Magnolias

[Volatile]

This is a shot of the magnolia tree next to my house. First a sized-for-web image followed by a 100% crop. I'm new to SLR, and I'm warming up for our trip to DC for the cherry blossoms. It seems to me and my very amateur eye that some of the highlights are too bright, and have lost detail, but I'm not sure what could have prevented this. Comments not just welcome, but asked for.

dRebel + "thrifty fifty"
Av mode / large jpg
f/5.6
ISO 100
1/800 sec exposure

No post processing applied

http://members.cox.net/erin555/IMG_1389%20for%20web.jpg

http://members.cox.net/erin555/crop100.jpg

[Leighow]

Looks good -- and I am just an amateur.

I really don't like the idea of such a major crop with an SLR, as I my instincts tell me that the camera may not give you the best exposure for the final crop.

The two horizontal petals do look a bit washed out as we do not see any "veins" (I have this trouble with snow).

I guess that I would go to ISO 50 and bracket shots, and also keep a close eye on the histogram. Even so, I would be inclined to avoid mid-day, top-down sun as its brightness may be too much for any camera. (Shade the lens too!)

[Volatile]

Hmmm, I don't think ISO 50 is an option on dRebel, but I'm only saying that because I can't roll it up with the wheel. I should've checked the histogram more closely, I didn't even think of it.

I took some more shots from my roof later in the afternoon, I will have to post a sample. I'm not real happy with them because my neighbors house is the background, but the overall light was better.

Good tip about shading the camera, I don't have a lense hood. I did at least set up with my back to the sun...