# My Best Shot Ever



## JosephH (Jan 14, 2019)

Well considering my camera only arrived a week ago. But after abt 1500 photos last week with some good some bad I took time today to take all the critiques and suggestions and  Go out today, the start of week 2 in Photography for me and put everything together looking for that 1 good shot.

I ended up only culling 2 out of 55 shots and came out with some great landscape shots even had a Bald Eagle Photo bomb me.

But this is my Absolutely Best Photo I have taken

Iso 280
200MM
f/5.6
1/1000


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## zombiesniper (Jan 14, 2019)

Very nice.


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## JosephH (Jan 14, 2019)

I should mention that during the summer that water fall is about  a 20 foot drop. There is a roller damn on the other side of the island on the Right  side of photo, that in the old days they would put beams on top of the damn to divert the river around the island to this waterfall which has a Power plant next to it


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## Dean_Gretsch (Jan 14, 2019)

2 culls from 55 is way better than I have ever managed, lol. Congrats.


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## JosephH (Jan 14, 2019)

Thanks but thats just for small stuff like exposure blurr etc its doesnt count the ones I kept that are iffy in composition only because they are pics I wanted and not because they were without some teensy flaw


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## JosephH (Jan 14, 2019)

If anyone would like to see the full shoot from today I have 47 in my flicker (the rest were just Dupes when I shot 5 frames a sec)

Landscapes


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## Jeff G (Jan 15, 2019)

Very nice, eventually you will get used to the new camera, and which angles you like to shoot from and you will get less throw aways and more keepers. Looks like your off to a good start.

I like the red flood gate in the series on your flickr page too.


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## JosephH (Jan 15, 2019)

I couldnt get a good shot of all of it due to distance. It really isnt a flood gate it is part of the Hennepin canal here that ran down from Chicago in the old days. It worked like a series of locks. The barges were brought down not by boats but by donkeys, and every so often they had to go through locks to go up or down the river stuff that locks are used for. theres miles and miles of it still left. this one after tons of neglect about 10 yrs or so ago they dredged them out some and did work so it just wasnt stagnant swamp water.


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## JosephH (Jan 16, 2019)

I dont Know why but I get people telling me this shot is too busy I need to crop it. I have done different crops and the picture just looks like crap without all the elements in telling the story. I dont know why they say its too busy as when I look at it my eye goes directly to the volitile water


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## Derrel (Jan 16, 2019)

JosephH said:


> I dont Know why but I get people telling me this shot is too busy I need to crop it. I have done different crops and the picture just looks like crap without all the elements in telling the story. I dont know why they say its too busy as when I look at it my eye goes directly to the volitile water



Crop it? I think the shot is fine as it is shown above. Cropping it might very well lessen the impact. The way I see it, the downed log on the left, AND the concrete support on the right are both absolutely necessary! There's nothing really to crop.


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## JosephH (Jan 16, 2019)

TY thats what I been trying to say til blue in the face with a couple guys on another forum. I have no Idea what they talking about too busy its supposed to be busy all that water being so violent


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## JosephH (Jan 16, 2019)

BTW I had the Perfect Model today for day 9 of my 365 Day Challenge


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## Derrel (Jan 16, 2019)

JosephH said:
			
		

> View attachment 168054



I would dearly LOVE to see how those guys would butcher this image. As far as cropping. Yes, a smidgeon might be shaved off the top. otherwise...hands off!


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## bulldurham (Jan 18, 2019)

Didn't crop but did do some distortion control because you had to shoot from a less than perfect angle (water seeks its own level) and did some cloning for what I think might be a sign, upper middle left and just for grins and giggles, slightly adjusted the darks and lights to create a bit more drama in the foreground to help pull it away from the background. Just another set of eyes and only meant as a suggestion.


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## crf8 (Jan 18, 2019)

Not claiming this is my best. I am hoping someone has the skill and time to edit this. Please make the lower old building black & White while leaving to top color. Thanks 
Sorry if this request is against the rules. 




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## JosephH (Jan 18, 2019)

Looks nice and I was stuck with that angle as my feet were actually in the water. Normally that fall is 20 feet down the river just so high up


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## zulu42 (Jan 18, 2019)

I like the original shot, and the very nice edit by @bulldurham. Nice shooting!

BTW if anybody wants to seem some very impressive scale modeling work, check out the OP's signature link!


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## JosephH (Jan 18, 2019)

Thanks But I think some the images arent working as there was some weird thing happen. I will probably change it over to Photography site but I dont know squat about web design or anything. Last time I tried word press and people were getting all kinds of attack errors thats when my site got all screwed up. The last movie Modeling I did was the full scale mini sub for transformers 5 and before that the full scale B-24 for the movie Unbroken

BTW what does the OP mean next to my name? 'Onery Person lol if so that fits me


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## RickyMidnight (Jan 19, 2019)

That dragon head
Is cool

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk


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## JonFZ300 (Jan 19, 2019)

It means Original Poster or Original Post I think


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## JosephH (Jan 19, 2019)

kk ty


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## D7K (Jan 19, 2019)

I like the shot, I think I’d have edited differently because of personal taste and to be honest maybe trim not crop, just a touch. I’m a sucker for closing in images like this with a vignette just to hold the eye and not to let it wander out of the frame. All in all, you know the story you wanted to tell, the fallen log, the concrete of industry and turbulence of the water all speak of change to me.. 


Sent from my mobile device because I’m either outside or too lazy to get my MacBook..


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## JosephH (Jan 19, 2019)

and don't forget transformation for violence of the water transformed into a docile beautiful flow of Ice


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## JosephH (Jan 20, 2019)

Thanks Susan I had been taking all the critiques and tips from the guys and took my time setting it up and shot it. I had both feet in the river just to get a good angle on it. This summer when the river is down to normal I want to go back and shoot that same corner.  but with all the rain in recent years the river bed hasn't been showing like it normally does as I can usually get about 10 feet into the river and still be dry


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## Tropicalmemories (Jan 20, 2019)

Very nice image - but your best shot may be your next one.


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## JosephH (Jan 20, 2019)

so true i guess shoulda made it so far lol


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## SquarePeg (Jan 20, 2019)

Jeff G said:


> Very nice, eventually you will get used to the new camera, and which angles you like to shoot from and you will get less throw aways and more keepers. Looks like your off to a good start.
> 
> I like the red flood gate in the series on your flickr page too.



I think it’s the opposite, at least it is for me.  The more experienced I get the pickier I become and the fewer “keepers” I have.  The more you know the more flaws you see.  I’ve becone pretty brutal about deleting stuff that’s less than what I wanted.  The only exceptions are family and vacation photos as those are taken more for the memories.  The ones I take just for me, I don’t keep as many as I  used to.


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## JTPhotography (Jan 22, 2019)

Things I like. The shot is crisp, the exposure is good and conveys the icy mood, I also like the tone and mood and texture. 

Critiques. Absolutely agree it is too busy. My eye instantly goes all over the image trying to figure out what’s is going on. Cropping wouldn’t really help that. 

If I was trying to capture an artistic image from this scene I would maybe consider isolating one particular element and use a longer exposure with some water blur. I would also think black and white with higher contrast.


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## JosephH (Jan 22, 2019)

Thanks and I am not a fan of blurring water. it ruins it in my opinion. there are instances where a light blur would look good, however it would ruin this image as the violence of the water is what makes the image.

I have talked this over with several people about what is so busy about the photo and how to adjust it and most agree you cannot change anything without ruining the photo. at most a light crop across the top.

I guess thats art for you its just a matter of personal taste. but thanks for your critique it matches several others on the busy however there is no other way around the image than busy its nature and that view is nature at its most violent beauty


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## JosephH (Jan 22, 2019)

One thing funny is you see images of woods etc with hundreds of trees in it and no real depth of field and some of the same people say that isnt busy. so how do you justify one as busy and another not? now to me they are busy as everything is in focus no real depth of field and if they shot one tree in sharp focus and the others slightly blurred then it would be a totally different image and not as busy


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## JTPhotography (Jan 22, 2019)

Don’t be so resistant to criticism when it comes from people with decades more experience.


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## SquarePeg (Jan 22, 2019)

I didn’t read every other post so sorry if this has been discussed already but imo this scene is “busy” because the lines are all over the place.  The branches are going several different ways, the water another,  and there are no real leading lines to the subject.  This is just not that easy to look at.  Now, that is not a knock on the technical aspects of the photo as capturing the right exposure with this type of scene is difficult and I agree with not blurring the water but...  Compositionally, I think a different angle with maybe a wider perspective that somehow leads the eye to the subject by using those branches would improve this.  I viewed the rest of the set on Flickr and don’t see any other takes in this scene so maybe that was the only angle?  If so, maybe some dodge and burn to darken the background and better isolate the subject would eliminate some of the “busy” aspects of this.


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## JosephH (Jan 22, 2019)

Ok thanks I wasn't resistant I am just new to this and didn't understand what they were meaning by busy. Also like I said my feet were in the water so this is the only angle to shoot it from unless it was summer and the water was way down but then wouldn't have the ice


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## JosephH (Jan 22, 2019)

I just needed an interpretation of what busy meant because I am thinking one thing like too many objects in the photo and not like SquarePeg posted. when people say they are new just a word explaining why its not right doesn't help much if the term isn't explained. I have broad shoulders and can be ripped apart and wont hurt my feelings. but trying to understand why people are seeing something I am not without knowing what they are saying is like me trying to understand a foreigner in a foreign language.


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## JTPhotography (Jan 22, 2019)

JosephH said:


> Ok thanks I wasn't resistant I am just new to this and didn't understand what they were meaning by busy. Also like I said my feet were in the water so this is the only angle to shoot it from unless it was summer and the water was way down but then wouldn't have the ice



I gotcha. I don’t really use the term busy. A better way to describe it would be lacking in interest or flat. Try and compose a photo in such a way to show depth and lead the viewers eye into the scene. It is one reason why blurred water works so well. Your eye follows it. When I first saw this photo my eye darted around and I found myself trying to figure it out.


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