To be serious, going out there in 25 mph winds is tough enough. Be glad to get anything. I have done a similar thing twice. I have a favorite spot in the nearby forest preserve. I went out there once every week for an entire year to capture the change throughout the year. Did it with film and then again with digital. I know what taking pictures out in the cold is.

Another goal for me is to go to the same spot on the first day of each season and shot a panorama.

Well I guess you should have brought a wind screen too. What is a little wind, cold and snow to you up there? This is a tough crowd here so no excuses next time!

Hi Nightski, glad to see you are on the same page as I!

Jay Pat's link displays more information than Adobe. It even sees certain missing data.

This was the tool. Many thanks.

I did not wish to suggest that you intentionally omitted the metadata. The likely reasons for not including all of it are simply not thinking to include everything or the program strips it out. One good reason for including some or all the metadata is that it includes any copyright information.

For me, the only relevant data are those relating to exposure, focus and flash if I have a concern about exposure or sharpness. Knowing the camera and lens is merely an extraneous curiosity.

I agree that including the metadata is the poster's prerogative. However, providing it may enrich the feedback.

Someone recently posted a website for viewing all metadata. Unfortunately, I misplaced it. Will someone repost tools for very all metadata?

Thanks.

I think the composition is ok but the lack of sharpness bothers me a lot. The metadata, f/5.3, 1/40, ISO 400, indicate that not a lot of light was available. Shallow depth of field and, possibly, hand-held. Even if the camera had been on a tripod allowing for a longer exposure and greater depth of field, the slightest air movement probably would have diminished the sharpness. Perhaps flash might have helped.

My other issue is the muted colors. Very autumnal but I would have preferred a bit more saturation. The posted edit overdid it and shifted the color balance. Finally, I would have used a little negative vignetting to draw out the leaves.

I do not share everyone's enthusiasm about this shot. To make sure I was seeing the right thing, I downloaded the picture and was disappointed to see the shot information removed from the metadata. What jumps out at me are the harshness of the tones and the image sharpness. They look artificial or manipulated. Next, the building to the left is warm as if lit by a late afternoon sun. The shadows in the center are too cool while the walls to the right are disturbingly cooler than the building on the opposite side.

The boat looks unnaturally red. Finally, the composition is unremarkable. I like these flat, head on compositions of seemingly mundane subjects but this one does not work for me.

PS I suggest that downloadable files must have all the metadata. If you are willing to share the file, you should be willing to share the metadata.

Lightroom has an easier way. Develop>HSL/Color/B&W>Color. Select the desired color box and adjust the luminance to increase or decrease the color.

enpaz1, you can fix these problems in post-processing. However, since you are a beginner, you are busy enough learning the camera and photography that need not deal with post-processing too. Here are my suggestions.

if you use flash, then you must keep your ISO low. This is because when the ISO is high, the camera may see enough ambient light that it will not fire the flash. Reduce your ISO to 400 or lower. For these shots, you could have comfortably used 100. I set the camera to manual, 1/200, f/8 or f/11, ISO 100 and flash to AUTO. This usually gives the right exposure and color balance.

These apertures will give you more depth of field meaning that more will be in focus. The high shutter speed will stop any camera or subject movement. 1/60 is too slow for a beginner.

When you are ready to deal with color balance, set it manually using an Expodisc. However, for the time being, stick to auto white balance.

The hot spot on the forehead is common, even with a diffuser on the flash. If the flash was pointed directly at the children, you will still get that hotspot even with a dome-type diffuser. Tilt the flash head up and you will reduce it. Better, use a bounce diffuser such as the Lite-Scoop II. Makes a world of difference.

I enjoy post-processing. However, my philosophy is to get the best possible picture in the camera and then fix the rest later.

Good luck and let me know if you have any more questions.

Great tool. All they need now is the focusing mode.

Hey Bob. Where did you find that information? Very helpful. Shot at 18 mm and just about wide open. The opposite of what I suggest. Thanks for posting it.

Graham, this is such a good picture yet I am uncomfortable about it. This is a wonderful character study of the old man. Such wonderful detail in the face and gown. You captured such an interesting, professorial look on him. And his hands are so part of his story. The download is so much richer than the thumbnail. And let me peek under the hood to see the metadata. I imagine all that sharpness is due to the Leica body and lens. Look at how sharp the tie and face are. You are a master of monochrome.

Initially, the composition and tonal range looked terrific to me. If I glanced at this photo as if it were a snapshot, I would have said great and moved on. However, this is such a compelling and rewarding picture that I had to spend more time with it. Upon further reflection, I love the way his face pops but the blacks are too black. Too much contrast for me. The framing does not work for me. The people to the right are distracting. The student on the right is cut off and out of focus. And then the bottom of the picture is cut off (in my opinion). I covered up the student to see if the don could stand alone. He does not: he is definitely looking at something and I want to know what that is. Hence, the student is necessary. I would like to see a framing with both men in it and without the people on the right. Alternatively, just compose the picture around the don.

Thank you for posting such good pictures.

Hi Dubs. I looked at your metadata. 1/250, f/4.5, ISO 1600. Does not specify lens, focal length and distance. Not a lot of ambient light here. The shutter is faster than what you need. If hand-held, I would have gone to 1/100. If your lens has image stabilization, 1/50. (I am not a big fan of IS. Never seems to work noticeably for me.) Better yet, use a tripod (may be hard considering where you were) or monopod. Even better, a flash with a diffuser and in bounce mode. I set mine to manual, 1/200, f/8 or smaller, ISO 100. The flash will supply all the light you need. You can stop down to get the depth of field you really need. Whether you shoot in an automatic mode or with the flash method here, adjust your exposure with the histogram. Extremely important here.

I like shooting flowers with a telephoto. Fewer problems with depth of field and a nice balance between subject and background.

The metadata do not specify if this was shot in raw or jpg. I would shoot in raw so you get a nice tonal range and wider latitude in adjusting exposure.

Those are the technical issues. Now for the artistic. I would crop this freely. Tighter on the sides, especially on the right. Would be nice to find a flower without the competing dark detail on the left. Not enough beneath the main flower. You have a lot above without a balancing amount below. Finally, I would add a little negative vignetting to make the main flower pop more. Just a subtle amount that no one will notice. In Adobe products, this would be about -10, -20 at the most.

Good luck and show us more pictures.