# Beginner's Critique - Pass it on



## Village Idiot (Jun 24, 2008)

Another fun thread. This may work in this section of the forum it may not. Post a photo, just one, that you like and the next person to post will critique the photo *to the best of their ability* and post another photo for the next person to critique.

Since it's in the beginner section, I don't expect a ton of super detailed critiques, but if you got them, put them out there. Remember, beginner's forum. Keep it clean and don't post anything too harsh. Also remember to not take it personally if some one doesn't like your photo.

I'm not exactly a beginner, but I'll post up one of my older shots to get things moving and see if this works.





Edit: Keep in mind basics like exposure, rule of thirds, etc... and see what you can do.


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## asfixiate (Jun 24, 2008)

knowing you're not a beginner I'll make the following recommendations to this shot.

Have you considered using a flash to balance out the lighting? Possibly change white balance to tungsten?

Sorry about forgetting pic. here it is. I had about 2 minutes to quickly get everyone in the shot and i had a chair as a tripod...I put the camera on tripod(about 10 feet away from everyone) set the timer ran in (me in front with black shirt)and took the shot.

Very hot lights above I think I did ok.  only lights on were the round ones.


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## Village Idiot (Jun 24, 2008)

asfixiate said:


> knowing you're not a beginner I'll make the following recommendations to this shot.
> 
> Have you considered using a flash to balance out the lighting? Possibly change white balance to tungsten?


 
With the exception of you squatting down you may have very well been able to crop the photo and get rid of the chair. The problem with you being posed how you are though would leave you with no hands and it would look more ackward than it does now. The lighting is not bad. It's just a tiny bit yellow and the only real flaw I can see is the white haired guy on the right's forehead. Some one said asking them to wipe their forehead off helps with the glare. I don't know that I would have done it here, but for a more professional shoot I would have. That or he's got one mean unibrow.


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## altyfc (Jun 24, 2008)

I'm not much of an expert on critique-ing but I understand the rules, so will have a go.

Nice overall shot, but perhaps a little too dark in areas (eg. behind the girl's head).

I find the purple light and the background (green curtain and whatever is beyond there) a little distracting. 

Interesting tilt to the shot which I think strangely kind of works. 

I'll have to admit to being a little confused as to what I'm looking at.  Is this some kind of bar?

Was that OK?  Sorry, as I said, I'm not that good at critiques.

Anyway, here goes with a shot from me...


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## BoblyBill (Jun 24, 2008)

First thing that draws into the image is the blown highlight in the top left corner. I believe the centered crop actually works OK... but I do feel that moving the butterfly to the right a little would have improved this shot. You did a great job of exposing the butterfly. Could use a little (not much) sharpening.

Here's mine:


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## Jon_Are (Jun 24, 2008)

I like it. You've got three different horizons going on, beautiful muted blue/greens, and a nice point of interest in the lower left (buffalo? sheep? large porcupine?). The trees in the back seem a bit over-processed, sorta water-color-y, which is not necessarily a bad thing. The tree appears wind-blown; whether it is or not, still a cool effect. Maybe just a slightly tighter crop would be better, but, overall, still an A.

Mine:


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## asfixiate (Jun 24, 2008)

VI.  I put pic in...sorry about that.  I also didn't realize it was as easy as copy and paste to put a pic.


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## Chris of Arabia (Jun 24, 2008)

Your exposure looks pretty good, it's pretty sharp (though difficult to tell for sure at that size) and the shot has a nice leading line up to the top of the hill. Overall though it feels like a shot without a real subject - perhaps the composition would be stronger if you cropped that trees/bushes on the left out and retained the r/h side in portrait format.


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## asfixiate (Jun 24, 2008)

Here's an issue I have. Your bunny is not as cute as my pug.

Bunny is very centered(so is my pug). Not that you can do a lot without the bunny running away. Grass appears sharper than bunny too...
Actually I am not seeing a lot wrong other than what I think I see...I just wanted to rub in my pug being cuter than your bunny.


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## Chris of Arabia (Jun 24, 2008)

LOL I think the little bugger moved and I'm sure it was before I knew anything about unsharp masks, but you're probably right.


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## sultan (Jun 24, 2008)

Nice pug asfixate. Composition is good, despite being centered and is very cute. Not much to criticize but I want to see a bit more of your pug's face. Still, very nice. It gives a warm and fuzzy feeling.

My Pic:




A bit noisy and not enough DOF but thats because I had the wrong lens on and didn't have much light. Still, it's fairly decent in my mind.

Also, I think I'm now beyond the beginner stage.


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## xstephenx (Jun 24, 2008)

The leaf looks kind of pixelated like it may be oversharpened (although that may just be my computer).  I would also like to see, if the fly is supposed to be a focal point (which I wouldn't think it would be in this case) I would like to see it sharper.  Although if you had the wrong lens on you may not have had any other choice.


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## asfixiate (Jun 24, 2008)

This is a nice shot. I like the bokeh. Here's another head shot...my fiance's favorite pic of my pug.


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## asfixiate (Jun 25, 2008)

Did this thread already die or do people actually sleep on this forum?


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## Chewbecca (Jun 25, 2008)

God, I don't know if anything is wrong with your picture of your pug, because I quite like it as well.  Maybe a little more light by the right eye (not that it's saying much because that happens to me in pics all the time)?  I don't know...


And, fine.  I'll post one.  Even though I'm pretty sure I know already what is wrong (or could be viewed as "wrong") with this shot, I want to hear what you all have to say.
This was taken with my 50mm f1.8 which I have to manually focus on my D60.  YES.  Another action shot with the rope.


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## Village Idiot (Jun 25, 2008)

You cut his feet off! Good exposure though. The horizon looks a little tilted as well.

Oldy:


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## seamus14 (Jun 25, 2008)

Can't really find anything wrong with it. I'm not a fan of selective coloring but I like it here. If anyone has an experienced eye then go at it. I'm just keeping the thread going. 

Here's something easier to critique.


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## BoblyBill (Jun 25, 2008)

Great exposure. Could maybe use a little more saturation. I think there might be just a bit too much water. I would suggest a crop taking 1/3 of the water out would improve this one.

here's mine:


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## erewnoh (Jun 25, 2008)

Hmm... the only thing I can think of would be to bring the colors out a bit more in the dark area on the left side of the photo. Perhaps maybe crop up a bit too. Other than that, the photo has a lot in it I like, the road leading the eye up to the left side of the photo, but the bent pole keeps my eye from running off with it, and keeps my attention on the center. The road also gives a great depth to the photo.

Here's one of mine, I posted it elsewhere but I like it. I cropped it just a bit, and did some minor pp to it.


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## thereforeiamx (Jun 25, 2008)

i like the use of DOF in this photo. there seems to be a tad too much shrubbery/branches and water in this picture, and it seems to be open space. i would probably crop a portion of the water and a small portion of the blurred foreground on the left-hand side of the picture. lastly, i would suggest perhaps taking out the black stray branch sticking out too; it serves as a bit of distraction. lovely german shepherd and fur details. 

mine:


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## DanV1317 (Jun 25, 2008)

This is a really cool picture thereforeiamx.  coming from a beginner, i just see some very overexposed part of the steps at the bottom of the photo.  Maybe it would have been better to hang the camera a bit more over the first overhand so there wasn't the overexposed floor and railing.   I dont know what kind of space you were working with on top though to move around.  Just some thoughts.  
Here is a picture i took at a house fire last night in my town.  No really any color to comment on. Just a recent one i had taken.


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## asfixiate (Jun 26, 2008)

Bump


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## Nutcracker33 (Jun 27, 2008)

great shot, DanV1317, i like these kind of shots, but it will be nicer if you can find a more detail part of the sky.. great catch though ! 

here is mine, from my first night shoot


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## BoblyBill (Jun 27, 2008)

Well I'll try to keep the ball rolling here... I like the way you have framed it, but the power line/cord in the bottom left is distracting and so is purple light in the bottom right.

Tear it apart.


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## Keith Baran (Jun 27, 2008)

Very cool picture. I really like the star effect and halo from the sun. I've tried this many times with little or no success. The glare on the bottom right side is a bit distracting. Great exposure.
My pic, My daughter


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## BoblyBill (Jun 28, 2008)

:mrgreen:


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## asfixiate (Jul 2, 2008)

Not sure how i feel about the shadow on her face. Try that shot again if you can with a flash and see if you get better results.
This is of my nephew at his Christening. I left hotshoe in car and I can't stand popup flash so i just used 50mm with the natural lighting.  Extremely well lit church.


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## Chewbecca (Jul 2, 2008)

Overall, I think it's a pretty good picture.  He seems a little dark to me (but that might not be saying much as I tend to like pictures brighter and more towards the over-exposed end of the spectrum).  Maybe a little fill light on his face in PP?
I think a little color saturation would help as well.

Of course, this could all be my computer/monitor.  But I think it's a great picture and he sure is cute!
I like eyes to pop a little more, but that OBVIOUSLY is only my preference as I know a lot here do not like the eyes to pop.  I don't mean, over-done popping where they look freaky, I just mean some overall sharpening would most like do the trick.:mrgreen:


Now, let me have it.  This was taken with my Sigma 10-20mm and the lens is new to me.  Hell, using a wide angle of any kind is new to me (photography is new to me!  D'oh!).  No filters for this lens yet.


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## uplander (Jul 2, 2008)

I like the shot. Not sure exactly why it doesn't pop tho. The blue sky is wonderfull but the main subject seems a bit drab compared to the background. I'm sure it has to do with the time of day it was shot. I'm also thinking this might be one of the few shots were the rule of thirds can be thrown out I would like to see the steeple centered and then the railing brought up to the first third if you still wanted to kind of keep with the rule.

Here's my shot


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## rasheemo (Jul 2, 2008)

nice! i like the DOF although i think the picture may have come out better if taken from a lower angle so that the background would not have been as distracting with the geese in front of it. actually maybe if there was more bokeh it would have been perfect, since the colors blend a bit.

my camera is still being shipped =[


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## alby (Jul 2, 2008)

beautiful shot!
I wish I was quick enough to get birds in flight like that. I love how the birds' colors blends in with the background color. I'm a beginner so I don't what I would critique about your photo, thumbs up! =]

my shot:





Venice Beach Pier, CA


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## blakklabelx (Jul 2, 2008)

i like it =] the colors look a little plain and it could be sharper, and maybe crop off a little of the sky. heres mine


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## Chewbecca (Jul 2, 2008)

What is that????
Whatever it is, it is oddly beautiful.
There is something off about it, but I'm not sure I know enough to state exactly what it is.
Did you sharpen it too much, maybe?  It appears maybe a little noisy and out of focus.  I know, of course, it's out of focus in some places, but it's noisy.
Other than that it's GREAT, imo!:mrgreen:


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## lr0868 (Jul 2, 2008)

very nice, and clear, maybe not cropped so tight at the top and tone down the saturation a bit on the greens

here is mine..my second trip out with my camera to the conservatory of flowers


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## blakklabelx (Jul 2, 2008)

Chewbecca said:


> What is that??




i think its called a passion flower? not sure though.. there extremely rare and only bloom in certain conditions


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## mamarazzi_hrd (Jul 2, 2008)

Man, how can I follow that one? This is a beginner thread? I love the composition and color, the only thing I can muster up is possibly cropping a tad closer? Hey- I had to come up with someting


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## MACollum (Jul 2, 2008)

blakklabelx said:


> i think its called a passion flower? not sure though.. there extremely rare and only bloom in certain conditions


 
Where are you from? Passion flowers grow well here in Oklahoma. My dh has a friend who has these passion flowers all over his fence and they bloom like mad.


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## alby (Jul 3, 2008)

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/member.php?u=31809mamarazzi_hrd, very interesting shot! If someone were to just glance at it from a distance, it looks like snow covered mountains. But, once you look a little more carefully, it is quite evident that they are rocks and the water gives it a nice element while the sand blends in with the rest of your soft shot. Where was this taken?

this is fun. my photo:




Venice Beach, CA (again)


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## AussieDee (Jul 3, 2008)

How do you insert pictures? Or is the only way to upload to some photo account?

Ok, lets try this again....
Umm as for critiquing, I'm really new so I'm unsure of terms and definitions about what looks good and what could be improved on. I like the shot however, I feel the left edge *car could've been cropped out?

Here's mine:





Gordonvale, QLD Australia


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## Dreadgirl2 (Jul 3, 2008)

I'm a noob too, but I'll give it a shot. I like the compostion, but I think it's a little light and needs a tad more color.

This is my first time posting. Here's one of my daughter at the park climbing up the slide.


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## mamarazzi_hrd (Jul 3, 2008)

alby - it was taken at Shell Island in Panama City Beach, Florida. It was so cool how the water was coming in between the rocks, the bay/ocean is just on the other side of those rocks.......it was a beautiful place!


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## alby (Jul 3, 2008)

Dreadgirl2, nice picture! Her eyes are beautiful. definitely worthy of framing and putting on top of the mantle =]

my photo:


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## saranwrap82 (Jul 3, 2008)

i like how you captured the water in this picture, sometimes can be tricky to get it to turn out well but looks like you pulled it off! Good Job!!






this is a picture i took on my first day shooting with my camera!


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## montyb1990 (Jul 3, 2008)

Ya!  I also loveee water pictures and sometimes they can be really hard to do.  I also really like the out of focus bench in the background!

Here's my contribution:


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## Chewbecca (Jul 3, 2008)

saranwrap82 said:


> i like how you captured the water in this picture, sometimes can be tricky to get it to turn out well but looks like you pulled it off! Good Job!!
> 
> 
> 
> ...




I really like this shot. Three very distracting things for me, though:  The pole going diagonally through the picture, the cable wire on the right, and the sign that is between the pole and the cable.
If there was a way to remove those, I think it'd be a great(er) shot!:mrgreen:


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## Chewbecca (Jul 3, 2008)

montyb1990 said:


> Ya!  I also loveee water pictures and sometimes they can be really hard to do.  I also really like the out of focus bench in the background!
> 
> Here's my contribution:



Nice, clear shot, but there is too much flash glare on the box.  And if it's not from the camera flash, then it's some kind of light that is directly glaring on it.


Here's one I took today of inside an old barn/shed.


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## alby (Jul 3, 2008)

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/member.php?u=30609montyb1990, thank you for noticing the bench! I shot it from this angle for that very reason. I call it "Drowning in Loneliness" =]


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## Bamb00 (Jul 3, 2008)

Cool, that looks like somewhere me and my friends might wander into.
Can't really see anything....but i still like it.

well..:


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## montyb1990 (Jul 4, 2008)

alby said:


> montyb1990, thank you for noticing the bench! I shot it from this angle for that very reason. I call it "Drowning in Loneliness" =]



Haha!  I really like that name for that photo.  I love DOF and what is sometimes hidden in the out of focus part of the picture. 

I kind of like this picture for the same reason.  Maybe it would have been better with the focus on the water and the bridge out of focus?  I still really like it!


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## andrew99 (Jul 4, 2008)

Cool idea for a thread!

Monty:  I'm not sure what the subject of your photo is.  I see some water which is a bit out of focus, and I see what looks like part of the roof of a hut.  Maybe if you had moved to a different position to make it more clear what is the main subject, it would be a stronger photo.

Anyway, here is a shot of my uncle while he was here on vacation:


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## Rosh (Jul 4, 2008)

alright so i'm new to this and i'm not sure if i can offer any real good advice to your picture andrew99. it looks like a well framed shot to me, nice DOF.

here is one of my shots:


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## Joves (Jul 4, 2008)

Hmmm! Well the White Balance appears to be off and, is this like a talk to the hand thing? It is somewhat amusing though.
Well since this is supposed to be beginning shots. I will use a pic from my first digital camera the Collpix995.


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## Rosh (Jul 4, 2008)

could you elaborate on your comment? i'm not sure what you mean by white balance is off.


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## Joves (Jul 4, 2008)

The natural light is giving a yellow cast to the picture.


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## InSeitProductions (Jul 5, 2008)

Heres mine


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## Freedbaby (Jul 6, 2008)

I think the colors are very pretty, you did a nice job exposing the shot. I think it would have been more attractive to crop in a bit more and make it a landscape shot, the portrait style doesn't do much for me.

Here is mine, I shot this with a Sigma 50mm F2.8 macro that I just got. After my wife and I had a couple glasses of wine on the back patio I found myself laying in the wet flower bed on my stomach trying to Feel Froggy!!  No PP yet on this one.





Freedbaby


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## BuZzZeRkEr (Jul 6, 2008)

Cool thread, I wanna play!

Freedbaby,
Cool pic, but as far as comp your subject is dead center and your WB and historgram is pretty off, but easily fixed in PP.  Good exposure and focus.

Here's my first shot of an HDR of a building structure..taken a coupel days before the 4th.  Oh and please pardon the WaterMark....I know its huge and invasive.


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## Blackbelt94 (Jul 6, 2008)

what can i say i love the picture maybe a little less exposure would better suit it sorry if thats not very good critque, anyways here's mine,


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## InSeitProductions (Jul 7, 2008)

Nie Shot, I Jst feel it is a little to WHITE between the tower and the Wall on the bottom left side it just kind of took all my attention there

Here goes again


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## TamiyaGuy (Jul 7, 2008)

Very nice. The composition is good: About 1/3rd water, a third trees, and a third sky, and the reflections look wonderful as well, perfectly mimmicking the sky.


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## Mamamilkies (Jul 7, 2008)

I like this shot! I think the focus could be a little better and the red thing on the right is distracting. Maybe a different angle and faster shutter speed? 

Here's mine, my daughter Isabella. The light last night was just super awesome!


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## andrew99 (Jul 7, 2008)

Mamamilkies - That is a beautiful shot! My only suggestion is to do a little curves adjustment for more dramatic contrast, slight crop to remove the dead space on the left and bring her face more into the rule of thirds, and remove the black speck on her chin.. Hope you don't mind me posting an edited version of your photo, to show what I mean:





Also I would try not to cut off her hands.  But all of this is subjective, your original photo is excellent!


For one of mine -- this is more about PP, I was going for a sort of Dave Hill look on this one, let me know what you think.  I was thinking about printing some large copies and giving them to family members, but I'm not sure about the processing, maybe I should give them the original instead?


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## Chewbecca (Jul 7, 2008)

I think it's a great family shot, but what's the original look like?
I'm not quite sure what I think about the fact that the shadow on the pink shirt of the person in front of her is visible, that's why I ask to see the original.


I got out the other day to take a bunch of pictures and my husband brought me to this local tunnel that goes under the bridge of the river near us.
This is one of many graffiti shots I got.


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## Ejazzle (Jul 7, 2008)

good use if the rule of thirds. it looks like its a little under exposed. 


heres mine


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## andrew99 (Jul 7, 2008)

Chewbecca said:


> I think it's a great family shot, but what's the original look like? I'm not quite sure what I think about the fact that the shadow on the pink shirt of the person in front of her is visible, that's why I ask to see the original.


Thanks Chewbecca -- to avoid hijacking the thread, I created a new thread under the galleries section.  Both versions are there:  *http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=129791

*Regarding your grafiti photo - It is a tad dark, maybe a brighter exposure would be good, did you use flash?  On camera flash would be tough for that one.  Also it is slightly out of alignment .. I would either shoot it straight on and straight as possible, or from a 45 degree angle... Being a little bit off is kind of awkward.  Also you could try crouching down and shooting up and try for some different looks.


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## Chewbecca (Jul 7, 2008)

andrew99 said:


> Thanks Chewbecca -- to avoid hijacking the thread, I created a new thread under the galleries section.  Both versions are there:  *http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=129791
> 
> *Regarding your grafiti photo - It is a tad dark, maybe a brighter exposure would be good, did you use flash?  On camera flash would be tough for that one.  Also it is slightly out of alignment .. I would either shoot it straight on and straight as possible, or from a 45 degree angle... Being a little bit off is kind of awkward.  Also you could try crouching down and shooting up and try for some different looks.




Shot it in a dark tunnel, on my tripod, no flash, looong exposure (I think).
hm, maybe it's my monitor, but it doesn't appear too dark.  I mean, I can see in the left corner how it might appear slightly underexposed (is that where you all see it looking underexposed, or is the entire picture underexposed?), but not the entire thing.  I can mess with it in bibble and lighten it up some.
You don't care for that angle?  hm, I guess it could appear awkward.:mrgreen:
It was one of the last shots I took that day and I shot with my sigma 10-20mm and I'm still trying different angles with that lens (LOVE that lens, it's SO fun).  But I plan on going back because there's SOO MUCH graffiti in that tunnel to photograph, so I will definitely try a lower shot of that face.
I love that face and I was rather fascinated with it.


Ejazzle-
That photo is awesome.  I thinks it great and I personally think you should print it (if you haven't already).
I had this thread open and my husband walked by and stopped just to look at that picture and was wowwed by it as well.


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## Chewbecca (Jul 7, 2008)

oops, forgot to add one of mine.
Now, I KNOW I break rules with this picture, but I couldn't pass this up.  
I took different shots of it at different angles, but it was difficult to get the damn thing photographed correctly because the sun was shining RIGHT ON IT on its right side.
I love it (the subject, that is), though.


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## BoblyBill (Jul 7, 2008)

Hmmmm... I'm not sure I see the point in this picture to be honest. I'm pretty sure that the focus is on the lighter colored root that forms:
o
m.

But that doesn't keep my interest for long. You did a great job on the focus and exposure just lacks an interesting subject.

Have at it:


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## Chewbecca (Jul 7, 2008)

Nothing wrong with this, that I can tell, but I think the sky could have been brought out a little more either via use of a filter or in PP.  Maybe saturate the colors just a little?  A VERY little.  But that's just my personal preference and it could be wrong.

For my pic, yeah, that was more a pic for myself, I shouldn't have posted that for C&C.
And it's not that it forms an "O" and an "M", it's that when I first saw it, it looked like a little person that had grown out of the tree, but was in a "dead" position.
I should go back and reshoot him at a different time.

More from the graffiti tunnel (sorry, they're my most recent shots).


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## Ejazzle (Jul 7, 2008)

Chewbecca- thanks! glad you like it! where can you get stuff printed? i dont know how big i should get it either........ 


i really really like the above picture, its not over or underexposed and the tunnel leads ight to the light. looks awesome!


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## mtnman2888 (Jul 7, 2008)

Here is mine (I don't feel that i'm qualified to critique anyone!):


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## MyNameIsChris (Jul 8, 2008)

I like the bokeh in your picture, but it needs some cropping of some sort. And maybe add a little bit of saturation? just thoughts...

I'm not really that new to photography anymore, so I'll post an older picture of mine.
Have at it:


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## MyNameIsChris (Jul 8, 2008)

I don't know if it's too soon... but I'll *BUMP *it anyways =]


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## TamiyaGuy (Jul 8, 2008)

Mamamilkies said:


> I like this shot! I think the focus could be a little better and the red thing on the right is distracting. Maybe a different angle and faster shutter speed?


 Thanks! I deliberately used a slower shutter speed so I could try some panning effects, and the thing on the right is the rope. I was still using a really fast SS, 1/500 I think. You'll be amazed at how fast they go! As for position, I'm not sure much could've been done about that. I squeezed in between 2 jumps; a bit hairy when the 1.5kg Nitros are flying past you! 


MyNameIsChris said:


> I'm not really that new to photography anymore, so I'll post an older picture of mine.
> Have at it:


 Very well done; yet again, basic composition rules are adhered to (not saying that in a patronising way, you'd be amazed at how many people completely forget it). The subject is also interesting; it's a bit more than a huge green field. However, I think that the image could've been made much better if it was turned into an HDR image; the foregrounds is ever so slightly underexposed, and most of the sky is blown out.


Here's another, sorry if I'm posting too quickly (see a pattern here? :greenpbl


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## MyNameIsChris (Jul 8, 2008)

Yes, I agree that it would have made a great HDR image, but I didn't even know HDR existed when I took that picture haha 

I think this picture is much better than the last one you posted. The car is in focus and I like the angle.


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## Blackbelt94 (Jul 9, 2008)




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## DaytonLax14 (Jul 9, 2008)

you did a great job with the red pedals but i feel like the picture could be cropped more. Maybe if you could crop it so the house isn't in the backround would make it look a lot better in my opinion.


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## jrwillden (Jul 10, 2008)

I like the tree quite a bit but I think a little more could be in focus.









I realize the background is way off but I like her...


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## AmberBella (Jul 10, 2008)

She's purty! Very nice composition. You could have used a fill flash here (as if I know how to properly use a fill flash!)

I'm about to show my weak point! Landscapes.  I stink.  Help!


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## lia.j.wu (Jul 10, 2008)

Personally, I feel that picture is caught between landscape and a portrait of the seagulls.  It seems that there was not much sun on the day that it was taken. If it was me I would have taken the picture from further away with a stronger anchor (of if I had, used the seagulls as the anchor), either on the top left corner with 1/3 of the picture as the ocean or at the right lower corner with 2/3 of the ocean.

Hope I was able to help a bit.

Here is mine:





Focus is lacking D:


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## lia.j.wu (Jul 10, 2008)

Justifiable, but do you not feel that the composition would be lost if that was done?

EDIT: What happened to the post above me? D:


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## Kimberly81 (Jul 10, 2008)

lia.j.wu said:


> Personally, I feel that picture is caught between landscape and a portrait of the seagulls.  It seems that there was not much sun on the day that it was taken. If it was me I would have taken the picture from further away with a stronger anchor (of if I had, used the seagulls as the anchor), either on the top left corner with 1/3 of the picture as the ocean or at the right lower corner with 2/3 of the ocean.
> 
> Hope I was able to help a bit.
> 
> ...



Gorgeous photo, not sure that I am qualified to properly critique anyone but my first impression other than it being beautiful was perhaps the color was a bit bright and could be a little softer?  I know nothing lol

Here is mine of my daughter Alexandria:


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## AmberBella (Jul 10, 2008)

lia.j.wu said:


> Personally, I feel that picture is caught between landscape and a portrait of the seagulls.  It seems that there was not much sun on the day that it was taken. If it was me I would have taken the picture from further away with a stronger anchor (of if I had, used the seagulls as the anchor), either on the top left corner with 1/3 of the picture as the ocean or at the right lower corner with 2/3 of the ocean.



Yup...very cloudy day in Santa Monica that day and yes, very helpful comments!


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## BoblyBill (Jul 15, 2008)

Edit... I was critquing the wrong photo... 

I really like this shot. This would have been a difficult shot to get both the background (which is blown out) and the subject (which is exposed perfectly) to be exposed correctly without a nice flash unit. I'm not sure what you have, but a little fill flash might have givin you the chance to get the background and subject exposed correctly.

Here's an old one of mine (2006):
1.


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## Blackbelt94 (Jul 15, 2008)

nice picture perhaps a little out of focus ( or maybe you were just a little close) but great photo.


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## uplander (Jul 15, 2008)

Blackbelt94 said:


> nice picture perhaps a little out of focus ( or maybe you were just a little close) but great photo.


I like what you were trying for here but it came out overexposed in the upper right hand corner. I would have tried spot metering the shot and then I would have done an AEB of this and then found out what worked the best . Chances are they have all failed , but the fun is in trying
Here's shot for the next critique.


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## Pokeguyjai (Jul 15, 2008)

I'm a noob with no right to slam your pic uplander, but rules are rules :mrgreen:

I think if you were able to zoom in a little more that would have been nice. Also if you maybe made the image a little darker? The bird is a very vibrant yellow so I'm sure a faster shutter speed would've been OK. Looking at the background, it looked like a pretty dark and grim day anyway, maybe a darker picture would've been a more interesting/grim mood? 

Very nice pic though, I love the blurred background. I had to think for 5 minutes before I came up with anything to say in my critique so sorry if it sounds desperate :mrgreen:

Heres my pic: 






I took this picture of my friend when he and I were at the range shooting. I mainly want to focus my photography skills on action shots like these, so any tips on how to take better photos will be greatly appreciated.


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## Jen Puleo (Jul 15, 2008)

I'm new to this.  I haven't critiqued a photo in about 15 years either.  I'd prefer to see your friends face.  I don't like the roll of tape & box of bullets sitting on the shelf either.  It just looks messy, maybe a different placement of them.  And the green box is cut off.  Little things.  Otherwise the color is good, very even.

Here's mine


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## zandman (Jul 16, 2008)

Jen Puleo said:


> I'm new to this. I haven't critiqued a photo in about 15 years either. I'd prefer to see your friends face. I don't like the roll of tape & box of bullets sitting on the shelf either. It just looks messy, maybe a different placement of them. And the green box is cut off. Little things. Otherwise the color is good, very even.
> 
> Here's mine


 
looks so dead for me, it's like a movie without emotion.


here's mine, critique harsh:


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## Pokeguyjai (Jul 16, 2008)

zandman said:


> looks so dead for me, it's like a movie without emotion.
> 
> 
> here's mine, critique harsh:



Set your aperature value a higher and focus a little better. Lighting could be better.


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## TamiyaGuy (Jul 16, 2008)

I agree, either flash or a larger aperture (lower F-number) would've helped, it's slightly blurred. Still, the colours are spectacular there.

I'll try to post one that's NOT of a car this time ... here we go.


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## Bifurcator (Jul 16, 2008)

Awesome idea for a thread!



TamiyaGuy said:


> I'll try to post one that's NOT of a car this time ... here we go.



It's just a tad too washed (light). It's not over exposed but some processing could help.  Maybe open Levels and bring the center slider to 80 or 85 and then reduce some of the contrast in B&C. 

As for framing it's quite centered but the slight angle of the plant helps as well as the uneven luminosity of the BG. 

Focus and DOF are nearly perfect - There's something soft happening with his back though. I guess you were working very close and that's the outer edge of your DOF range (?).

For the subject content it leaves us wanting more which is good but maybe it's leaving us wanting just a tad too much. How long is he? Is he eating (it's not readily apparent till you look for awhile), Is that another guy on the other side of the leaf or his butt? Questions that can be answered by thinking but it helps a photo sometimes if they're answered in image by reference or what ever..

I only focused on the possible negatives though. Overall the image is excellent. It there were a number scale to rating these (1 to 10 where 10 was the best) I guess it would be something like a 7.8 ~ 8.2 and the processing I mentioned would IMO easily ensure the higher 8 mark.

OK, a bug for a bug. Here's mine: (be strong, be honest)







Unprocessed Image Of A Semi (in Jap) Cicada (in Eng). Cropped and scaled only.​

.


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## Battou (Jul 16, 2008)

The incect is interesting and in focus, the bokeh is smooth. 

The Horison is heavilly tilded and you did not leave enough space for corping to correct this, The framing leaves an excess of dead space to the sides, Vertical framing may have been a better choice in this one.







full size
Fully processed, exposure information contained within frame
Originally posted 12-02-2007


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## Bifurcator (Jul 16, 2008)

Pretty good critique! You missed where it said it was already cropped though and the camera is actually level - with my house (BG) being at a perspective angle which you can tell from the vertical lines of the window (maybe ). Or I could have misunderstood you.




Battou said:


> The incect is interesting and in focus, the bokeh is smooth.
> 
> The Horison is heavilly tilded and you did not leave enough space for corping to correct this, The framing leaves an excess of dead space to the sides, Vertical framing may have been a better choice in this one.



This is an interesting and provocative message so it gets points up front for that. The contrast is extreme. Both ends (darks and lights) are severely blown out. A little more on-angle would provide better item recognition but it's not too bad - after a few seconds of looking I can tell it's a shberiken. The throwing dart is obvious and leads to the recognition of that - the star.

Here's mine in return:








Hit me - oh yeah!


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## Battou (Jul 16, 2008)

Bifurcator said:


> Pretty good critique! You missed where it said it was already cropped though and the camera is actually level - with my house (BG) being at a perspective angle which you can tell from the vertical lines of the window (maybe ). Or I could have misunderstood you.


Yup I missed that about the crop....

As I use it the word horizon does not necessarily apply to the lines at witch the ground meets the sky as the camera stands, but in relation to the lines where ground meets the sky as the subject stands.



Bifurcator said:


> This is an interesting and provocative message so it gets points up front for that. The contrast is extreme. Both ends (darks and lights) are severely blown out. A little more on-angle would provide better item recognition but it's not too bad - after a few seconds of looking I can tell it's a shberiken. The throwing dart is obvious and leads to the recognition of that - the star.



Did you view the full size copy? Resize for forum suppressed the tonal range with that one.

Sadly, I have no insight to sky pictures, I'll leave that to the next person.


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## Bifurcator (Jul 16, 2008)

Yeah, I pretty much never go off forum. Just whatever is posted.  I don't look when someone posts a link to off-site stuff either. Not sure why or why not... Just haven't for the most part.  I looked at it now tho. It's a tad better on your site mostly I think due to the larger area of the middle-toned film leader. 

I really like the forethought and planning that went into creating the message! And the message itself is strong. It's like the end of the argument by force if must be. Hehehe


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## zandman (Jul 16, 2008)

Bifurcator said:


> OK, a bug for a bug. Here's mine: (be strong, be honest)


 
i'm gonna miss those cicadas...
they've been here last year, and be back after 17yrs so.

about my photo, yea i know, it's really blurred, if you're broke and can't afford a macro lens, you just gotta do what you gotta do you know, :lmao:

here's another from me, shot from hot import nights, (KT SO)





i'm trying to learn how to do concert/show photography so the photo is no that kinda good so critiques and comments would help.


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## Bifurcator (Jul 16, 2008)

I like it! 

I can't crit the model for sure - too yummy!

Mostly the framing is off for fashion type stuff. This is a mistake I always make too. I get personally interested in the models themselves (for the obvious reasons) and I aim for the face. I hope it means we're less monsters than others naturally aiming elsewhere.   But these kinda shots (unless they're modeling a necklace or something) usually need to be full body - including shoes and a little floor.

This isn't your fault but whoever set up the stage wasn't good at their job or didn't have a good environment to work with. There's not supposed to be a shadow catching backdrop behind the models. Right? Don't we usually see them walking out onto a peninsula? (And elevated for proper full-body shots - A good walk usually places the model's waste-line at head level.)  

When there are curtains, backdrops, whatever, a good idea is to pick a good place on the back drop, wait for the model to pass through those area(s) and then shoot a burst. A camera that maintains it's tracking points between shots or during bursts might be useful but I wonder how many photographers just use manual and preset the camera for the area they're shooting?

Focus looks good at this size (perfect to me). And exposure looks great too!

So that's it - besides framing and flash shadows, great image!

-- 
Here's my image in return:

Whoever crits it please be extra harsh and discerning!!!






​


Hit me! Oh Yeah!


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## zandman (Jul 16, 2008)

Bifurcator said:


> I like it!
> 
> I can't crit the model for sure - too yummy!


 
heck yea, who wouldn't like KT SO?? i'm gonna go to the nightshift JUST for her, not the cars, lol

it's not really a stage, i just asked her to stand up and take a picture of her, she's on an autograph signing booth that's why i wasn't able to take a whole body shot cuz of the table blocking her knees down.


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## Bifurcator (Jul 17, 2008)

Oh OK, The images makes more sense to me now. The pose looked like maybe it was a stage performance etc.


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## icassell (Jul 17, 2008)

Bifurcator,

I like the composition alot, but the color seems a bit washed-out (building and sky). You might try saturating a wee-bit.  Were you using a polarizer?

How's this one?


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## Bifurcator (Jul 17, 2008)

more like this:







​



or different yet?


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## bullitt453 (Jul 17, 2008)

@ icassell
I really like the angle and composition of the shot.  The sky seems a bit noisy and blotchy, but that could be due to compression at photobucket.

Here's my first image posted to TPF.  Was just tinkering in my yard and experimenting with RAW processing. (click image for full size version)


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## TamiyaGuy (Jul 17, 2008)

Bifurcator said:


> It's just a tad too washed (light). It's not over exposed but some processing could help. Maybe open Levels and bring the center slider to 80 or 85 and then reduce some of the contrast in B&C.
> 
> As for framing it's quite centered but the slight angle of the plant helps as well as the uneven luminosity of the BG.
> 
> ...


Thanks very much! Very interesting how you thought there was too much contrast in the image; I actually used Unsharp Mask on the caterpillar. Obviously, I was only experimenting, hence the "softness" on his back (bad selection by me ).

I understand about what you mean in the questions part. I actually took a couple of other photos of it, and the almost reflection of the bug is actually another caterpillar. Still, thanks a lot! I might post the original, if you're interested...


To Bullit: A nice image in my opinion. the depth of field is nice: blurs the background well, but you can still see what's going on. The bokeh is a bit ugly, though, in the branches. Also, I think the flower is a little too off-center. I understand what you were trying to do, I just think you may have done it a tad too much.

Alright, enough negative comments ^_^.

From where I look at it, the colour is damn near perfect. The flowers are a vivid purple, and the white edges of the flower (was it the sunlight or the actual plant?) help define the edges. Also, while the background bokeh is a bit weird, the background exposure is fantastic. Well done! I think you've seen enough of my god-awful images, so I'll leave someone else to post .


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## bullitt453 (Jul 17, 2008)

TamiyaGuy said:


> To Bullit: A nice image in my opinion. the depth of field is nice: blurs the background well, but you can still see what's going on. The bokeh is a bit ugly, though, in the branches. Also, I think the flower is a little too off-center. I understand what you were trying to do, I just think you may have done it a tad too much.
> 
> Alright, enough negative comments ^_^.
> 
> From where I look at it, the colour is damn near perfect. The flowers are a vivid purple, and the white edges of the flower (was it the sunlight or the actual plant?) help define the edges. Also, while the background bokeh is a bit weird, the background exposure is fantastic. Well done! I think you've seen enough of my god-awful images, so I'll leave someone else to post .


Thanks for the feedback!  I completely agree with everything you said.  The bokeh is horrible, but it was taken with the 18-70 kit lens, so I didn't expect too much.  The bloom was in total shade and the white edges are just part of the plant.  This was more of a RAW processing experiment than anything else.  I gotta say, I am now hooked on shooting in RAW.  This image looked horrible in JPEG. :lmao:


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## NateS (Jul 17, 2008)

Since no picture was left after last critique I'll throw one up of mine.


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## lov2click (Jul 17, 2008)

I don't know of any way that you could make your photo better, it looks great to me. Perfect clarity on the main subject and the beautiful blue water in the background looks nice.
Here's mine it's just a shot of my husband riding last weekend.


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## rocktronx (Jul 17, 2008)

Great Capture, I love the rooster tail filling the right side of the frame. The only thing I can think of to improve it would be to crop it a little tighter. Great shot though congrats. Heres mine. Let me know what you think.


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## icassell (Jul 17, 2008)

Bifurcator said:


> more like this




Yes, I like that better.


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## icassell (Jul 17, 2008)

bullitt453 said:


> @ icassell
> I really like the angle and composition of the shot.  The sky seems a bit noisy and blotchy, but that could be due to compression at photobucket.



Yes, I believe most of the blotchiness is a photobucket effect -- looks different here than the original.


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## bullitt453 (Jul 17, 2008)

@rocktronX
That is a beautiful picture.  Really like the angle and lighting.  Only thing I can suggest would be to clone out the small visible section above the fret board.  The bass strings really lead my eye through the photo, but I end up stopping right there for some reason.  Other than that, bravo my friend.  And you're a fellow North Carolinian!  lol

OK.  Here's another of mine.  This one was shot with a 10 year old 3.2mp Olympus Camedia P&S.


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## rocktronx (Jul 17, 2008)

bullitt453 said:


> @rocktronX
> Only thing I can suggest would be to clone out the small visible section above the fret board. The bass strings really lead my eye through the photo, but I end up stopping right there for some reason.


 Thanks for the input. That's something I would'nt have thought of. Oh love the car btw.


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## joislpd264 (Jul 17, 2008)

I want to play.....but I am so new I am not sure how to put the pic on the site.  Can anyone help?  Please???  I really want to play......I find these threads very interesting.


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## bullitt453 (Jul 17, 2008)

joislpd264 said:


> I want to play.....but I am so new I am not sure how to put the pic on the site.  Can anyone help?  Please???  I really want to play......I find these threads very interesting.


Host your image on Photobucket, flickr, or something like that.  Then, place the direct URL to that image inbetween image (img) tags.  Your finished result would look like this.





on edit:
better yet, read Corry's write up on how to post images.


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## Resin42 (Jul 17, 2008)

Love the car pic, the colour's fantastic and in all honesty I wouldn't change much. If pushed I'd say crop it along the top of the tyres as that's kinda dead space and maybe clone out some of the staining on the pavement as it distracts the eye but these are only minor niggles. Good job.

Here's mine titled "Redemption Lies Beyond"


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## joislpd264 (Jul 17, 2008)

I think I figured this out....this is one of the first photos I've ever taken. Critique away because I want to learn as much as I can. Thanks in advance (I think 

Redemption Lies Beyond is very beautiful. I am not sure what I am critiquing but I really like the photo....I like the way the clouds show depth....I hope that is right. I just like it alot.....can you tell I am really new?


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## uplander (Jul 17, 2008)

I like this pic and I like birds and shoot them often.
Overall the shot is very nice. What bothers me is the lack of sharp detail. Either this is a rather severe crop with a so so lens, or a not so sharp lens or your settings are just off.

here's another duck shot, Let me know what you think


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## zandman (Jul 18, 2008)

uplander, that's one photogenic duck you got there, lol
the water that detailed the duck is awesome.


did somebody said duck?


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## TamiyaGuy (Jul 18, 2008)

Heheh, I really like that. At first I would've said to crop it a bit, but the background (boats?) just helps break up the lines a little, and the same with the chain. I also like the confused pose of the goose .

Well, seems we've got a theme. *crosses fingers for cute vote*. Ah, sorry about the watermark, it was from another thread of mine.


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## zandman (Jul 18, 2008)

yea, boats are missing cuz that place is far from the yacht garage, it's like on the other side of the lake. and it's still cold that time.


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## bullitt453 (Jul 18, 2008)

@ TamiyaGuy
Nice shot.  Really like the colors and soft DOF.  Only recommendation I could make would be to crop a little more of the foreground grass out.

Battery sunset at Charleston, SC.


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## Resin42 (Jul 18, 2008)

I love this, the sky's gorgeous and there's a tiny bit of refraction on the right hand side which makes it for me. The only thing I could say is there's a lot of black in the bottom right, If you're unable to retain a bit of detail with fill light you could maybe crop an inch off the bottom.

Here's another.


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## bullitt453 (Jul 18, 2008)

@ Resin42
Nice!!!!!  I love industrial type shots.  This one has a very grungy, hard work feel.  I generally like the tail end of vehicles to be against the side of the image, but having this one heading out of the frame works.  Good job.

Another old shot with the 3.2mp P&S.  This is several years old.


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## icassell (Jul 18, 2008)

I like that one, bullitt, but my eye keeps hunting ... it seems that a focal point is missing. I'm not sure where to go with that.

How about this one?


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## NateS (Jul 18, 2008)

Very neat and nice how it goes on forever.  I don't care for the pole with the 10mph sign, so I'd suggest cutting it down next time   Everything else is very nice and I like how it's not centered like these types of photos often are.

Here's mine (I was going for the soft glow look which is not really my style)


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## bullitt453 (Jul 18, 2008)

Nice shot Nate.  Seems a little soft and a touch over-exposed, but I love shots of children so who cares!  lol

Speaking of kids, here's an old shot of my youngest son.  I know, I know.  The picnic table ruins it, but I really like this shot (aside from that blasted table!).  This is when I had first started getting into photography in the least bit.


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## NateS (Jul 18, 2008)

A little soft, probably due to the movement, but you captured the fun he was having so I really like it.

Here's my next one (I had to set the timer cause he only does that when I'm not looking)


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## TamiyaGuy (Jul 18, 2008)

I do like that photo, it's very interesting. In my opinion, though, the blur is a bit too much. On the other hand, it concentrates me on the boy's face, which is good. The exposure is nice; it keeps detail in the highlights without distracting you from the shadows. By the way, thanks for the comment on my photo. Do you mean turn it into a panoramic-style photo? I wouldn't be able to keep the 3:2 aspect ratio without cropping mother duck off .


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## bullitt453 (Jul 18, 2008)

hahaha.  Nice Integra Nate.  I like the grave yard in the back.


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## bullitt453 (Jul 18, 2008)

@ TamiyaGuy
Yes, I meant turn it into more of a 16:9 ratio. Also, I really like that Mini shot. I've never tried my hand at panning. You did a good job of that here.


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## icassell (Jul 18, 2008)

NateS said:


> Very neat and nice how it goes on forever.  I don't care for the pole with the 10mph sign, so I'd suggest cutting it down next time   Everything else is very nice and I like how it's not centered like these types of photos often are.[/IMG]




Thanks!  ... starts up the chain saw ...


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## adrock2001 (Jul 18, 2008)

Hello everyone. This is my first post here, and I'm an uber noob, but I'll give this a shot. I like the picture in-general, but I wish there were a little more light to get that rally blue to pop, ya know? It's one of my favorite colors on cars.

Here's my contribution:


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## TamiyaGuy (Jul 18, 2008)

bullitt453 said:


> @ TamiyaGuy
> Yes, I meant turn it into more of a 16:9 ratio. Also, I really like that Mini shot. I've never tried my hand at panning. You did a good job of that here.


 Thanks for that. It helps boost my somewhat low confidence in photography by people saying that 

To Nates: Wow, that is some really good image editing! Why aren't you working at Pixar?

And Bullitt, that is a nice Shelby. A 60's Cobra, is it? I recognise the shape from _Gran Turismo 2_.


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## icassell (Jul 18, 2008)

adrock2001 said:


> Hello everyone. This is my first post here, and I'm an uber noob, but I'll give this a shot. I like the picture in-general, but I wish there were a little more light to get that rally blue to pop, ya know? It's one of my favorite colors on cars.
> 
> Here's my contribution:



I'm at work, so I don't have another to contribute right now but...

To get that blue to pop, consider getting yourself a polarizing filter.  It can do wonders with a boring sky.


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## adrock2001 (Jul 18, 2008)

heh  I would, but I use my phone to take these pictures.  No budget at the moment for a nice DSLR yet, but one day.  I have a Samsung SGH-G800 5mp Camera phone with tons of settings I can change, but it's by no means a professional level camera.  Thanks for the education though.  It'll be on my "list of things to buy" when I get a true pro level camera.


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## bullitt453 (Jul 18, 2008)

TamiyaGuy said:


> And Bullitt, that is a nice Shelby. A 60's Cobra, is it? I recognise the shape from _Gran Turismo 2_.


 It is a Factory 5 replica of a '65 Shelby Daytona Coupe. :thumbup:


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## johan.sie (Jul 18, 2008)

how about this  just started out a month ago ..







thanks guys


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## rocktronx (Jul 18, 2008)

That is an absolutely gorgeous capture. The color is perfect. the only thing I coud even think of to improve it would be if the DOF was set to keep all the flowers in focus with the girl fading away. anyway I love it. Congrats

This is my first attempt at an over exposure and Im excited to see how I did. Beat me up pretty good on this one people, I'll appreciate it.


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## rocktronx (Jul 18, 2008)

adrock2001 said:


> heh I would, but I use my phone to take these pictures. No budget at the moment for a nice DSLR yet, but one day. I have a Samsung SGH-G800 5mp Camera phone with tons of settings I can change, but it's by no means a professional level camera. Thanks for the education though. It'll be on my "list of things to buy" when I get a true pro level camera.


 
Looks like the camera phone is getting the job done. If you get desperate enough though you could hold the filters in front of the lense and get the same effect.


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## joislpd264 (Jul 19, 2008)

> I like this pic and I like birds and shoot them often. Overall the shot is very nice. What bothers me is the lack of sharp detail. Either this is a rather severe crop with a so so lens, or a not so sharp lens or your settings are just off.


 
Okay, I don't understand....How can you telll just by looking at that pic that those were the things that might have happened? Your first assessment is correct.....I did crop it...but I don't know how to do anything else so this is the only thing I have. I thought it looked good but how were you able to distinguish the things you talked about? Thanks in advance for the advice.


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## joislpd264 (Jul 19, 2008)

she's beautiful!  I love the way the eyes stand out so vividly.  I am not sure what to critique but I think you did a wonderful job and it does not seem too overexposed to me.   okay, here is one that i took at a state park in north carolina.


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## Resin42 (Jul 19, 2008)

The crop on this one is slightly tight for my taste, I'd rather see a bit more of the scene as there's no immediate point of interest to grab the eye. I'm not sure if you were going for a slow shutter speed, milky water type shot but there is an element of that. Maybe a slower shutter speed and a smaller aperture would get more of that effect while cutting down on the blown highlights, (I'm yet to try this myself so I couldn't tell you where abouts you would set these at). I do like the shadows on the rocks although they could be sharper. Sorry if this all seems harsh, just my opinion. 

This one is untouched by photoshop except for the resize and border.


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## joislpd264 (Jul 19, 2008)

Resin42 
No longer a newbie, moving up!



 

Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Posts: 28 

*My Photos Are OK to Edit*


The crop on this one is slightly tight for my taste, I'd rather see a bit more of the scene as there's no immediate point of interest to grab the eye. I'm not sure if you were going for a slow shutter speed, milky water type shot but there is an element of that. Maybe a slower shutter speed and a smaller aperture would get more of that effect while cutting down on the blown highlights, (I'm yet to try this myself so I couldn't tell you where abouts you would set these at). I do like the shadows on the rocks although they could be sharper. Sorry if this all seems harsh, just my opinion.


Okay, I am so new at this I don't really understand most of what you discussed   I just took the picture, I guess the camera was on automatic and I just cropped it.  I really appreciate the feedback and learn more with each photo. 

I lilke your photo and again really don't know what I am supposed to be looking for but I immediatley focus on the light through the trees.  I don't think it's too bright or too dark and I like the contrast from the left side of the photo which appears darker and the right side that looks like new leaves. 

Here is one taken also in North Carolina.  I just took the picture and cropped it.  I haven't done anything else to the photo and am eagerly awaiting feedback.  Thanks


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## rocktronx (Jul 19, 2008)

I could tell rite away that was a North Carolina tree. The exposier loocks great to me but the photo is so busy it may have popped a bit more if you would have used a shallow depth of field to create a solid focal point. It's really good to see a piece of home on here though. Thanks

Heres one that should be easy to critique. Can any of the carolina people tell where this is?


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## joislpd264 (Jul 19, 2008)

Wow, I don't know where this is in North Carolina but it is beautiful!  I live in Florida and was visiting your beautiful state when I took that photo.  I don't see anything but beauty in your photo and love the way the colors fade, especially the sky!  Makes me wish I would have went to that part of N.C.  

Unfortunatley, I cannot remember where I took this photo but I think it was in Germany.  Critique away!  I am new to this site and am hooked on this thread already.


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## Crazydad (Jul 19, 2008)

New to this site and just rediscovering photgraphy. Very nice picture from Germany, I especially like the fog on the right.

Here's my submission. IA little grainy, but had to set at ISO1600 since it was handheld. Max aperture and shutter speed of 1/2. Gotta love VR!!!!


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## bullitt453 (Jul 19, 2008)

Pretty nice shot Crazydad.  I think it would be better without the people in the shot, however, this is still a nice capture.  Good job.


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## Crazydad (Jul 19, 2008)

Thanks. You are right about the people, but unfortunately there is little chance of that happening at Disney!


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## bullitt453 (Jul 20, 2008)

Crazydad said:


> Thanks. You are right about the people, but unfortunately there is little chance of that happening at Disney!


Ah, that is Epcot, isn't it.  Didn't even notice that at first.  I have a similar shot as well, except in day time.  lol.


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## Bifurcator (Jul 20, 2008)

TamiyaGuy said:


> Thanks very much! Very interesting how you thought there was too much contrast in the image; I actually used Unsharp Mask on the caterpillar. Obviously, I was only experimenting, hence the "softness" on his back (bad selection by me ).
> 
> I understand about what you mean in the questions part. I actually took a couple of other photos of it, and the almost reflection of the bug is actually another caterpillar. Still, thanks a lot! I might post the original, if you're interested...



Heck yeah!  It's a great image!  I don't think this discussion even belongs in the beginners section though   You're too good I mean! But yes, post it up brother!


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## Bifurcator (Jul 20, 2008)

icassell said:


> Yes, I like that better.



I was trying to pull a fast one actually. It's all computer generated.  

No cameras involved at all. 

It's only medium grade CG at that. I spent about 25 minutes building the model  and another 5 setting up the lights, scene, and rendering it. I wanted to see if anyone would notice it was CG.


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## bullitt453 (Jul 20, 2008)

Bifurcator said:


> I was trying to pull a fast one actually. It's all computer generated.
> 
> No cameras involved at all.
> 
> It's only medium grade CG at that. I spent about 25 minutes building the model  and another 5 setting up the lights, scene, and rendering it. I wanted to see if anyone would notice it was CG.


Sneaky, sneaky.  lol.  Now that I look at it, I can tell that it's CG.  

Wonder if I could get away with that.  This is all CG as well.  Not going to post it directly in the thread so that we stay on focus.  lol
http://fc07.deviantart.com/fs8/i/2005/322/9/8/Goodbye_by_4fit.jpg


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## Pugs (Jul 20, 2008)

bullitt453 said:


> Ah, that is Epcot, isn't it. Didn't even notice that at first. I have a similar shot as well, except in day time. lol.


 
This is a wonderful thread concept! Very cool!

I like this photo from a color and composition point of view (I guess, like so many others, I'm very much newbie here). It just doesn't really do much for me from a subject point of view. It looks nice, but didn't really hold my attention. I'm not sure why. 

So, here's mine... (I've got a thick skin so give it both barrels!):


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## Bifurcator (Jul 20, 2008)

bullitt453 said:


> Sneaky, sneaky.  lol.  Now that I look at it, I can tell that it's CG.
> 
> Wonder if I could get away with that.  This is all CG as well.  Not going to post it directly in the thread so that we stay on focus.  lol
> http://fc07.deviantart.com/fs8/i/2005/322/9/8/Goodbye_by_4fit.jpg



Is that Bryce?  Yeah, you could get away with it.


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## bullitt453 (Jul 21, 2008)

Bifurcator said:


> Is that Bryce? Yeah, you could get away with it.


Actually old Terragen.  You can see quite a few more at my dA gallery.


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## bullitt453 (Jul 21, 2008)

@Pugs
I was really just posting that image as a reference to one posted by another user with the same structure in it.  lol

That black & white image you posted it very nice.  The composition is good.  Jut wish there was a little more detail/depth in the sky.


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## Resin42 (Jul 21, 2008)

Not sure about whatever effect you've used to get the grainyness but it looks a bit linear, if this is intentional fair enough. Other than that it's a really interesting photo and good mono conversion.

Keeping the mono theme going.


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## bullitt453 (Jul 21, 2008)

@Resin

Yes, I was going for a very grainy, scanned type of look.  Thanks for the C&C.

Your picture of the abandoned boat has a very nice composition.  It just seems a tad flat to me.  Not enough contrast or something.  Can't exactly pinpoint what it is though.

I posted this one on the previous page, but it got skipped over.  lol.


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## PackingMyBags (Jul 21, 2008)

Love the sharp contrast and your focus on the tinged chrome. I might open up my F stop a little to get more range of focus. Oh and i see you in the chrome pipes  Good pic though.


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## Chris of Arabia (Jul 21, 2008)

Think you need to decide what your subject matter is: people, waterfall or the great chasm above. Currently the photo isn't serving any of them well. There's something odd about the focus too, but can't quite work out what.


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## Resin42 (Jul 21, 2008)

That's a really interesting piece of architecture to shoot, I'm just not sure why you hid behind a tree to do it.  It's a cool pic but I'd just rather see more of the structure.


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## NikonNyc (Jul 21, 2008)

Very great shot, slightly off focus and I personally would have slowed down the shutter speed to create a bit more definition on the spines but good shot overall!

Well here is what I have to offer today took my nephew to NYC planetarium.
My nephew ( the little boy who left me behind so I could take the shot.)





Please some suggestions are really wanted....


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## Donald Harvey (Jul 21, 2008)

First off I am a beginner photographer, just started out about 2 weeks ago, but I'll give my two cents on the little that I know.

Nice job with the photo, my favorite aspect about it is the Large object compared to the small boy. Kinda shows how big the world really is!

However, I think you might want to try to get some more color added to it. Looks like a sad picture, very cold colors, and a young boy all alone. If that is what you are trying to accomplish, then nice job!

Have a go at mine! I took this at the sunset in Springfield Missouri on top of a parking garage. Rip it apart please!!


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## pulse (Jul 21, 2008)

Well i am a beginner myself so ill try my best!
1) Half of the photo looks underexposed, you cant see barely any detail of the buildings or the ground
2) seems pretty blurry to me so im thinking that there could be camera shake since there was probly a longer shutter time
3) Although im kinda liking the colour of the sky it seems alittle hazey/ polluted and theres a bit of noise in the sky
4) Instead of the tower bieng straight in the middle using the rule of thirds would have made the composition better
Overall nice job on the photo, but a few things to work on next time. And sorry if im wrong i probly dont have a clue what im talking about haha.

Anyway heres mine, i went alittle crazy on the effects but i was going for something unique!


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## rocktronx (Jul 22, 2008)

I think the sepia tone was a good choice for this image. The sky has a nice gradation but my eyes keep landing on the rails either to the left or the right of the tree. a shalow depth of field may have brought the tree in to focus wile bluring out the fence and house to keep the focal point on the tree. Over all it's a good shot. I'd like to see some more.

Heres one taken with a kodak Z812 point and shoot. Critique hard. I want to learn. 

Lest try this again ... with the photo


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## NikonNyc (Jul 23, 2008)

Hey MR. Harvey I have some settings you might want to try out..





Wow a great opportunity here. Having a lower aperture value would have been great here to let in more light, with a dusk shot you definitely want to be careful with the iso value focus more on the shutter speed to allow more light and detail to come through.
If the opportunity presents itself try

ISO400-800
Sp 1/2-1/4 try that @400
Fs 4.0
do some test shots and adjust from there.


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## Shrimpy (Jul 28, 2008)

I'm gonna give this thread a bump, and start it off fresh. 

Here's my picture, taken this past fall. Nothing special, but I thought it was neat


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## TamiyaGuy (Jul 28, 2008)

Haven't posted here in a while, so here goes. Wow, great computer generated pic Bif and Bullitt. To be honest, I could see that the one Bif posted was CG: the top of the building looked too crisp to be true. But still, very good. Gotta love Terragen, eh?



bullitt453 said:


> It is a Factory 5 replica of a '65 Shelby Daytona Coupe. :thumbup:


WHO DA MAN??? Lol, I've never seen a photo of that car in my life, and I only saw it on GT2 about 4 years ago. The smallest things stay in your mind...

Right, photographs. I really like that one. The colour is fantastic, and the dappled light on the leaves give the viewer something else to focus on rather than the pumpkin (but not too much). However, the top-right hand corner seems really distracting, maybe a crop would fix it?

One from France here. Beautiful wheat fields.






Edit: Ah, nuts. I think I over-sharpened it a bit in SlowView. Sorry 'bout that.


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## Shrimpy (Jul 28, 2008)

Thank you for your critique, now its my turn!

I like the overall composition of the picture, and the "path leading forever" kind of feeling. Certainly a beautiful location. I would have like a little more of the path to be brought into focus, because to me it looks almost "two-layered" I guess. There's the in focus front layer, and the out of focus back layer, it doesn't really flow out of focus, if that makes sense? And the color on the sky is a little bland, maybe some editing could fix it?

I'll post another, this is actually one of my favorite shots, its always struck a chord with me so to speak.


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## Jen Puleo (Jul 28, 2008)

I love the fall so I'm always a sucker for fall pictures.  I'd prefer to see less of the water since it's out of focus otherwise I really like it.


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## Bigfatts (Jul 28, 2008)

Wow, that's a nice pic Jen. I am so new I can't find anything to critique so maybe someone with more experience will step in. Here's mine:






It's one of the first pics I've taken with my new Canon S5iS. It was getting dark fast and starting to rain when I took the pic so I kinda just had to snap it fast.


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## Shrimpy (Jul 29, 2008)

I like the picture there, if only it were lighter out! Theres some noise in the picture, which I'm sure can be attributed to the dark lighting, so thats okay. Also, the out of focus leaf in front is a bit distracting. 

Some barn in upstate NY


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## Jen Puleo (Jul 29, 2008)

Just curious but where upstate?  I live upstate myself.  I like barns.  I'd prefer to see less weeds though, more barn.  I find old stuff like this really interesting.  Oh & B&W might give it a whole new look too.

I just posted this, should have come here first.


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## Shrimpy (Jul 29, 2008)

Thanks for the critique!

And to answer your question, I should correct myself. It's more central NY in the village of Camillus, which is about 25 minutes out of Syracuse.


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## Marcopolo9442 (Jul 30, 2008)

okay, the bug, looks pretty good, if you can I would crop it a bit more, maybe play with the saturation and curves a bit to give it a little more color and "pop" to it. but I am just saying this stuff because I am supposed to critique it, but I really like it and it would be great with some slight adjustments IMHO. 

Okay, here goes with mine *gulp* -






don't hold back, if it is a boring or terrible photo let me know. I have been using a digital camera for a couple years but haven't had many critiques yet.


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## alby (Aug 7, 2008)

I love the reflection off the wall. The scene is georgeous. Do you have a picture of the mountain with the clouds not in the way? I really don't know what else to say other than it's a beautiful picture.





"The Golden Ticket"

Napa Valley, CA


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## NikonNyc (Aug 7, 2008)

Alby good shot! wish I could have seen the whole bottle in this shot.

here is mine..


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## Shrimpy (Aug 7, 2008)

The composition of this shot is good, and I like it but its lacking in some areas. The color is on the bland side and its a tiny bit dark. 

Heres mine:


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## Line of Best Fit (Aug 7, 2008)

This is good, but I get a bland feeling from it. You could have tried different angles, changing where the subjects are placed, you know? A shot with those wicked stereotypical pool table could have been sweet too. 

Something from camp:


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## Shrimpy (Aug 7, 2008)

I don't know if I'm missing something, but I don't really get what the subject of the picture is? All I see is a wall :???:

I know this one has a strange color/tone, but it's what I was aiming for.


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## Line of Best Fit (Aug 7, 2008)

Ahah. Nah, it's a windowsill.

The softness there gives it a really nice look. The branches and wires, not being sharp and all.


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## floppydisque (Aug 7, 2008)

I think the picture might have been more successful if all the posts of the rail were more visible so that they filled up the frame. Right now I think there is a lot of empty space.

I went to the beach a couple days ago and took this picture of one of the kids there.


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## Line of Best Fit (Aug 7, 2008)

I'm not sure if this is good with positioning, you know, thirds and everything. Does this count as a portrait? I don't know, maybe you can crop it tighter.

But maybe you were thinking of something like this with mine.






Yeah?


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## Solthar (Aug 8, 2008)

Line of Best Fit said:


> I'm not sure if this is good with positioning, you know, thirds and everything. Does this count as a portrait? I don't know, maybe you can crop it tighter.
> 
> But maybe you were thinking of something like this with mine.
> 
> ...


While i love the concept, I'd like to see it from a slightly less extreme angle, and the white space at the right either removed or replaced with a more interesting backdrop. Also a tad noisy.

How about a two for one?
Here's a before and after shot of my first HDR attempt - done by hand in gimp from a single source image. Feel free to critique both the composition and the actual HDR itself :greenpbl:

Before:





After:


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## Line of Best Fit (Aug 8, 2008)

The HDR looks good. But I'm not sold on the composition. It's just off.

I posted this in a previous thread, to no response.


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## TamiyaGuy (Aug 8, 2008)

I like the vingette on the image, and I like the composition as well. However, I feel that the image could do with a lot more DOF, the way the bottle cap is blurred looks odd to me. It might make the image less unique, but that's just my opinion.

To Bifurcator: I am so sorry, I completly missed your post at the bottom of Page 3. Just for you, here is the original image, completely untouched bar a tiny bit of sharpening from the resize. Also, here's a shot from a different angle, so feel free to rip both to shreds, people!

Fun fact: Imageshack hates me atm, so this message has been through one computer restart!


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## BoblyBill (Aug 21, 2008)

Both images are plagued with objects being in the center. Exposure is good but composition needs work. The bottom picture has half of the subject cut out of the picture. 

1.


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## Remote (Aug 22, 2008)

Hey, pretty cool. Not sure if it's supposed to not be centred, but whatever, that's just me


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## Montana (Aug 22, 2008)

Looks like a tad loss of shadow detail, but nice image.  Personally I like tighter flower crops to show more detail, but that may just be personal preference. It looks to be natural light, but some of the shadows are rather bold (harsh) in my opinion.  Obviously the central flower is the "main" subject, but the background is too in focus causing my eyes to be a tad distracted from the larger flower.  A little more background blur would help this I think.

Here is one of mine....  I wanted to show movement with the slower shutter speed.  Any tips also appreciated.

1.





Derrick


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## mermaidear (Aug 22, 2008)

The sky looks amazing, and I really like the windmill moving. The bottom half of the photo is a little too dark for my taste, so it looks a little boring. But the rest is beautiful. 






I feel like everyone else's "beginner" photos don't look beginner in the least.
Maybe I'm extra beginner, hehe.


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## K1W1 (Aug 23, 2008)

focus on subject was good maybe less back ground or less focus on background to increase interest in main subject.
heres mine


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## OregonAmy (Aug 23, 2008)

Montana - what shutter speed did you use for the oil derrick pic?

Here's one of mine - took it last weekend.





It was about 7pm and the sun was setting; my back is to the sun here and I was having a hard time capturing the yellowish light the sun was casting on the flowers. I was working on a narrow DOF here with my new (first!) dSLR.

18mm, ISO 200, f/8.0, 1/250s


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## DannyB (Aug 24, 2008)

I love the DOF but like you said I think the lighting could have helped out and the petals seem to be blown out a little bit. Take it for what its worth...I'm still a noob!! Great shot though!!

Got bored and figured...Why not?


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## danman281 (Aug 25, 2008)

I really like the colors in marcopolo's pic of the mountain
The car one with the exhaust is also awesome


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## dwol (Sep 28, 2008)

Nice photo DannyB! Im not sure if it would be possible with your shot but maybe if they're was a bit more light on the bottle? really cool though


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## Ptyler22 (Sep 28, 2008)

Very nice Macro^ The only suggestion I would make is that you use a little higher DOF next time if possible, but still a great capture.


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## Chewbecca (Sep 28, 2008)

Not bad!  If the people weren't in the background, this would make for an even better shot, I think.
Of course, I don't know much about photographing cars, but I like the photo!


This pic of mine, well, I just got the Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 the other day, so I took it out practicing.
I think some of the tips might be a little blown out.  And I'm not claiming this is an exciting picture.


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## UtahsRebel (Sep 28, 2008)

How do you critique perfection? The only thing about this that I could even begin to critique is that my eye keeps being drawn to the white area up in the upper left corner. Other than that...Wonderful.

Here's mine taken on a color ride today.


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## motojoe (Oct 1, 2008)

Wow! First post!

ok... I'm a total newbie, so take it all with a grain of salt. I'm distracted by the grass in the foreground and can't tell if you want the subject to be the fence or the trees beyond. I'd rather see more detail in the trees because the colors are so great.

Here is a shot with a Sony P&S from a little over a year ago. I'll be picking up my first DSLR in the very near future. :mrgreen:






-joe


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