A few recent pics of mine

montanafan

Diamond Member
Nov 7, 1999
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You have some really nice photos there, but just one thing, some of them just need a little more pop to them. Have you tried using USM to bring out the colors a little more? If you don't mind, I could download one of them and show you what I mean. Just let me know.
 

ThePresence

Elite Member
Nov 19, 2001
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Originally posted by: montanafan
You have some really nice photos there, but just one thing, some of them just need a little more pop to them. Have you tried using USM to bring out the colors a little more? If you don't mind, I could download one of them and show you what I mean. Just let me know.

Sure, go nuts. :)
I didn't really work on any of them. Just minor stuff.
 
Jun 14, 2003
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me likey :D

i agree with montanafan though, some of them do need a little more punch, some of colours are a little on the dull/flat side, only on some shots though not all. i liek the light house on the cliff top, that one for me doesnt need changing at all :D
 

montanafan

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Nov 7, 1999
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Yeah, I didn't care that much for the way the sky came out either. It's a beautiful photo though. I really like all of your seascapes.
 

GrJohnso

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Jun 18, 2004
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Generally you have a good eye for composition on those. The couple things I'd pay attention to are:

- focus : some of the butterfly/bee/flower type shots are a bit soft
- Usually composition is good, but like in img_1911 on the first page action or lines tend to pull the eye off the edge of the photo, rather than into the photo.
- Horizon Lines : a couple shots seem a little off... for some reason this is one of the first things I notice with outdoor shots and it tends to make it tough to care about the rest of the photo... Oh, and try not to have these centered in the photo. Think thirds..

But as I said, you have a good eye for content, just need a little fine tuning...

Take a little more time to make sure the camera grabbed what you eye did. Basic proofing of the shots should catch all of the issues above.. For macro type shots, you should zoom in on the photo on your camera as most LCD's won't give you the resolution needed to verify those details at full size...

My favs:
http://www.staggershots.com/ga...y12/pages/IMG_0943.htm - Lake/Moon- (lower or raise horizon for better shot, but still works well as is..
http://www.staggershots.com/ga...y12/pages/IMG_1798.htm - Horses
http://www.staggershots.com/ga...y12/pages/IMG_1984.htm - Lighthouse... Maybe have a little more blue/ocean in lower left to give it some pop... might be about 1/3 to 2/3 under exposed... Kinda like some of the other comments about boosting saturation/color..


 

montanafan

Diamond Member
Nov 7, 1999
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Originally posted by: kalster
Originally posted by: montanafan
Just a quickie, but something like this:

http://i34.photobucket.com/alb...anafan/ThePresence.jpg

just curios, besides USM what else did you do on that pic

I can't remember for sure now, but I believe I lightened shadows, increased midtones, and then contrast.

This try might be a little better:

http://i34.photobucket.com/alb...afan/ThePresence2a.jpg

Edit: I know from looking at some of his posts that The Presence could do this better than me, I just like the practice.



 

fuzzybabybunny

Moderator<br>Digital & Video Cameras
Moderator
Jan 2, 2006
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Like what others have said, the photos lack punch. Framing-wise, the pictures are good but it's the flat, uninteresting light that detracts from them. You could try photoshop to correct some of this but it would probably be better to do your best to shoot in the evenings and the early mornings from now on where the light is more dramatic. Middle of the day shots just lack life. I personally will take my camera with me in the middle of the day, but this is just to give me something to do. I know full well that I'll be discarding 99-100% of these shots. Late evening or early morning is when I actually start to seriously take photos.
 

virtuamike

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 2000
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I've been doing a lot of reading on art theory lately so it's the predominant thing on my mind.

The Art Spirit, by Robert Henri

I'm doing a crappy job of paraphrasing, but one of Henri's suggested ways of starting the creative process is to break down a work into its most fundamental pieces. Concentrate on their relation to one another. Purpose should exist at this most basic starting point.

Applying that to your shots as a framework for critical analysis, ask yourself what your main elements are. Why are they placed where they are? What are you trying to say? What did you feel and what do you want us to feel? Does everything else in the shot support or fight that?

Develop a mindset for purpose and the rest will follow :)
 

ThePresence

Elite Member
Nov 19, 2001
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Originally posted by: ProfJohn
Your shore line photos remind me of how boring of a coast line Florida has.

Yeah, the Jersey shore doesn't look like that either.
Those pics are in Maine.
 

Madwand1

Diamond Member
Jan 23, 2006
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I liked 1984 and a couple of others. The colours were a bit flat sometimes, but didn't really bother me -- it's easy to pop them out, and tiresome seeing all strong colours -- a more "realistic" portrayal is also valid. The compositional elements / content need to do more than colour.

One common flaw among some of them was a distracting blur in the foreground. Take a ladder? Axe? Photochop? I dunno...

Cheers.