt at seeing the leaves from a different perspective. The colors in the bottom half of the photo are great, and so it the sharpness. Having the rays of the sun appear in the upper half of the photo was a great idea, but in this case it doesn't work very well because of the ugly bokeh your lens is generating. The big white blurb in the upper left doesn't help much, either. Shooting at a faster speed would smoothen up the background a bit and would almost certainly produce a much better photo.

Your fourth shot, just like the third, is also crisp and sharp. Having the rake there (for its contrasting color) is a great idea, and IMO this picture would be much more pleasing if you again used a faster aperture and tilted it so that the tree stands vertically. Those hexagons in the background are much more harmful than they are beneficial in this case.

Those are some great fall colors, though, and if you get around to shooting them again, please post the pictures!

Thanks Adam for the thoughts... I was happy with the 3rd and 4th shots for sure. Next time I get on the ground I will be out of auto and have a faster speed set.!! I wish the leaves were still around but the winds have swept them away.. but never fear!! There is always another yard or something else to play with!!

I don't like seeing power lines in photo's all that often.
And they're in the background of the first picture In my opinion power lines are the biggest curse to photographers. And they're so easy to go unnoticed until it's too late

It'll come soon enough. The important thing for you to do now is have fun, and try learning form your mistakes.

OMG... I never even thought about those pesky power lines in the picture until you mentioned them!!! How blind is that!!! Now, I can't even look at the pick without them yelling at me!!! Thanks for the tips Stu... I am having fun.. no worries about that!!

Auto is not a good idea

nr3>
here you have the lens pointed at the lightsource which is giving some strong flare which is not good, dont point the lens straight at the sun.

And... Thank you for the tips.. I am attempting to go Non-Auto this coming weekend... I promise!! Again like with Stu's post.. I never really thought about the sun shining right into my lens... I was concentrating to much on the picture and location of the camera to even think about the sun.. In fact I had my flash on the first time I took it.. and WOW.. well lets just say that didn't work... lol


All.. Thank you for your time in critiquing my pictures. I have learned alot from your posts and look forward to hearing more of your thoughts on future pics...