***DSLR/Photography MegaThread***

Took this one on Saturday. I'm a beginner...so be gentle.

I like it. I like that the textures on the ship read so well (the rivits and panel lines). The one thing I would interested in seeing is doing a little color balancing, as there is a lot of orange from the sodium vapor lamp. I think the direction it is going now helps the tone of the photo as it feels a bit like a sepia tone, but it is just a bit orange in my opinion. You could also probably bring the blacks up just a touch (keep the midtones where they are though). Very nice shot!

So, every once in a while, the wife picks up the camera and squeezes one off which makes her say "your camera makes me hate my camera" (which is always good for me as it means she sees the relevance of the camera budget ;) ) Anyway, here is her latest, I included it here because it shows off some of Puck Monkey's fine work:
3525050693_ef69c9387a_o.jpg


--Edited to make picture work--
 
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I like it. I like that the textures on the ship read so well (the rivits and panel lines). The one thing I would interested in seeing is doing a little color balancing, as there is a lot of orange from the sodium vapor lamp. I think the direction it is going now helps the tone of the photo as it feels a bit like a sepia tone, but it is just a bit orange in my opinion. You could also probably bring the blacks up just a touch (keep the midtones where they are though). Very nice shot!

So, every once in a while, the wife picks up the camera and squeezes one off which makes her say "your camera makes me hate my camera" (which is always good for me as it means she sees the relevance of the camera budget ;) ) Anyway, here is her latest, I included it here because it shows off some of Puck Monkey's fine work:
SamPage_20090510_3856.jpg

no see
 
I like it. I like that the textures on the ship read so well (the rivits and panel lines). The one thing I would interested in seeing is doing a little color balancing, as there is a lot of orange from the sodium vapor lamp. I think the direction it is going now helps the tone of the photo as it feels a bit like a sepia tone, but it is just a bit orange in my opinion. You could also probably bring the blacks up just a touch (keep the midtones where they are though). Very nice shot!

So, every once in a while, the wife picks up the camera and squeezes one off which makes her say "your camera makes me hate my camera" (which is always good for me as it means she sees the relevance of the camera budget ;) ) Anyway, here is her latest, I included it here because it shows off some of Puck Monkey's fine work:
3525050693_ef69c9387a_o.jpg


--Edited to make picture work--




When I went into Corbis looking for a job, I took my best stuff in my portfolio and they told me exactly what was wrong with each photo. It was the best thing that ever happened to me and it was kind of like what we do here, good honest criticism.

There was one important rule, especially for stage photos but almost for any photo that I learned that day and that is CONNECT. You have CONNECT with the photo and having lines crossing across the photo or someone's face detracts from that CONNECT. Having the subjects looking away from the camera loses that CONNECT.

In this photo, if the child was looking toward the camera there would be a CONNECT that would make this pic about 20 times better.

I swear to God that my photos got way better the moment I sucked it up after being nearly scolded that day and realized what it takes to not only compose a photo but CONNECT with the subject.

502461670_azMFT-M-2.jpg


CONNECTing with Lil Wayne in a huge concert theater breaks it down to you and Lil Wayne and nothing else matters.

3201310866_36c06e04ee.jpg


CONNECT invites the viewer into the celebration


This is something that you don't see in photo or art books, but a bell went off when I left Corbis that day and now I get it.
 
I like it. I like that the textures on the ship read so well (the rivits and panel lines). The one thing I would interested in seeing is doing a little color balancing, as there is a lot of orange from the sodium vapor lamp. I think the direction it is going now helps the tone of the photo as it feels a bit like a sepia tone, but it is just a bit orange in my opinion. You could also probably bring the blacks up just a touch (keep the midtones where they are though). Very nice shot!

Is this the orange you are referring to? Like I said, I am new at this...so any advice is GREATLY appreciated. Reading through this thread has been the greatest and I hope to get better with time.

orange.jpg
 
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I understand what you're saying, Mike, but I think the whole connecting with your subject thing is necessary in some images and wholly unnecessary in others. Sam's image above shows the wonderful emotion of a moment shared by dad and baby girl, even though no one's looking at the camera.

That said, you do people really well, Mike. And I think that connecting with a human subject is important in the types of photography you're really into. I just think that different situations call for different techniques.
 
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Took this one on Saturday. I'm a beginner...so be gentle.

queen.jpg

Something about this image says "this is a brick wall, not a ship" to me. I think that were you to give the image a slight tilt to the left (making the buildings in the distance vertical) that the ship would have a more natural and graceful angle to it that would lend itself to a more nautical feeling.

The oranges are kind of high, so maybe a touch of adjustment to your white balance or color tints might be in order as well.
 
I understand what you're saying, Mike, but I think the whole connecting with your subject thing is necessary in some images and wholly unnecessary in others. Sam's image above shows the wonderful emotion of a moment shared by dad and baby girl, even though no one's looking at the camera.

That said, you do people really well, Mike. And I think that connecting with a human subject is important in the types of photography you're really into. I just think that different situations call for different techniques.

And for another opinion :) I think you are both right in certain regards. I think that connections are important, but that connection isn't always between subject and camera, but sometimes between subject and something else the viewer can relate to. I think Corbis being a stock house has definite guidelines that they look for when judging how salable an image might be, and the Lil Wayne shot is a perfect example of when this works and works fantastically well (very nice shot)

It might well be an (more) interesting photo if she was looking at camera so you could better read her smile. But, seeing it was my wife's shot, she almost never picks up that camera, and autofocus isn't on the shutter, I'm impressed she hit focus ;)
 
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I agree about the rules of photography not applying to home shots. With family shots, who even cares if it's in focus if there is a memory captured?
 
That kicks major arse.

Did you notice the little strand of spider web that's caught between its beak and its forehead??
 
I just got the overpriced wire that makes it so the pocket wizards can remote trigger the camera like it does the flashes (like they do when they put the camera inside the hockey nets). To try it out I set the camera right in front of the hummingbird feeder with the 17-55 lens and a corded flash off to the side to give that cool shadow running down the left side of the bird. I pop open a beer and sit in the garage and when the bird shows up I fire away. All the settings are manual so I have to focus on my hand and then wait till the bird hits that spot to get it in focus. There are a lot of frames with blur or nothing or a wing etc, but when it works, it looks bitchen.

The fastest sync speed with a flash is 250th so there is gonna be some blur on the wings. I used that tupperware looking thing over the flash to soften it a bit.
 
I come to you guys with questions...

Hello, LGK community! I was wondering if I could ask you a couple photography questions?

I am heading to San Francisco to visit my sister on Friday and wanted to try and capture a couple pictures while I was there. The two that I have in mind are the Golden Gate Bridge and the Palace of Fine Arts. I chose these two because they are walking distance from my sisters and I probably won't have too much time. I've really been into night photography lately. Something about it just really captures my attention. My flight doesn't arrive until 8:30 on Friday night and I probably won't get to my sisters until around 9:30. First...here is what I'm going for:

GGB:
Photographer's Guide to the Golden Gate Bridge - a knol by Andy Frazer

The closest point to her house is Fort Point. It looks like a really snazzy picture. What settings do you think would be best for a night shot? At the Queen Mary...the picture I posted a few posts back, I was putting my settings on F14ish, ISO 200-400 and the exposure was around 5-6 seconds. Messing with the WB worked wonders.

POFA:
POFA (Palace of Fine Arts) on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

This is right across the street from her apartment. Any suggestions? I'd like to capture that exact picture, if possible! It says F8 at ISO 200...at 25 seconds. That sound about right?

I'll have my tripod and my remote shutter release to help me out...but any tips you could give me would be excellent. I've been waiting a long time to take some good pictures around there. I'm not sure what my sister has planned for us so I don't want to spend too much time out shooting photos...so I'm trying to prepare ahead of time.

My equipment:
Canon Digital Rebel Xsi
Kit Lens (EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens)
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens
Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom Lens


Thanks in advance. If you want to keep it off the boards...just PM me.
 
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