What a great "feel good" start of the day. Thank you so much for posting!!!
I think you have an absolutely amazing composition either by intuition or plan. Look at where the most forward deer fall in a Fabioncci spiral that starts at the lower right corner. If this is cropped I think it may be tweaked with a little more of the sides to work with. Usually odd numbers work well in composition and here you have the little pine, the big pine and our third (odd number) is the hard wood, how interesting. There are other things about the composition alone that make this a picture that can be looked at for sometime. And then there is the color, just the right amount in the snow and then POW, the yellow flowers.
I've put this in my photos to inspire painting collection. I just hope I do as well as you did.
It's not just photography. I also paint with watercolors and I was sure I would paint better with a set of brushes designed and sold by a painter I admire. I found a way to buy the $170 set for about $40 and surprise! They didn't really help. Today I saw an as for ONE brush that is $500. They are hand made by workers that have at least 7 years experience with the company. I think I'll pass on that until I master the brushes I have. I also have a quite expensive trumpet in the closet. Currently I'm trying to learn/master a D 7000 I bought about a month ago. I expect it to keep me busy for as long as I can learn and climb to a good landscape location.
You sure do nail that guy.
Very nice compositiion and balance of the two objects. story will told, end of days for the windmill, barren tree and end of the day.
I purchased a D 7000 about a month ago and my one lens is a Tamron 18-270. Because I shoot mostly landscapes the 18 wide angle was extremly important to me. The price with rebate was very attractive and the physical size is OK. I don't see how I could say it's better than this or that without much use of both. My next lens will be a NIKOR fast prime either 35mm or 50mm.
The big consideration you don't state is what is your primary use?
I like the boat (A LOT) and the trees in the upper left. The composition doesn't bring my eye into or around the picture. More than a snap shot but not enough that I can find an interesting composition by cropping. I can tell you saw a story and had the heart to try to tell it to us. Thank you.
I think we're all pretty much in agreement however I go to a take out place that has take out parking, you phone when arriving then a waitress brings your order to the car, that's worth something.
The old and cranky side of me however has decided to only tip (usually 20%) on food and drink, not the sales tax. If I wanted to tip on the tax I'd just ask some politician to raise taxes.
I have been shooting and took a camera off the tripod. I often forget to switch the IS on at that point. Maybe a few minutes latter I realize it and switch it on. When looking at my photos I normally dont see any difference, but I normally am shooting at 1/500 or faster. Never really thought about it but could this be the reason? Sounds like he is being honest with you.
Jim D
Something I don't understand, what is the point of turning it off ever? Even when there is no advantage, no viberation. Does it require energy or have some adverse effect on the picture?
I'm too late, there's nothing else good to say!!!
I see no need to lighten or brighten the dark areas. There is nothing there that we need to see so just let it be mysterious as is. That is not my kind of dog nor my kind of photo but I like the interest it creates. Thumbs up for me!!
I started painting with watercolo(u)r and jumpstarted my interest in photography that had been dormant for 20 years at about the same time. The painter part of me sees a landscape or flower and asks "How would I go about painting that?". The photographer looks at the composition, colors and looks for the best angle to put things in a balanced place and what to do with objects I don't want getting attention. I see a mix of textures with WEEDS weaving in the wind and marvel at the beauty of the world that so many just pass by.
Do I take pictures and paint because I see these things or do I see these things because etc.? Which ever way it is I'm blessed to be able to enjoy the beauty of a child's smile or a wildflower's bloom and hope to share it with a friend that didn't see it, either because they weren't there or because they weren't blessed with the gift to see differently.
On the topic of learning/crutch or computer template/mind template; I think we see a natural composition of mountains, trees, buildings or whatever and say this looks good, take a photo, bring it home and compare with a template and can say "It looks good because it fits the template". What do we do when we need to take a photo of some subject to document that we were there or for someone to remember and it doesn't look good. Or how can I arrange the composition to take a good picture. I'm most thankful that the subject was opened up and I've got a new tool in my bag.
My disappointment is that we didn't get to see some examples of good natural or controlled composition.
Like both photos. I'm assuming that they were cropped, right? Do you have any more sky for number 2?
I'm a second shot guy. The colors are so soft, beautiful. Colors don't need to knock you out to be a knock out.