A few of my Photo's - please comment [56k unkind]

Irish_Tom

Irish_Tom

Irish_Tom

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18 Oct 2002
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Lo all,

I’ve been lurking in the photography section for a while now, posted a couple of times but I’ve been afraid to put any pictures up.

I thought I would post 10 pictures that I’ve taken over the last few years and hopefully you lot can give me some pointers on where to improve.

They were all taken with an Olympus C-5000 zoom but I’m hoping to get a Nikon D50 when I get a bit of cash together. I think the biggest problem is the poor resolution but like I say, I’m trying for a better camera.

This first one was taken on an early morning drive with a mate of mine (he was driving lol)

Road
Road.JPG


This next one was taken at a park in Cheltenham. I didn’t have a tri-pod so I had to balance the camera on a rock. Thought I would throw in one long exposure of water hehe.

Waterfall
waterfall.JPG


And from the same park I got this nice reflection on the lake.

Reflection
reflection.JPG
 
I'm going to have to Link to the last one because its a composition of a few photos and the length doesnt llook right on the forums.

Anyway let me know what you think!

Cheers

Panzer
 
Hi Panzerbjorn. I can't really fault those snaps - if they're some of your first ones - they're a hell of a lot better than my first lot! Anyway, it seems like you have a keen eye and have a good understanding of camera settings.

Your composition seems okay too, exposure is good. The road is probably the weakest one...but probably because composition was a bit off...but thats something that can be easily improved :)
 
Thanks guys!

Is there anything I should be looking to improve/work on with the new camera? Gamefreak, you said the road one was the weakest, what would you change with the composition. I must admit I was a bit bleary eyed at about 5.30 in the morning taking that one.

Cheers again

Panzer
 
Panzerbjorn said:
what would you change with the composition.

Cheers again

Panzer
Click to expand...
I would have not taken it from the middle of the lane, either from the cneter of the road or from the side of the lane, that way, the side-line or cetner line of the road would lead you into the picture better, I would have also tried taking a lower perspective or if taht didn't work, a higher one, as the sun is too near the center of the photograph. I would try and remove the sun flare in photoshop.

Here is one I took of a road, technically not a very good photo, but see how the line of the road leads you into the picture and the low perspective gives the photo a unique look.

DSCF1644.jpg


My 2p.
 
First thing, welcome to P&V and don't be afraid to post pictures. Getting feedback is how we all get better.

2nd, dont' get too fussed about upgrading the camera unless you really feel you've reached it's limitations and it's holding you back. I don't know much about your Olympus but it looks like it's giving you pretty good quality shots as it is. Yes the more expensive SLRs with expensive lenses will give better contrast, sharpness and depth of field than compacts but get the composition right first and get the practice in with the olympus. And unless you're priniting out at large (above A4 at least) sizes I wouldn't worry too much about the resolution.

OK. On to the shots. I don't particularly go in for outright praise so don't take these comments the wrong way, I'm just trying to help with my opinions.

Shot 1: Like it but the sun is right in the middle of the picture. Apart from that I wouldn't say the composition is too far off. I think Colin_Da_Killer has a point about moving to the left or right a bit though. The main thing that lets it down is the washed out grey look of the road. Maybe take two different exposures and merge in PS (or whatever graphics program you're using) and merge them or try using a graduated filter if you can. Not sure if that's the answer but it's worth a try.

Shot 2: Not a lot to say other than a good long exposure on a waterfall. I think a little overexposed on the water with blown out highlights but I've never managed to get it right either.

Shot 3: I really like it and the only thing I would suggest is include a bit more of the foreground to frame the reflection a bit more.

Shot 4: Doesn't really do much for me. The backgrounds too busy and the foregound's not really interesting enough. An SLR would have possibly helped you here to throw the background out of focus using a wide aperture but I'm still not convinced it would have made a great shot. Maybe find a different angle so the ironwork doesn't get so lost against the tree.

Shot 5: Like it and can't see too many ways to improve it. There's a bit of barrel distortion but that's down to the camera. I think a really wide ( and I mean extreme) angle could work here to keep the columns separate. Maybe use a polariser to darken the sky.

Shot 6: Overexposed. The main interest in this shot should be where the light is falling on the wall through the windows. All the detail's been lost though and it draws your attention from the rest of the shot. It's a bit of a shame as this would have made a really good shot, possibly better with a close up of the three window sun beams.

Shot 7: Another good one. Only thing I would suggest is a polariser to reduce the reflections on the water.

Shot 8: A famous shot of the Rialto bridge in venice. I just feel the foreground is intruding a little into the main subject and a higher point of view would have been better rather than shooting through the wooden posts. Also the sky is blown out so again maybe take two different exposures and merge or use a graduated filter to lower the sky's brightness.

Shot 9: Another I really like. Only thing I could suggest is the polarising filter to darken the sky a bit and increase the contrast. It's an interesting shot of a well photographed building though.

Shot 10: Again not a lot to say about that one. Bit too extreme on the crop for my liking and I'd proabably prefer to get closer into the rocks. I'm nit picking though.

Well done though, some interesting shots.
 
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I really like the first two photo's. I agree initially about the composition of the first, perhaps a slight alteration, left or right would make it better. Other than that, it's a very nice image. Perhaps photoshopping out the sun glare on the road would improve it again.

With the second photo I love the water. Agreed the exposure may be too long, but I think it adds to the character of the photo. The water appears slimey almost. I like it.
 
Hi again,

All I can say is thanks again :) you're a supportive lot!
Thank you to Colin for providing an example to compare, Very nice shot by the way! :) I should mention that the car was moving at the time of taking that one (camera resting on the dashboard and focused to crop out the bonnet) so I was a bit limited in where I placed the camera.
A Huge thank you to Ranarama for going through each one! I shall take what you have said on board the next time I take the camera out.
As for the Olympus it's great for a compact and it does give you the option to change shutter speed and aperature but if you want to manually select both then it auto-corrects if you're letting in too much or too little light. It just feels like you don't have full control. Also the ISO is limited to a maximium of 320. I'm doing a Graphic Design degree and my lecturers keep drumming into us that if we want to use images then they have to be the highest quality possible to get good print results.
Thats the main reason why I'm after a D50.
Also thanks to Nix, I will have a play on photoshop and see if I can make it any better.

Cheers again!

Panzer
 
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