Critiqe Please...04/16/2006

[ECSouljah]

After being able to escape to my lake house to get away from the stress of school and work, I experienced some mother nature at it's finest, especially the sunsets. Was also able to capture other cool shots. Any suggetions, what do you think?
Thanks in advance,
-Benton

http://static.flickr.com/1/129920170_bf8a7d5607_o.jpg
Breath-taking

http://static.flickr.com/47/129920171_eaf89d2e05_o.jpg
High & Dry

http://static.flickr.com/48/129920168_44e83d1a8b_o.jpg
A little critter posing for the camera.
(Anyone know why a certain section of the wood is in focus and the rest is not? I was using manual focus but just can't figure out why...)

[philbyuk]

real nice shots there EC..reason for the wood not being in focus is because of the DOF this is mainly affected by the aperture (wider the aperture less DOF,ie less in focus in front and behind the subject) also when shooting 'close in' the DOF is limited as shown in your last shot..its not a 'fault' and is used to blur the background (especially i potrait photos) and to 'remove' unwanted background distractions...play with the aperture its your friend.

[bewaretheblur]

great stuff...

the wood is in focus because it's the same depth away from your camera as the snake's head, which is what you were focusing on. you could use some smart blurring in PP to get rid it...

[bewaretheblur]

Sort of like this:

http://www.bewaretheblur.com/blurred.jpg

I think that's a bit less destracting...