MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

Thanks, Dave. That was excellent, very specific info. Sounds to me that the Photogene app might be the way to go for me. My biggest problem is that I absolutely HATE! being at a computer. Comes from many years of being a tax accountant and being pretty much chained to a chair in front of my computer for hours on end for months on end! Hence my current insistence that if I cannot do it on my iPad, I just plain WON'T do it (PP) that is.

Thanks again. I really appreciate all the great suggestions put forth regarding my 1st post here in FYC.

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

I need tissues. Please send tissues! He's been gone since 2004, but the memories caught me unawares for some reason. It's this landscape stuff that's causing it, I am sure of it!

ebrunner Loc: New Jersey Shore

If you have mountains or waterfalls or huge gaping dramatic holes in the ground, it is easier to take visually pleasing landscapes. A seashore and salt marsh area like you have in Cape May county can be a bit more challenging. One suggestion is that you should be aware of things in the foreground that can be used as a point of interest to anchor the main subject. An example would be a pile of rocks or a line of reeds that serve as a way to "enter" the photo. Reeds leading us toward a lighthouse are an example of how this can work. If you have one, use a tripod. Keeping that camera in one spot makes it a lot easier to be deliberate in your compositions. There are hundreds of great landscape images waiting to be found in South Jersey. You are just the person to bring them to the light. Can't wait to see what you come up with.
erich

cambriaman Loc: Central CA Coast

You captured the iconic view. I, too, stay away from massive amounts of PP but do adjust the curves a little from time to time and always sharpen the RAW images. A little PP to re-create the vision you have of the time and place is worth the effort.

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

Good points, Erich. Boy, do we ever have reeds and rocks and jetties here. The good news is that I am still limber enough to get down low enough to get a decent perspective. I do have a tripod - a very good one - as well as a Nest head and a ball head. I don't normally use my tripod when shooting my birds, but do plan on using it for landscapes for the very reasons you mentioned. Working with a tripod is not as big a deal as I thought it would be. I tried it a few days ago to shoot some birds. Didn't work out very well! Really limited my mobility and reaction time. NONE of the images I sent you were shot with a tripod. ALL of them were handheld with my 150-600 mounted on my D7200. It did work out pretty well with the birds who were nice enough to sit still and pose for me! Of course, landscape photography is a whole other animal. At least I am no longer afraid of my tripod.

There are some ideas for landscape subjects floating around in my head right now. Oh, I just visualized another photo op at a nearby lighthouse I rarely visit. If weather permits this week, I'll go check out a couple of sites.

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

Welcome! Some years ago, I felt exactly the same when I first posted an image for feedback from strangers on an internet forum. I was afraid to look at the responses! I got through it though, and I cannot say enough about the good people of the forums I've participated in. They've been mostly honest and mostly encouraging, and have taught me so much about what does and does not appeal and why. More than any class or workshop, this open discussion has helped me grow. So hang in there, for better or worse, and talk talk talk.

Now for your picture: the Grand Canyon in full sunlight is a very hard target. It's hard to compose with because it's a Big Hole. There's almost always a lot of haze. There's little in the way of foreground elements or background elements, mostly just a vast middle ground. In a hole. You've done about as well as can be done. It's sharply captured, the colors and details are realistically rendered, and the vastness of the thing shows. Billy and Linda are excellent at post processing so it is telling that their versions are not vast improvements, but only slight ones. I'll have to give it a try, but am quite sure I can't do any better than them.

I am sorry to hear you hate post processing, though, because for MOST photos, it really can help. Sometimes a lot. So it's worth trying to develop a taste for, at least on a small scale. Just sayin'.

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

Thanks so much, Minnie. Your kind words are really encouraging, especially given the fact that I admire your work - honest!

Minnie, it's not so much the PP that I hate, it's the having to sit at a computer to do it. That being said, Dave put me on to an app that I can install on my iPad - Photogene. It may be worth a try. What's the worst that can happen? PPing while sitting with my iPad is an approach I think I will be able to handle. That might be the "small scale" to which you refer.

Thank you again for your encouraging words.

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

So sorry. I did not mean to ignore you. Just got a bit out of order with my responses to the responses.

I don't know if that was meant as a compliment or not - the "you captured the iconic view" part, that is. Usually, I try for a different view or different perspective. It really bothers me when I shoot the exact same shot as everyone else does. I actually have a pretty strange perspective on Rodin's "The Thinker". If I can find it on my iPad, I'll post it in this thread. This was my very first time to the GC and I was pretty much overwhelmed by the sheer size of it as well as the fact that the perspective changed every time I moved a couple of feet - or so it seemed. If your comment is meant as a compliment, I cannot take any credit. I planted my feet, looked around a bit, moved a bit, looked again, adjusted, framed, and shot the image. If it was not meant as a compliment, it wasn't my fault! (refer to sentence before last) - just kidding about that part. It had to be my fault. I was the one who set up the shot and captured the image.

Seriously, I do appreciate your input. Now I have to Google "curves" to figure out what exactly that means. Don't tell me. Let me figure it out. It will stick with me that way.

Off to look for that Thinker image. Hope it's on this iPad.

Uuglypher Loc: South Dakota (East River)

Xxxxxxxxxx

A few questions, the answers to which will help understand the context within which to frame answers to your questions:

Are you using a point & shoot camera or an interchangeable lens camera?
Are you shooting Jpeg files, or capturing raw image data?
What is your intended mode of display of your images?
online display
small prints (up to 11"x17" or 16"x20")
larger prints

Best regards,

Dave

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

I am totally confused. That was my response to cambriaman's post. There were no questions asked. Is it possible you meant to post this in a different thread? If this was meant for me, I am obviously missing something important. Help!

pfrancke Loc: cold Maine

I was there also, the north end, and seeing Zion and Bryce. I think our trip might have been less rushed than yours, but a lesson for me was to just figure out how to have more time. No help for it, I need to be rich and famous and have more time and rent a cabin on the North rim and walk to the edge when the sun comes up and goes down for six weeks at least.

As Minnie said, it is a hole. I didn't like any of my shots. You stand on a flat place and opposite is a flat horizon - flat, flat, flat. And what to do with the haze... It just isn't cool like fog is. I hope I don't sound too frustrated, just saying that I think you did a pretty good job of it with the composition -- but the bottom line is that this canyon is such a wonderful subject, that I wish I knew how to do it justice - without being rich and famous and having six weeks of sunrise and sunsets to work with!

Uuglypher Loc: South Dakota (East River)

Sorry, mad mike,
The questions were directed at you in order to get a handle on how and why you practice photography.
If for example, you take mostly Jpeg images with a point and shoot camera mainly to make small prints or post images on-line,rather than shooting raw image data with a DSLR for the purpose of producing large framed and matted prints, it would help, a lot, to know in order to respond to your questions in a meaningful and helpful way.

Just askin'...

Dave

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

Well, now it makes sense! Was out all day and away from UHH. Sorry for being dense and the delay in my response.

So here goes. First off, I shoot with a Nikon D7200 as my main camera, but also have my 1st DSLR (D5200) as a back-up. Have seriously considered and actually purchased and returned a D750 in favor of my D7200 - wanted more reach for wildlife. Maybe someday I'll go FF, but right now I am happy with the D7200. I have a pretty good selection of lenses that cover pretty much every focal length from 10 to 600mm. It is very rare that I shoot with my P&S. My usual subjects are birds and other wildlife. Very recently, I began to shoot RAW in slot 1 (strictly for later if and when I ever decide to PP ), and JPEG in slot 2.

My main purposes in shooting are personal pleasure, expanding my knowledge of photography, and getting out of my comfort zone pretty much in that order. What I would really like to get a bit more into is landscape and maybe some night photography. Posting here on FYC may finally give me a shove into at least some minimal PP. Tomorrow I plan to put the Photogene app that you suggested on my iPad.

It is almost impossible to give you a coherent answer as to the why of my practice of photography beyond my previous paragraph. It is easier to tell you what I do not do. I do not make small prints. I do not post on the internet (other than here on the Hog) or social media. When I make prints, they can be anywhere from 11x14's to 20x30's. Some are hanging on my own walls, as well as those of friends and family. A couple are on some strangers' wall - sold some!

Film was my friend. DSLR is a whole other animal! I understand and am comfortable with making adjustments in ISO, SS, and Aperture, and have been gradually returning to shooting in manual, but do not use manual focus for BIF & wildlife.

Hope that this is the sort of information you were looking/hoping for. If not, just let me know what else you want to know.

Thank you for all your help!

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

I appreciate your kind response. Your comment about fog being cool made me laugh. I. Love. Fog. Most people think that makes me nuts. I think it may just make me a photographer.

Your trip had to be longer than mine. We had a whopping 2-3 hours at the GC. Do not ask! Trust me that that was not the original plan.