Rustykeys Loc: Michigan

Greetings. I recently became involved in DSLR photography in April. Previously I just had a little Sony Cyber-Shot point and shoot. I purchased a Nikon D5000. It was on a whim. I was just going on a mini-vacation to see our local ECHL hockeye teams last game down in W. VA and thought I would purchase a camera for the game and to take photos of the area. The next day after the game we found out there really wasn't a whole lot of interest in the area so we decided to take a trip down to Washington D.C. to see the Cherry Blossoms in bloom. Great decision!

Like I said I am new to this. With that said, this photo I took here with only one day experience I really love. I know there are things wrong with it but I still love this photo and am very open to critique. I wish I would have been able to get more to the left so that I could center the Washington Monument better but that just was not possible. This shot is from the Jefferson Memorial. There were heavy storms in the area with much lightening which is why I believe the sky is the color that it is. I wish the sky were darker. This is with a 16 sec exposure. The only photo editing software I have is what came with my camera. I have been looking but I am totally confused which photo editing software to purchase. I take RAW, and am very interested in HDR. Any suggestons?

I do have another concern and that is about publishing photo's online. I have taken 1000's of photo's now with my D5000 and they keep getting better all the time. I would hate to see any of my photo's stolen. Any suggestions? I do incorporate metadata in all my photo's now with date and my info. Is that enough to protect them?

mommy115 Loc: California

I really like this photo. I especially love the colors and unique perspective. Here is a redo with slightly darker sky on to give you your wish. Also I cropped off what seemed to be excessive blank wall. It is best to not center your subject to create a more pleasing artistic effect. See the Rule of Thirds on google. It is a great aid for composition of photos. Other than that the original is super!

darker sky and cropped

mommy115 Loc: California

Actually, centering the washington monument would not be as artistically pleasing as what you shot. Look up the Rule of thirds on google. It is a wonderful aid for composition.

Literati Loc: South Carolina

Great shot, great color but agree that a crop of the extra wall is more pleasing...

Rustykeys Loc: Michigan

Oh yes, I like the crop. I actually haven't touched the photo because I did not want to mess it up. You are right about the rule of thirds, which at the time that I took this picture I hadn't a clue about those rules. As I explained in my earlier post, I just purchased this camera, never had a DSLR before, and all these buttons and controls were quite intimidating to me. The night I took this picture there were hundreds of shutter bugs all over the mall in D.C because of the Cherry Blossoms. I am thankful to this one gentleman who came to my aid and assisted me in getting me on the right track on how to set the camera in manual mode. Thank you again for your help and look forward to gaining further knowledge from this site.

Rustykeys Loc: Michigan

Do you think that one light facing the camera near the base of the Monument is too much? Any recommendations on photo editing software?

Rustykeys Loc: Michigan

I agree as well. Thank you.

mommy115 Loc: California

I'm searching for the light you referred to at the base of the monument and can't see it. Is it the reflection of the monument in the water that you are seeing? I am a fan of reflection in water and personally like that reflection. I have Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 and absolutely love it. It usually runs about $99 but I got mine for $39. My previous version of PSE did not work when I got a Windows 7 computer. Here's how I got it. If you are interested, you could check to see if these offers are still available. I got it at Amazon.com, it had a $30 rebate from the manufacturer. You would need to check if this is still available. I got another $30 off by opening an Amazon credit card. After this initial charge I put away the card and expect I'll never use it again. :lol: If you don't want too open another credit card it would still be a great deal for $69 if the rebate is still available. There are cheaper, earlier, versions of PSE. But be sure they will work on your operating system. They may not be cheaper than the super deal I got.
There are tons of photo editing programs out there and tons of opinions on what is best. Generally the one a person has is what they think is best. There are better more professional programs out there but if you are not expecting to go pro you probably won't need all those bells and whistles. PSE has an incredible number of features, is pretty easy to use with a little practice, and there are lots of great tutorials on You Tube about the various things you can do.

Rustykeys Loc: Michigan

The bright light I was speaking of is almost dead center in the picture. Sorry I gave a bad description of location, I was going on memory. Thank you for your suggestion of editing software. I think that is one I have researched along with Lightroom. I am just not sure of what the differences are, but I will look further into your suggestion. Thank you.

Rusty

mommy115 Loc: California

That is a good call on that. You have a good eye and will do well with whatever editing program you purchase with your great attention to details. I didn't want to overdim it as it is brightly reflected in the water. I used the burn tool to tone it down a bit.

first edit without light dimmed

mommy115 Loc: California

Wow...you gave me quite a challenge with this. I like that. :) I wasn't happy with it when it downloaded to this site so I am working on it again. Will send it when I finish.

mommy115 Loc: California

Let's see how this one is. Yes I like this better. What do you think?

Dennis

leave this photograph just as it is

Rustykeys Loc: Michigan

There ya go. I like that light toned down just as it is now. It doesn't draw your eye as much. Thank you.

Rustykeys Loc: Michigan

I agree Dennis. I never touched it in the first place because I love this picture but I think that one light was just a bit much. I like it how it is now. No more touching up.