City Park - please comment

[Chris717]

I am a newbie and would like some critiques. I shot this with my new EOS 20D. I didn't have my PL filter, I think it would have made the sky a richer blue.

Shutter Speed: 1/125 sec.
Aperture: F/7.1
ISO: 100

http://www.christyo.com/images/HartPark.jpg

[monsieurhappy]

Hi Chris,
I'm not an expert by any means, but after trying a few things I'm sure this pic would look much better if you got rid of the buildings. You don't need a dramatic sky or it might distract from the colours in the trees. Or you could just crop down a bit and get a wide shot of the seat and the fountains. I don't like those ugly buildings. Hope this helps.

[Chris717]

Thanks monsieur for your comments. The park wasn't the greatest...as you can see in the picture, these was garbage on the sidewalks by the benches. Besides the buildings, there is a crane next to the skinny building which I didn’t notice until now. I think the subject wasn’t the greatest, but a good photographer can make an ugly subject into something beautiful. I’m just starting out so I’m not even close to doing that yet.

Besides the subject how is the photo technically? Be as hard on me as you want, because criticism will make me a better photographer.

Thanks again,

Chris

[edsarkiss]

hi chris -- technically it's fine. exposure is good, focus is good.

compositionally it is boring to me. what is the point of your photo? what is the message or feeling you're trying to achieve?

it's a nice picture of a park, but what else?

you mentioned trash on the sidewalk ... would that be interesting in a picture? what about the fountain? is that really cool up close?

couple of axioms that i hold dear:
1) what's up with the edges?
2) get closer, dammit!

#1 -- scan the edges of the photo as you compose. it's all too easy to just focus on what's in the center or what's behind the flashing red focus indicators. you've done a good job with this in your photo, though the branches in the upper right are a bit "weak" to act as a framing element. i'd either get rid of them entirely or bring more in the frame (also moving them off the building in the background helps as a framing element).

#2 -- this is where i stumble on your photo -- what is the subject? the fountain? the foliage? the buildings? the ripples in the water? figure out what your subject is and stick to it. note that it's perfectly valid to say to me "well, my subject is the whole scene" -- well, i guess you succeeded then! ;-)

photography is such an elastic beast -- you can use it to communicate just about anything. what is your goal with this picture?

in looking at the EXIF data in the picture i see you set the camera on the "Landscape" picture mode. along with the composition questions above, are you interested in using the more advanced (well, "basic" to an old photographer) controls you can have over the exposure? I may be opening myself up for some flames on this, but if you're serious about your photography, you will want complete control over the settings in the camera. The portrait/sports/landscape/etc modes don't give this to you.

then again, it all depends on your goals with your photography. Do you want a casual relationship with your camera and what you and it can produce, or do you want to get really nerdy and artsy with your stuff? it's totally up to you -- either path is righetous.

[Chris717]

Thanks for the great comments and info edsarkiss. This was my 2nd outing with my 20D and an SLR camera. After that, and after reading a ton on the web, books, and forums, I never use any of the "picture modes". I make myself always use the "Creative Modes" so I can adjust every aspect of the subject. I also have been turning off the AF on the camera and using the manual focus. This also gives you great control of the photo.

I am still learning how the "red dots" affect the focus and picture. I can manually control the “red dots” to get the subject in focus and the background or foreground out of focus. It seems like just one point of focus wouldn’t do for some cases….but I am still experimenting with it.

Thanks again,

Chris