Just some stuff...

[knt3424]

Was downtown one day with some time on my hands, and my camera with me. Thought I'd try taking some shots just to photograph some stuff. Have always used it to take quick typical family gathering shots and whatnot... very curious to see what you all think... pick them apart please, can't learn from people that are afraid to be honest, right?

Thank you.

01.
http://www.thompsonwebservices.com/photos/downtown01.jpg

02.
http://www.thompsonwebservices.com/photos/downtown02.jpg

[Swift1]

A slight saturation would do the second photo some good.

[Fear.No.Art]

I really like the first shot. I like the symmetry. It's the type of shot I would convert to black and white. It's also one of those shots that mystify my family and friends. They simply don't see the point of taking pictures of "nothing". The second shot doesn't really do anything for me. My eyes don't focus onto anything although the frame is full of things, however none are particularly interesting. Would you mind posting a B&W version of the first shot? Could you post the exif and let me know what post processing you did?

[knt3424]

I really like the first shot. I like the symmetry. It's the type of shot I would convert to black and white. It's also one of those shots that mystify my family and friends. They simply don't see the point of taking pictures of "nothing". The second shot doesn't really do anything for me. My eyes don't focus onto anything although the frame is full of things, however none are particularly interesting. Would you mind posting a B&W version of the first shot? Could you post the exif and let me know what post processing you did?

>sigh< again I'm very new to this stuff... the 'exif'??? sorry, but I am teachable... teach me! :)

oh and NO post-processing on either image (tried adding saturation to #2..yeah that would have looked better) but those are as-is out of the camera...

the second shot was a really cool building because it stood out downtown because it's the only one painted like that... thought there should be something there, but didn't know how to capture it... someone on here just told me to practice and take 100 shots of something.. maybe I'll go back down, now that it's winter, and take 100 shots of that building and see what I can do with it...

here's the b/w...

http://www.thompsonwebservices.com/photos/downtown01_bw.jpg

[Fear.No.Art]

The exif data is basically the shot information... such as aperture, iso, shutter speed, focal length, and so on. I much prefer the B&W version! It is a very nice shot.
I did like the building with the colors on it in that shot, but from the perspective of your shot it kind of gets lost in the shuffle. That's the great thing about digital photography though... you can go back and take a ton of shots of the building from multiple perspectives and it won't cost you anything except time.

[knt3424]

OK... let me go back to the original shot and see if there is exif data stored in the file still.... which brings me to a question I've had (probably should do a search on the forum.. I'll do that, but since I started typing here....) is there any decent free (or really dirt cheap) programs out there that will read all the exif data from an image? (I knew exif, just had forgotten the term, thanks for jogging my memory). Or even allow you to modify the data if you need to? Like put your own name in there as author, or remove some data if you wanted too???

Thanks!

[knt3424]

As requested... the exif data for the 'tunnel' photo

And if I were to tell everyone I'm not shooting with a Canon camera, would I get kicked off this forum? As soon as my daughter gets married and I write the last check for this wedding (Feb 24) then I'm gonna start hunting for the best deal on my XTi... until then, this is an Olympus C-2040Z (P&S). <sorry>

Exposure Time = 1/500"
F Number = F2.8
Exposure Program = Normal program
ISO Speed Ratings = 100
Exif Version = Version 2.1
Date Time Original = 2006-08-05 10:41:00
Date Time Digitized = 2006-08-05 10:41:00
Components Configuration = YCbcr
Compressed Bits Per Pixel = 2
Exposure Bias Value = ±0EV
Max Aperture Value = F1.8
Metering Mode = Pattern
Light Source = unknown
Flash = Off
Focal Length = 7.3mm

[Fear.No.Art]

I think it's a great shot. Thanks for posting the details. Enjoy your search for a new camera and accessories... STAY OUT OF THE LENS FORUM!!! You will thank me! :D

[Mgw189]

What city is that? It looks like it could almost be where I am from in Binghamton Ny. Great shots I really like the bw walk over.

[knt3424]

The city is Rockford, Illinois. Thank you, I like the walk-over tunnel also. And like fear.no.art said.. my family wants to know what I took a picture of... :) "if you were taking a picture of the sign [on the wall at the end] then why didn't you get closer?"

<sigh>

[knt3424]

I still like the second shot, but what it's missing is a subject... needs a couple homeless people or something for a subject. Other than that I like it as a good urban background... maybe I could layer something in...........

[knt3424]

Enjoy your search for a new camera and accessories... STAY OUT OF THE LENS FORUM!!! You will thank me!

I'm not exactly sure why you say that, but I can imagine and I'll take your advice! :)

And actually I just saw the XTi at BHPhoto for 795.00 best price I've seen... anyone have any experience with them? (I should put this in equipment, right?)

[Fear.No.Art]

I've been very happy with B&H. Actually, they are the only online company I've dealt with for photography equipment. They have shipped my orders promptly, everything was nicely packaged, and the prices seemed fair to me. I have used their customer service department for a lens exchange that went very well. No dificulties whatsoever... they simply shipped me a new lens. I would recommend them highly. I use the Canon 350XT, I like it but I definately will upgrade at some point. It's a great camera for my level of photography (admittedly low) so I imagine the XTi is a tad better.