adirondackphotography Loc: Johnsonville NY

I am new to this site. I have always loved taking photos. I enjoy taking photos of various subjects. I just got my 1st dslr (Canon rebel T3i) this past Christmas. Before that I used a Nikon p510. I don't always get the photos to come out the way I like.

Black swallowtail


Yelow swallowtail and honey bee


Sunset at the Tomhannock Resevoir in Pittstown NY

Kuzano

I can't quite tell if you did what I am about to suggest. Using your popup flash, or subdued regular flash, for fill light would have changed the metering so that the little girls face dominated, and might then tone down the harsh lighting in the background. Find a few articles on fill flash, because this appears to be a picture you could stage again and practice the benefits of outdoor fill flash combined with harsh sunlight in the back ground. However, a nice pic in composition. Pretty girl.

The second picture would have benefited considerably by the use of a graduated filter, allowing you to meter and obtain the same look in the sunset sky, but make the snowfield (foreground less grey and more white). This suggestion for when you decide to advance to the effects of using such filters as neutral density, graduated density and polarizing filters.

Naturally, there will be those who say.. "What the hey... fix it in Post Processing".

That would amount to understanding less about photography and more about being a Graphic Artist.

Take your pick.

The barn picture would be enhanced by making sure the verticals on the red barn are actually vertical and let the rest of the composition fall where it may... The barn looks like it is going to fall out of the picture. You can turn on the grid in your viewfinder and align verticals and horizontals in the viewfinder to match the grid.

Again, lazy photogs would shoot away and use post processing to align the picture, so it's still fixable.

But wouldn't you like to reach a point where the pictures that come out of the camera, in some cases, MAY NOT EVEN need to be post processed. (unless you fall into the trap of ONLY shooting RAW)

Photography is an easily learnable set of skills both technically and creatively that preceded digital and post processing by many years.

Your pictures are very nice (Oh yes, I forgot, when they are digital we call them images :mrgreen: ) for the most part.

I only made the points I did as a learning suggestion at capture time.

Oh my, I don't remember, did you ask for critiques?

I like the last one as shot. :thumbup:

SeamusMac Loc: Walla Walla, WA

The bottom picture is absolutely gorgeous. As for tips, it seems to me that you have already had an earful (from central Oregon). Seamus

Kuzano

Aye Seamus....

Well thought out and courteous tips, you might add. If not I will. Remains to be seen what the OP feels?

On a separate note... I was born in Walla Walla. Must be something in the water there that produces intelligent, articulated and extremely helpful souls.

which also has something to do with the rapid growth of some of the best Vinyards and Vintners in the Pacific NW... Last count I heard there were something like 35 (many award winning) vinyard/vintners in the area. You must be doing all you can to produce images of the "Land of the Jolly Green Giant". :mrgreen:

adirondackphotography Loc: Johnsonville NY

I didn't use any kind of flash in the little girls photo. Thanks for the tips. I have a lot to learn. Sometimes it seems overwhelming. I know I have a good eye for great photos and a lot of desire to be the best I can be. I need someone to be my mentor and work side by side. Its easier for me to learn that way.

adirondackphotography Loc: Johnsonville NY

Here are a few more of my photos.

Kuzano

Have you investigated a local camera club in your area. Couple of Benefits:
1) usually a speaker or class once a month in a good club
2) finding someone to partner with on local shooting
3) Club events, such as outings to local photogenic parks, other venues.

Only downside. Avoid the drama and politics.

Avoid the Only RAW crowd.

Be open minded.

adirondackphotography Loc: Johnsonville NY

I have searched and found places that have events for club members. I just haven't taken that step to join. But I know I need to so I can gain more knowledge and understanding about photography. Ive never taken a class. Ive learned on my own and taking many photos.

Wahawk Loc: NE IA

One big thing to remember is to SLOW DOWN!!! When you can, take your time with composing and maybe adjusting the exposure compensation a bit. When you think what you are looking for, THEN press the shutter all the way... I find that too often I hurry my shots and then don't get the results I want.

Kuzano

Wahawks point is well taken. Avoid the "spray and pray" style of digital shooting. It doesn't look like that's a problem for you in any event.

There is photography and then there is "digital" photography, combined with Post Processing.

I am going to post a link to a web site that is a long list of other sites (about 25) and each of these sites are aimed at helping with creativilty, composition and guiding suggestions which some refer to as "rules" and others say don't be "rule bound".... break them.

It's up to you how you find the guidance in these sites, and all these sites are more about photography than they are about digital.

Have fun with these:

http://www.photoinf.com/

I have known about and used this site for years. I also took the NYIP (New Yorlk Institute of Photography) correspondence course in the 60's. Best move I ever made. Of course there was not digital then (which I consider a blessing for the course at that time) and much of the course used material similar to what you will find in the Photoinf.com web site.

A friend of mine who was in the Colorado Higher Education system for many years in ART as a professor once told me that your work will become much better if you study Art History, in addition to the technical side of creating images. He was an extremely accomplished Large Format film photographer.

One last tip before bedtime. Develop a habit of doing this.....

On every shot, the last thing to do before pressing the shutter is to run your eye around the perimeter of the viewfinder. If you see things you don't like, or that clutter the picture, stop, recompose and then take the shot. This is in keeping with Wahawks "slow down" tip and something that most good film photographers learned early on to save frames of film.

This is a downside of digital. Since we don't see any value savings with digital, (Its FREE...RIGHT????) we get sloppy around the edges of the viewfinder.

Case in point... the red barn.. It's a very good picture. Good exposure, but the barn is tilted as I mentioned and it is also a bit close to the edge of the frame. There seems to be a desire to frame the right side with that crappy tree (pardon me) and it detracts from the image.

If you have access to that shot again, go back and take it with the alignment grid turned on in your viewfinder, more space on the left between the barn and the edge of the frame, and dump the tree.

You can do most of that easily in post processing except opening up the space on the left side. However, I think if you play with this you will see a vast improvement in a potentially good picture.

Have fun.... that's most important.

adirondackphotography Loc: Johnsonville NY

Thanks guys !!! Kuzano I should mention that when I took the photo of the red barn I was on the other side of the rd, on a steep bank and the bard was rite next to the rd on the other side. But I understand what youre sayin about slowing down and aligning my shot.

Kuzano

Please don't get me wrong. Fifty years of packing cameraas around and I still bring home some pretty bad shots.

A major move forward happened for me when I accepted the 15/85 rule of keeper ratios. Particularly with expendable digital, the "no cost" syndrome.

First thing I do when I unload my camera into the computer is to put ALL the images in the computer and immediatly go through and drag 50% of them to the recycle bin. Then I work on cutting the remainder in half. Until one accepts that a higher percentage than they might imagine are not redeemable in any sense, it's a long haul to work with everything you shoot.

If you are doing better than that, you are better than I am at the process of recognizing what you want to spend time on.

Now, I shoot over 50% of my time on film, so the "keeper" ratio is a bit different because of the added costs of film and processing, which I still find easy to locate, and prefer. I spend more time making better photos in the camera.

Lastly, the portion of my work that is digital is restricted by two things or functions I don't work with. I don't shoot RAW, and I eschew Post Processing. I have made my living for the last 25 years as a computer consultant.

When I do photography, I absolutely want to minimize my time in front of the computer. 40 years of film and not doing my own processing have given me skills and knowledge that allow me in my ten years of digital (actually I bought my first digital camera in 1992, and my serious digital camera acquisition started with a DSLR in 2003) to do digital within the confines working to get the images usable from the camera in Jpegs. I also used Olympus and Fuji which both saved images in TIFF, in addition to RAW and Jpeg.

I've done a lot of post processing in the past and am proficient in Adobe Photoshop up to CS3. About four years ago, I switched my digital camera's OFF RAW and minimized post processing as much as possible. Have not shot RAW in that four years.

I know I will be "Adamantly and vigorously Flamed" for my next comment, but I have my flame proof "tighty whiteys" on, so will go ahead with my final content.

I do not think it is easier to learn proper photographic skills using digital. All those skills existed before, and without the confusion of "computerized cameras".

Film is not dead, and neither is film processing, and one can always digitize the results of film capture and move forward from there.

DUCK!!!!! INCOMING!!!!!!

That said, your picture of the Red Barn is one of the best you posted and just needs a little saving. No need to excuse why the barn is tilted. Just trying to help.

And as others have said, the last photo is the best. Very Nice Shot!