First Shot NYC Skyline (crituqe)

[xism]

I picked up my first dslr camera 2 weeks ago (Canon 400D Kit) , and i think im start to get the hang of it...I took this shot hand held , Shutter Speed 1/160, f9.0, ISO 100

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1143/3166133522_b4195f3c68_b.jpg

[Albedo]

First things first, I like this very much! I never get tired of seeing NY; it's such a great city. Also, I like the boat: along with its wake, it draws my eye in to the right-hand side of the photo before the sky-scrapers lead me to the left.

A couple of (constructive, I hope) comments:

* I'd consider cloning the bits and bobs in the bottom right-hand side. Slightly distracting.

* If you get another shot from a similar location, how about playing with different amounts of foreground / sky? When I shot a similar scene, I did a pretty tight crop (not much sky or water). I reckon this might look a little better with a bit less sky (but that's subjective). And I like the clouds a lot.

* Compare the buildings on the right with those on the left: on the right there is a gradual rise in building-height which gives a very pleasing effect when viewing the shot; but on the left you have the two sky-scrapers (I forget what they are!) and quite an abrupt stop to the frame. If you do this again, consider having a go at framing it so that that the buildings get lower as you move to the edge of the left-hand side of the frame.

* This could be a great shot in different lights. Early morning and pre-sunset light can make a good shot great.

Hope that gives you some food for thought!

[Kramer]

First things first, I like this very much! I never get tired of seeing NY; it's such a great city. Also, I like the boat: along with its wake, it draws my eye in to the right-hand side of the photo before the sky-scrapers lead me to the left.

A couple of (constructive, I hope) comments:

* I'd consider cloning the bits and bobs in the bottom right-hand side. Slightly distracting.

* If you get another shot from a similar location, how about playing with different amounts of foreground / sky? When I shot a similar scene, I did a pretty tight crop (not much sky or water). I reckon this might look a little better with a bit less sky (but that's subjective). And I like the clouds a lot.

* Compare the buildings on the right with those on the left: on the right there is a gradual rise in building-height which gives a very pleasing effect when viewing the shot; but on the left you have the two sky-scrapers (I forget what they are!) and quite an abrupt stop to the frame. If you do this again, consider having a go at framing it so that that the buildings get lower as you move to the edge of the left-hand side of the frame.

* This could be a great shot in different lights. Early morning and pre-sunset light can make a good shot great.

Hope that gives you some food for thought!

Exactly the critique I was going to give! Also, in this particular shot, you could try to dodge the buildings in PS. Try to brighten them up. Great start though.

[Rotel1026]

but on the left you have the two sky-scrapers (I forget what they are!)

Those buildings on the left are the Time Warner Center.

[xism]

thanks for the advice guys

[FLphotoguy]

My advice would be to go back to Weehawken when the lighting is better. You can get some awesome sunset shots from that location. I've shot there many times. Good start. Keep shooting and enjoy your new camera!

[xism]

thanks, yea i havve been waiting for a sunny day to get some better shots in. I live on the blvd so i just cross the street to shoot lol...

[L.Morey]

Exelent start

[inthedeck]

I've read through the comments, and can say that it's definately a nice start.

One more thing I thought I would add is the pincushion distortion. If you look at the frame, from afar, you will see how it 'bends' from edge to edge. This is corrected using a program, such as PS, etc. That will cause everything the straighten out, and then you can fix the vertical/horizontal perspective. Then crop, and work on everything else mentioned above.

Next time, to 'avoid' that hassle, just stretch the lens back a mm...so instead of using the 'smallest' FL, use +1 or +2mm. (i.e. 18 or 19, instead of 17, etc., etc.).

Cheers,
Manish.

[acrouse]

early in the morning when the sun is still rising would possibly look cool