Apple
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Post by Apple on Sept 28, 2013 12:36:00 GMT -5
I started my photography class on Wednesday! First assignment... Take (at least) 100 landscape photos. Submit your best 5 to the instructor (send as an email attachment). So, which ones do you think are my best 5? #1 Framed Mountain #1-A Framed Mountain (Cropped) #2 Mountain and power lines (ETA: Looks like this one is out...) #3 Bridge and Tunnel #4 Gorge #1 #5 Gorge #2 (lighter) (ETA: This one is out solely due to some really bad water spots that will become the size of a quarter when projected on screen. I won't point out exactly where it is though, because if you think it's pretty now, it's disappointing when you see it...) #6 Gorge #3 (slightly different angle) #7 Flower (This one is out because it doesn't fit the assignment. We will turn in our closeups in another week or two, it might go in that batch). #7-A Flower (Cropped) #8 Spillway over moss-covered wall #9 Stairs #9-A Stairs (Cropped) #10 Waterfall from East #11 Waterfall from West #11-A Waterfall from the West (Cropped) It was around sunrise when I took the spillway and mountain pictures, but it was dark, rainy and overcast when I took the waterfall and gorge pictures. I thought I did ok for the opportunity I had (it was almost 6 at night when I started taking the first pictures, and had to cut most because of water spots on my lens--even with an umbrella). My dad's comment: "The Gorge gives so many photo opportunities, a little light and these could be outstanding photos" So, I guess he's not impressed by them, but he's seen some of my better work. Don't have much time to get great photos before the class, especially since it's going to be a stormy weekend (so no "little light")... Good thing I gave up trying to please my parents years ago
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busymom
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Post by busymom on Sept 28, 2013 12:46:21 GMT -5
#1, 5, 7, 9, & either 10 or 11. I like 10 better for the general colors in the trees & "greenery", but I prefer the water reflections in 11. I'm not sure what part of the country you live in, but am jealous of your beautiful scenery! Nice work!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2013 12:55:45 GMT -5
#3 is my first choice. Then I'd vote 5,8,10... Not that I know much
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Sept 28, 2013 13:03:51 GMT -5
My monitor doesn't deliver the best color....
But I liked the composition of #3 and #9 they don't look like 'touristy this is what we saw from the lookout' kinda pictures. I also liked #8 (the spillway) it's interesting with the near/far stuff going on. I liked the #6 gorge picture - the water/rocks, gorge and trees kinda give it some movement and I got more of a "thousand yard stare" feel from it (what's beyond the gorge? kinda thing) than from the other gorge pictures. I also liked #11 best of the waterfall pictures.
I'll admit I'm biased - I've seen WAY too many mountain in the background and close up of flower pictures from friends/relatives vacations usually posted on face book. so I kinda 'discounted' them right away. I did like the 'framing' with the tree leaves/branch in #1 though.
Hows that for opinions?
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Formerly SK
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Post by Formerly SK on Sept 28, 2013 13:10:37 GMT -5
#1 I like it but I'd probably crop it closer to eliminate some of the overhang foliage. It conflicts with the mountain as to which is the subject of the photo. #2 I don't like the powerlines. #3 Can you recrop it so the tunnel entrance follows the rule of thirds? #4 Too dark. #5 Better but still too dark. #6 I like the splashes of color in this one better. Can you lighted it? #7 Flower is too centered - need to crop it to follow the rule of thirds. #8 Light contrast is too extreme plus bridge is right in the center (doesn't follow rule of thirds). I'd crop out some of the sky and lighted the dark areas. #9 Too dark - the eye is drawn to the sky. Can you lighten and recrop so the stairs are the focal point? #10 I don't like the foliage overhang as much. #11 Great composition but too dark. I agree you did great for the conditions. Sometimes you have to look at the sky and figure it isn't worth bothering. Sometimes you realize the limitations of the conditions and just do the best you can.
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Sept 28, 2013 13:34:14 GMT -5
#1, 5, 7, 9, & either 10 or 11. I like 10 better for the general colors in the trees & "greenery", but I prefer the water reflections in 11. I'm not sure what part of the country you live in, but am jealous of your beautiful scenery! Nice work! Thanks I live in an area called the Columbia Gorge. It's the border between Oregon and Washington. One half is green forest, the other half is dry desert. I think it's the most beautiful place in the world I like the greenery in 10 as well, just wish I could have had a *little* space between the tree and the cliff for some more sky.
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Sept 28, 2013 13:36:01 GMT -5
#3 is my first choice. Then I'd vote 5,8,10... Not that I know much Thanks #3 is one of my favorites too! And, it was a complete afterthought. I had already walked most of the way back to the car (a very short walk), and thought "I need to get a picture of the bridge!" The tunnel added to it.
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Sept 28, 2013 13:41:02 GMT -5
My monitor doesn't deliver the best color....
But I liked the composition of #3 and #9 they don't look like 'touristy this is what we saw from the lookout' kinda pictures. I also liked #8 (the spillway) it's interesting with the near/far stuff going on. I liked the #6 gorge picture - the water/rocks, gorge and trees kinda give it some movement and I got more of a "thousand yard stare" feel from it (what's beyond the gorge? kinda thing) than from the other gorge pictures. I also liked #11 best of the waterfall pictures.
I'll admit I'm biased - I've seen WAY too many mountain in the background and close up of flower pictures from friends/relatives vacations usually posted on face book. so I kinda 'discounted' them right away. I did like the 'framing' with the tree leaves/branch in #1 though.
Hows that for opinions?
Lol, perfect for opinions I don't really care for "lookout" pictures either. When I have the time, I like to walk through the creek (my shoes are still soaked!), lay on my back or stomach, perch on a wall, etc. Lol with the mountain and flower... I don't normally do flower pics, but I was testing a close-up attachment for my lens (sadly, it makes the camera not auto-focus and I'm still trying to re-figure out all the manual settings). I thought the dew drop and the fuzzy leaves were kind of cool. I try to frame my pictures with natural stuff when I can, but sometimes there is something crappy in the way.
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saveinla
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Post by saveinla on Sept 28, 2013 13:54:07 GMT -5
#3 is my favorite - I would go with 3,7,8,9,11.
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Jaguar
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Post by Jaguar on Sept 28, 2013 14:00:22 GMT -5
I like 1, 3, 5, 9 & 10.
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mrsdutt
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Post by mrsdutt on Sept 28, 2013 14:04:14 GMT -5
Number 1 and 3.Then 10 and 11. I don't know much, though, about photos. Let us know which ones you chose.
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Sept 28, 2013 14:09:14 GMT -5
I'm responding within the quote for this one... #1 I like it but I'd probably crop it closer to eliminate some of the overhang foliage. It conflicts with the mountain as to which is the subject of the photo. I agree--I was trying to figure out how to solve that without changing the picture too much. I think I'll try cropping the top and the left hand side to see if it is better...#2 I don't like the powerlines. I figured some people won't like them, but they are part of how I make a living, so I put them in...#3 Can you recrop it so the tunnel entrance follows the rule of thirds? I agree with the "rule of thirds" to a point. However, with re-cropping, I'd lose the bridge, or the tunnel, or the top of the cliff--or-- I would be inserting garbage. To the left, right where my photo ends, the rock bridge changes to a painted-white wood fence and I did NOT want that in the picture. So, no cropping for this one.#4 Too dark. I was worried about that, but did like the bright green moss and deep blue water. Also hid the water spots on the lens (the umbrella didn't keep all the rain off).#5 Better but still too dark. I did like the overall look of this one lighter, BUT, the huge water spots stuck out horribly and ruined the photo.
#6 I like the splashes of color in this one better. Can you lighted it? Same issue with the water spots as above. I do wish I would have noticed the lens got wet before I continued. By the time I noticed, I had backed out of the creek and didn't want to go back in and risk falling...
#7 Flower is too centered - need to crop it to follow the rule of thirds. Again, rule of thirds could help or hurt. I agree that it is too centered, but cropping it loses the blurred leaves and rocks surrounding it. May try cropping different areas to see if I like it better.#8 Light contrast is too extreme plus bridge is right in the center (doesn't follow rule of thirds). I'd crop out some of the sky and lighted the dark areas. This one was a hard shot--zoomed out as much as I could to get the full bridge. I was standing on a roof, pointing the camera between the wall and a handrail (stupid handrails!) I may crop out some of the right hand side. I can't "spot lighten", and if I lighten the whole thing the spillway just looks grey. May try some more re-cropping. I was really hoping for some sunrise color, but couldn't stick around and wait since I had to get to work.#9 Too dark - the eye is drawn to the sky. Can you lighten and recrop so the stairs are the focal point? Same issue here with the water spots (or something else weird going on). When lightened, the tree gets this huge grey area and looks bad. I can try to crop the right hand side and sky, but if I keep the tree at all, it has to stay dark.#10 I don't like the foliage overhang as much. I do wish I'd had just a little more sky to work with.
#11 Great composition but too dark. I did try to lighten this one--it didn't have water spot issues, but it ended up looking really washed out so I lost the color.
I agree you did great for the conditions. Sometimes you have to look at the sky and figure it isn't worth bothering. Sometimes you realize the limitations of the conditions and just do the best you can. "Best I can" is what I ended up with". These are not my best landscape photos ever, I have some I really, absolutely love. BUT, they are the best photos from *this week*, which was the assignment (and I really, really want to sneak some of the better ones in, but I won't). The gorge is supposed to have even worse weather the rest of the weekend, and it will be too dark again by the time I get off work on Monday. I was really afraid I wouldn't get these since I got out of Portland so late, it was definitely a race against time and lost light!
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Sept 28, 2013 14:20:11 GMT -5
#3 is my favorite - I would go with 3,7,8,9,11. Thank you One bonus to really crappy weather was that the bridge and tunnel were empty! Every other time I've been there at least one person was in the way of a good photo.
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Sept 28, 2013 14:22:05 GMT -5
Thanks I wish I could figure out how to lighten #9 (the stairs) without having that weird section on the tree.
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Sept 28, 2013 14:23:19 GMT -5
Number 1 and 3.Then 10 and 11. I don't know much, though, about photos. Let us know which ones you chose. Haha, I don't know anything "technical" about photos yet either, I just try to shoot what I like I'll let you know which I put in. Sounds like 3 will definitely be one of them though.
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cronewitch
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Post by cronewitch on Sept 28, 2013 14:56:21 GMT -5
#5 is my favorite if I wanted to hang one on my wall. I like the color of the rocks and that nothing man made is in it. The waterfalls are too white for the dark pictures but dramatic.
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GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl
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Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on Sept 28, 2013 15:00:06 GMT -5
I know you wanted 5, and if I knew *anything* about photography I would choose 5, but I don't so I will tell you that #3, #6, and #10 simply "speak to me". I can't define what speaks to me -- I just know it when I see it. #3 is just awesome. I'd buy it if it was for sale. What camera and lenses are you using? YDS is somewhat interested in photography. He takes absolutely amazing sports action shots on a simple little Nikon Cooplix L100 with no additional lenses. He's got fast reflexes.
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Sept 28, 2013 15:15:48 GMT -5
#5 is my favorite if I wanted to hang one on my wall. I like the color of the rocks and that nothing man made is in it. The waterfalls are too white for the dark pictures but dramatic. Thanks #5 is a tough one. I like it (although, I really love the dark ones too), but there is one water spot that is driving me crazy on it and it makes it hard to look at the rest of it. I'm sure other people could "stitch" it out, but I'm not skilled with software. The waterfalls were very white last night.
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Sept 28, 2013 15:26:05 GMT -5
I know you wanted 5, and if I knew *anything* about photography I would choose 5, but I don't so I will tell you that #3, #6, and #10 simply "speak to me". I can't define what speaks to me -- I just know it when I see it. #3 is just awesome. I'd buy it if it was for sale. What camera and lenses are you using? YDS is somewhat interested in photography. He takes absolutely amazing sports action shots on a simple little Nikon Cooplix L100 with no additional lenses. He's got fast reflexes. I'm in that area where I can't define what speaks to me either, but I know when I see it. I posted the three gorge pictures on FB, and while they were loading, they showed up side-by-side on the screen. I was also drawn to #6. I need three monitors with the exact same screen coloring so I can pick things that way, lol. I'm using a DS3200. All the pictures here were taken with a Nikkor 12/24 wide angle lens. I just got a zoom lens yesterday, so I'll be taking more with that soon. Should help me get closer.
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Sept 28, 2013 15:33:07 GMT -5
Ok, reworked a couple... Less centered, but kept some blurry spots Got rid of the top-heavy leaves, think I over-cropped? Better/worse? I tried, but I just can't lighten this one without a weird spot on the tree. I did get rid of a little sky, but a lot of people liked that one, so maybe it's better left alone... And, the last waterfall... I liked this one, but the sky was so washed out and bright that I thought it was distracting. So, made it a little darker (and closer to the real color of the sky while I was shooting). It is pretty grey though, so maybe that's not good either... I also cut out some of the foliage on the left, seemed like it was a bit too heavy. There are some issues that stick out if I try to lighten it, so I'll try to keep them hidden
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Apple
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Post by Apple on Sept 28, 2013 15:36:45 GMT -5
Do you use lightroom at all? It can help you selectively work on light and dark areas to retrieve detail. I don't. I've always fought any kind of tweeking with photos, other than cropping out items you can't avoid in the field, so never looked into it. I did finally try an app (fotor, my laptop has windows 8 so the disk that came with the camera won't work). That's how I darkened or lightened anything this time--I can't select just parts though. I figure I'd get an idea of what some other people use before I spend money on one. Again, completely new to this and have only had this camera since the spring, so always open to more tips. Even if I can't use them right now, I do listen (I swear!) and file things away for later
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bean29
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Post by bean29 on Sept 28, 2013 16:57:02 GMT -5
I agree with GRG I like 3, 4, 6, 8, and 10. I also know nothing about photography and I looked at the pics on my cell phone screen.
Pros have to deal with conditions at hand a lot, so I think you are right to submit only pics you took this week.
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Jake 48
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Post by Jake 48 on Sept 28, 2013 17:55:06 GMT -5
#11, but I'm partial to waterfalls
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2013 19:41:21 GMT -5
They're all so beautiful!!
Nos. 1 & 3..
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whoisjohngalt
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Post by whoisjohngalt on Sept 28, 2013 20:24:36 GMT -5
OK.....so I don't know anything about photography and don't claim to have the best taste....
But I must be the only one who doesn't like #3 that much. I LOOOVE #1, though (the original one) and # 8
I have to show this to my DH and see what he says. He used to be a photographer in his previous life - I wonder if he will see something that I don't.
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violagirl
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Post by violagirl on Sept 28, 2013 21:25:10 GMT -5
3 and 9. Not sure why I liked them the best. Probably because all you see is nature at first and then you notice the road or the stairs. Kind of world without humans.
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steph08
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Post by steph08 on Sept 28, 2013 21:26:36 GMT -5
I'd go 1, 3, 8, 9, and 10. I also think the majority of them are too dark. I like the overhang in picture 1 before being cropped.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2013 21:40:29 GMT -5
1,3,8,9,10 would be my vote for 5.
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GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl
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Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on Sept 28, 2013 21:40:50 GMT -5
I'd go 1, 3, 8, 9, and 10. I also think the majority of them are too dark. I like the overhang in picture 1 before being cropped. It's really interesting to see which pictures people favor and why. I agree that several are on the dark side, but I find that, for example, the darkness in #6 actually highlights some of the deeper purples and dark blues in a way that a brighter setting would wash out. We *expect* green from the moss and leaves and we *expect* white from the water, but the deeper darker colors enhanced by the darker setting gives more depth to the picture. Does that make sense to anyone but me (who had 2 glasses of wine with dinner)?
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Sept 28, 2013 21:43:41 GMT -5
What is the goal for this assignment? Something artsy, or something beautiful? I ask because while 4 isn't the most beautiful, I find it spooky. When I get a strong feeling like that, I think art. True art, for me, captures a feeling. I also really like the first 3 reworked pics. The mountain looks like its smoking, which seems cool to me.
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