The third one of the group is my favorite.

Leica lens! Those Germans always build good stuff.

I like the second image much better than the first. The second is much more dynamic because of the eagle actually being in flight.

This observation is purely subjective. I like the way the light is reflected off the fence wire. Despite the rule of thirds, I would prefer this photo to be more symmetrical with the fence post in the middle of the composition. Other than that, I would add that there is not really that much going on in this photo. I suppose I would say that it is interesting; but I would not be rushing to get it on my wall. Hope this is useful input for you.

The original post was not processed at all. This is the result after saving the file as a Tiff and then lightening the photo a bit. I notice some noise at 100 percent magnification; but I think it is pretty good when not blown up too far. After lightening I added a little bit of color saturation to keep the nice color of the original while lightening the sky a bit. Did I ruin it?

Wow! I think you are well on your way. Those are very good shots. I like the way you caught the emotion on the faces. At that magnification everything looks sharp and clear. Nice.

I have traveled quite a bit in Europe. My advice is, yes, shoot lots of pictures; but don't forget to enjoy your trip. I can get so wrapped up in documenting and trying for that perfect shot, that I forget I'm on vacation and supposed to be having fun. I remember being in Vienna and shooting dozens of shots of the famous opera house there. I was so focused on getting good photos and looking for interesting angles and points of view that I didn't actually step back and just enjoy the building that was right in front of me. Maybe this is just me. Have a great trip. Everyone should go to Europe.

I would love to make some money at photography and am endeavoring to do just that. I do realize that it is a very steep uphill battle. I am definitely not quitting my day job. Here is an excerpt I found in a book on making money at photography. The book is titled "Profitable Photography". This is a quote from the book: "...to make a living taking stunning photographs, you have to be more than just a good photographer. You also have to be a competent businessperson. In spite of photography's perceived promises of liberation from the drudgery of the business world, there is no escape: profitable photography is business." We both, it seems, have lots to learn about this endeavor, but,hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Good luck I hope you are a success.

I would love to make some money at photography and am endeavoring to do just that. I do realize that it is a very steep uphill battle. I am definitely not quitting my day job. Here is an excerpt I found in a book on making money at photography. The book is titled "Profitable Photography". This is a quote from the book: "...to make a living taking stunning photographs, you have to be more than just a good photographer. You also have to be a competent businessperson. In spite of photography's perceived promises of liberation from the drudgery of the business world, there is no escape: profitable photography is business." We both, it seems, have lots to learn about this endeavor, but,hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Good luck I hope you are a success.

Where you are standing when you shoot can matter also. I shoot lots of motorcycle races. If I'm on a bleacher to get a point of view above the action, the shots are much more challenging because bleachers are not very stable platforms. I get better results when I'm standing on the ground. I rarely shoot in sports mode. I prefer manual. Racing is a bit different than basketball because I shoot at slower shutter speeds while panning with the subject to get a blurred background and enhance the impression of speed. In track, I think, this would also produce some nice results. Because of the slower speeds, I get quite a few blurry pictures; but when it works it can be spectacular. I think for your upcoming playoff games you might want to try to shoot as fast a shutter speed as you can to get as many sharp photos as possible since these games are obviously important. The faster the lens (lower number fstop) the more light you are going to get and the faster your shutter speed can be. There is a local photo shop that I go to that rents lenses. In my case, he has a 70-200 f1.8 lens that he rents. This would be a good lens for shooting indoors I think. Maybe this is an option where you live. Those lenses are way out of my league for purchase; but renting.....well that sound like fun to me.

They all look very sharp to me. The only parts of the photos that I saw out of focus were obviously a result of limited depth of field. I'm no expert and I do wear glasses; but it looks good to me. (cleaned the glasses before making any comments.)

Thank you Jerryc41. If you don't mind, I'll copy that tip text and use it myself. Great idea!

Yes, I did. This shot was taken into the sun and with the sun still above the horizon. That is why it is such a fast shutter speed. I took another shot (also posted in the gallery called shoreline that is a much slower shutter speed. Like I mentioned, I'm trying things that are a bit outside the lines for me just so that I can improve and learn what works and what doesn't. I actually like shoreline even though it is a bit dark.

That time of day the light seems to change by the second. Interesting shot.

Looks like you had a good time.