Through The Trees

[iwatkins]

First day out with the 10D since buying it on Wednesday. Have done my best to reduce the RAW output down to something more managable for web use but would like some feedback please. Any critique will be welcome (it's OK, I have thick skin ;)).

Trees 1:
http://www.netcomuk.co.uk/~iwatkins/Gallery/trees1.jpg

Trees 2:
http://www.netcomuk.co.uk/~iwatkins/Gallery/trees2.jpg

Trees 3:
http://www.netcomuk.co.uk/~iwatkins/Gallery/trees3.jpg

Cheers

Ian

[CyberDyneSystems]

O-kay, :)

Welcome! and hope you are having a lot of fun with the new camera! :)


To be blunt,. these images lack any reall focus,. (and I don't mean camera focus)

the third Image could be the start of something with the addition of the dirt road,. but it is barely noticeable.

I understand exactly what you did here,. as I have done it as well. Standing in that grove of trees, with the streaks of light coming through gives you a sense of peacefullnes beauty, and sometimes awe. The woods are exquisite palcez to be,. and you may have wanterd to capture some of the beauty that was surrounding you.

Unfortunately this is a lot more difficult to accomplish. Pointing the camera in the woods does not neccesarily convey any of what you see when you are surrounded by the woods.

You need to work on composition, presenting a focal point of some sort in a busy scene, (such as the path perhaps)

Keep trying,. and keep shooting. Film is free! :D

[iwatkins]

CDS,

Thanks. Blunt is OK, I can understand that. :)

I see what you mean by lack of focus. I just see lots of nice trees which give a nice effect. I guess if the shot had the dirt road bending off into the distance etc. i.e. something that pulls the eye in, that would be what you mean ?

Yes thanks, I am having a lot of fun. I'm still trying to convert my mind to the fact that the "film" is free. So much so, that I keep filling my CF card and then it needs a couple of seconds to realise that I could squeeze another couple of shots on if I just deleted some of the less worthy shots. :) I'll get there....

Cheers

Ian

[henkbos]

Welcome to the forum Ian. Your pictures are exactly what you named them: trees. Nothing spectacular, point and should. You might have a better memory of that loation at that specific moment in time that made it special enough to photograph. That feeling is not conveyed by these pictures.
Keep on trying though.

[jim monroe]

I couldn't agree more with the comments of CDS. It is amazing how capturing the feeling of the woods is so difficult but thats part of the fun.
I wonder if pictures like those shown above if blown up to a point where they cover a full wall would come across differently. I think they would. Somehow I feel the scale here is important.

[iwatkins]

Jim,

You may well have a point. Obviously the images above are reduced in size and quality over the original RAW image.

I've printed the second image (from RAW) at A3 size and it has a lot more impact than the small JPEG above on screen.

Once the weather improves (pouring down at the moment) I'll pop down to that forest again and have a another go and try and add some focus/spend more time on composition.

Cheers

Ian

[Mark Kemp]

I think you are definitely on a well trodden path here.

I would guess that most photographers here have tried this shot (or something similar), I think I did too!

I have seen a few very similar shots with speed filters and/or desaturated pastel colours that were 'in vogue' for a while. But I suspect that the same treatment would be 'old hat' now.

In general I think the trees are impressive when they are in front of you in real lfe, but it just doesn't work in a photo and I'm sorry but you haven't managed to do any better than all the rest of us.

Try a few filters and stuff if you feel adventurous, maybe you will manage to make something really novel and impressive.