I am a resident of the area. Many of the suggestions from fellow hedge hogs are excellent. Some things I would add:

Delaware River National Recreation Area - good early morning shots along the River. Don’t forget the NJ side. Also downstream, from Portland PA looking back at bridges at Del Water Gap;

Hidden gem - Tannersville Cranberry Bog Preserve. But you may have to take one of the guided tours.

Hidden Gem 2 - Lakota Wolf Preserve - near Columbia, NJ. Wolves, foxes, et al.

Sunrise/Sunset shots from top of Mt Pocono or Camelback.

September may be a few weeks early for any fall colors.

A number of people have put it very well. Although I do not subscribe to the myth that “Real photographers only shoot manual”, there is something more satisfying about turning off the auto functions and doing things the old fashioned way. I find that using manual functions makes me slow down and think about the shot. Too much automatic turns me into a snapshooter instead of a photographer.

I too switched from a PC to a Mac, largely because of virus issues on the PC. Initially I had a MacBook but later switched to an iMac to do my photo work. The advice about the 27 inch monitor is well taken. I continue to use a PC at work for a number of reasons. But I find a better solution for me is to use Windows 10 on my iMac at home running under VM ware. (I am a CPA and find that some financial software is better for PC’s than for Mac’s.)

My only real complaint is that some vendors, Canon in particular, can be slow to upgrade their software when Apple releases a new version of its operating system. I do not know if the same problem exists on the PC side.

More expensive, yes. But both my wife and I are happily drinking the Apple Kool-aid.

I especially like #6, how the arc of the shadow connects to the wall and the extends to the trees.

“Learn the rules like a pro so that you can break them like an artist.” - Pablo Picasso

Laura,

Nice work. You are worthy. Please remember that every critique is just somebody’s opinion.

Outstanding!

Having done workshops in Yosemite and Acadia, I have been considering a trip to Glacier. Were you with a group on on your own? Any thoughts about the trip itself? Any books or other resources that you would recommend as an introduction to Glacier?

Thanks. That looks like fun. Have to try it.

I am working with a “living historical farm” that tries to show what life was like in the 1800’s. I would like to take photos of people in costume simulating the look and feel of 1860’s portraits, but using modern equipment (Nikon DSLR, Canon printer, Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop). Does anybody have any recommendations? Thanks.

You seem to have a good eye along with the maturity to understand that you learn to take good pictures by taking a lot of pictures and asking for help. I'm glad you reached out like this. I agree with the other comments that the first shot is underexposed, but probably fixable in Photoshop. I found the sunsets a bit yellow. Again probably fixable. Have taken any classes in Photoshop?

Wonderful start. I would encourage you NOT to do what everybody else is doing, but to find your own voice.

For me, I find that cropping tight in the camera helps me achieve better overall composition. It forces me to take a moment to ask "What is this a picture of?" Instead of just firing away. I do crop in post-processing because not everything in 2X3 or I will see a different perspective then that I did not see originally.

It was taken in a zoo.

Ken,

Thanks for your comments. I heard about the Preserve via Unique Camera in Fairfield. (I have started using them because they are in the same general direction as my office in Bloomingdale.) They were sponsoring an outing at the Preserve. My wife and I decided instead to do the civilian tour mostly as a way of checking the place out for later visits with grandchildren. I might have to go back later to do the "through the fences" tour.

Thanks for your response. The shot was not in the wild. There is a small wolf sanctuary in Northern New Jersey (!) where they have about a dozen animals that were born in captivity, were rescued, or have otherwise come into their possession. (They have two bobcats that were living with a woman in a trailer in Iowa.). The toughest thing about the shot is that the animals are behind two rows of cyclone fence. Therefore I had to shoot from far away with a long lens wide open. This narrowed the depth of field and eliminated the fences.

"Rain", North American Timber Wolf
Lakota Wolf Preserve, Columbia, NJ
March 4, 2017, 3:52 pm
Nikon D7200
70-300mm set at 145mm
1/800 sec @ f/4.5
ISO 400