My new 10D pictures! (long)

[HeatherJL]

I realize that none of these are very impressive, but I just wanted to show you
that I am having a great time with my new camera!! http://geoparent.com/community/icons/excited.gif

There is no question that I have a looong way to go,
I plan on reading everything that I can get my hands
on and practicing like crazy over the next few weeks.

Re: the pictures, I really like cemetaries, I find them to
be very peaceful. This one is located near my home,
my brother is buried there. http://geoparent.com/graphics/emoticons/tears.gif

http://www.growthspurts.com/drivee/images/095431652049.jpg

It was a very hazy, humid day.
http://www.growthspurts.com/drivee/images/996282735873.jpg

It reads, "aged 9 days" http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/frown.gif
http://www.growthspurts.com/drivee/images/543275103471.jpg

And lastly, my husband took this of
my favorite subject and I. :)
http://www.growthspurts.com/drivee/images/711114120347.jpg
(Sorry, too busy playing with new toys to brush my hair http://www.ezboard.com/image/emoticons_classic/laugh.gif ).

While constructive criticism is always welcome, I think that it's more
appropriate to just share in my happiness... because it's
doubtful that I would understand what you were saying anyway!! http://geoparent.com/graphics/emoticons/rofl3.gif

(And for you pro's out there, please don't be offended by my novice ability,
I remember getting very frustrated by people who would buy the G3
and have no idea how to handle it).

[lightandlife]

I am not a pro. So you can discard my comments.

First, congratulations for your 10D. I have been waiting and waiting, but still mine did not arrive today.

The first and third pictures are symmetric. Except for documentary purposes, I thought artists would avoid symmetry. But again, I have no art education. It is my hunch, and I could be wrong. I may be completely off base.

It is not clear what the point of the third pic was, if there was a point. I like the last one. A wider aperture would have blurred the background. Enjoyed your pics.

[rcrobert]

Congrats on the new camera -- and having fun is what they are all about! Just take lots of shots and you'll figure out how you like to use the 10D. We all like different aspects of the camera and use it differently.

Shoot away! Digital is great for that -- and the 10D is a great digital!

[pwagner]

Congrats! I've had my camera for about 2 months now and am getting better at the technical details of taking pictures and doing post-processing on the computer.

Your second picture--the one looking downhill at the cemetary and the river--is one I think I could offer some constructive thoughts:

(1) It looks like you probably got focus on the river, but that's not your intent. I like to use the Av mode so that I can dial in my depth of field AND so that I can set the center-only focus point. Using the center focus you can half-press the fire button to lock focus on your intended target (on the stones) and THEN move the camera to get the framing you want.

(2) I've always found it impossible to get good uphill or downhill shots. I do a lot of mountain climbing and have given up on trying to depict just how steep a trail is by pointing the camera uphill--it just makes my climbing buddies look like they are on flat ground but strangely tilted over! Instead, I try to take hill-shots from the side.

Hmmm... let's see... a picture showing focus on something other than the center of the framed image, a picture showing mountain climbing, AND a picture showing hill from the side. Ah. Got it!

http://homepage.mac.com/pwagner650/Yosemite/IMG_2088.small.jpg
(10D, 28-135 IS USM; 28mm, f/16, 1s/250; no crop)

[lightandlife]

Pwagner, it is a great shot.
I have been doing the same thing for the past couple of months.
Here is one from the Dragon Trail, Hong Kong.
When an optical illusion is involved, something flat may appear steep and vice versa. This hill was probably over a 30 degree, and it looks that way. But it could be my illusion.
http://www.pbase.com/image/20810727

[defordphoto]

Yes, nice shot pwagner. Back to the subject at hand...

Heather: I have thought about shooting cemeteries before. There's so much history there. So many stories to be told. The challenge to make a photograph express that emotion is enticing.

I see grainy, black and white shots a possibility. But, one would have to be there and become part of the aura to be able to capture that.

Also, don't be afraid to go against The Rules sometimes. Perfect symmetry sometimes works in the right conditions.

I rarely think of The Rules while shooting and just shoot what I shoot. Sometimes I study, but I usually play the 5-second rule, speaking of rules, in which you should shoot what grabbed your attention of a particular scene within the first 5 seconds. When I do this, and shoot several shots of the same scene, it's almost always the first shot that wins out and is the best of the group.

My philosophy is that if we play by the rules too much, then our shots become clinical and staged, and lose their freshness and candidness. Many times if a scene is studied too closely then we apply too many rules and the fun is lost in photography.

The main thing is to have fun and if others enjoy your work, that's a bonus.

That being said, I think I would have shot the building at a slight angle to give the shot some depth. The building itself is great material and I love the wooden cross off to the right side there. I see some great potential there with that wooden cross.

The 'landscape' shot could be cropped to exclude the partial building off to the right. I would fully include or fully exclude the bulding in this particular shot. Maybe a little closer to the headstones and from a lower angle. Hard to tell without being there, but honestly I don't find this particular shot too exciting from a viewer's standpoint.

I see alot of potential shooting headstones, but I really don't know what I'd do unless I was there to experience the aura/feeling of actually being there.

And with all that being said, you have inspired me so I do consider that a great photographic success when one photographer inspires another.

Keep shooting!!

[mkaplan]

Hi. Glad you are enjoying your 10D. So am I :).

I won't give you criticisms on your framing of the shots. I believe that is partially left to personal preferences and I am no expert anyway.

The only thing I can see is that is seems you have left them 'as is' out of camera as the pics are a little soft unless you meant them to be like that.

IMO they need a bit of sharpening. I took your first picture and applied some sharpening in PS and it is amazing on how it just popped out.

Unless of course, you wanted them soft which in that case, just ignore my posting except the 1st line.