[Aegon]

Hi folks,

This photo is my first in the critique section, and I'd like to see the feedback I get. I'm a beginner/hobbyist, never taken a photo class, and I recently had the chance to visit Taiwan and I took this photo at an old Dutch Fort.

The photo is uncropped and unmodified, taken on a DA10-17 Fisheye at 10mm, F22, ISO 400, 1/30.

Thanks for the comments.

[Aegon]

I posted in this section because I can take criticism, please help me out. I'm trying to determine what makes good photo.

My take: I'd bring the aperture down to F11 or so, and maybe get lower so the more boring bridge portion took up less than half of the total picture. The daytime lighting isn't terribly dramatic, but I need to shoot when I can because I was on vacation and my wife was already getting tired of me taking photos (she wasn't unhappy when we returned home and she had all these pics).

[spyglass]

If you have not had any class, course, or instruction in photography let me just say that you are off to a good start.
Everybody has their own unique style (or at least they fall into one in time), but more importantly everyone has different aspects or subjects that catch their eye. You can either view a library's worth of photo books, or copy the typical magazine shots (I think that generally we fall victim to saturation of commercial proven material, and use that material as a means of measure). The basics in any photo are
1) realize / find the interest and capture it as simply and clearly as you can
2) inclusion or exclusion (capture just the point of interest and blur the rest, or include supporting details along with the point of interest - Simply, Depth of field (DOF)
3) Basic rules of media / graphics (like the rule of 3rds, weighting & balance, symmetric, etc)

Obviously this scene struck a chord with you. Can you find the single reason? The photo is very busy and my eye is not drawn to anything in particular. For me the bridge is the most dominating item and my eye seems to get stuck there. It is not the best shot you could have taken of the bridge so the photo does not work for me.
If I crop out the bridge my eye can mange the rest of the remaining photograph easier and I think it starts working for me. (if I do the opposite and crop the upper portion, the bridge appears more appealing). This is a easy test for me to see how my eye navigates the photo. So I am left with the conclusion that the photo has too many competing components (very busy). Photography rather than document. I too have to fight the temptation to get it all recorded (so I take a couple of "the works shots" to get it out of my system). Then I look for a few really interesting / unique points and photograph them. I also like to try see if there is a shot or angle that I can get that 99% of the public might never see. (could be aerial, belly down on the ground shooting up, or wandering off the beaten path.
I truly believe that you only get better by taking pictures. The more you take the better you get. I just finished a great photography book (very down to earth - idea source). In the book the author / photographer encourages you to take the 20 step challenge. Where you go out into you yard around you home and take a picture, the best picture you can see ot think of. Then take 20 steps and take another photograph. The point of the exercise is to learn to look for photo opportunities everywhere, and work with focus and DOF to capture your ideas. I did the challenge (walked all the way around my house, took around 30 pictures, over 1 hour). You can do the same challenge with set goals in mind (texture hunt, contrast hunt, etc)

So what was your question again...........

Good Luck, Look forward to see future posts from you on the site.

[Tom C]

Hi Aegon --
Spyglass laid it out really well. I'll just mention a few specifics for the pic at hand. I would crop out about half of the sky. I would forget the bridge -- the fisheye doesn't do it any favors, and it is of little graphic importance. (This may seem rather impudent to say, seeing as the title is "Bridge photo," but really, it isn't a bridge photo. It is a picture of the fort. I would crop away the bottom, and "start" the picture just after the bridge railing. The foliage makes a good frame on the sides. To paraphrase Spyglass: the lesson here is to know what it is you rare taking a picture of. (Stay away from "busying" up your pic.) Cropping will give you an excellent picture of the fort. If you want a picture of the bridge, search out different angles. You probably will wind up with two fine pictures!