C&C for this newbie.

[juanpafer]

My first post. I got my first SLR 6 months ago, an XSI and I am thrilled with it! I have been reading posts here for a while, reading books, and shooting a lot, trying to get better at photography. I want to share some of my pictures and hopefully get some critiques, advices, tips, etc.
All feedback is appreciated. Please be brutal! I want to improve.

Focal length
187 mm
Max lens aperture
f/5.7
Exposure
1/200 at f/6.3
Flash
Not fired, compulsory mode
Exposure bias
0 EV
Exposure mode
Manual
Exposure prog.
Manual
ISO speed
ISO 200
Metering mode
Pattern

LIGHTHOUSE - HAWAII
http://juanpics.zenfolio.com/img/v3/p115628208-5.jpg


Focal length
18 mm
Max lens aperture
f/3.5
Exposure
1/6 at f/16
Flash
Not fired, compulsory mode
Exposure bias
0 EV
Exposure mode
Manual
Exposure prog.
Manual
ISO speed
ISO 100
Metering mode
Pattern

ST LOUIS ARCH
http://juanpics.zenfolio.com/img/v5/p519977946-5.jpg

Focal length
29 mm
Max lens aperture
f/4.4
Exposure
2.5s at f/5.6
Flash
Not fired, compulsory mode
Exposure bias
0 EV
Exposure mode
Manual
Exposure prog.
Manual
ISO speed
ISO 100
Metering mode
Pattern

ST LOUIS COURT HOUSE
http://juanpics.zenfolio.com/img/v2/p332389249-5.jpg

Focal length
34 mm
Max lens aperture
f/4.6
Exposure
1/1000 at f/4.5
Flash
Not fired, compulsory mode
Exposure bias
0 EV
Exposure mode
Auto
Exposure prog.
Aperture priority
ISO speed
ISO 100
Metering mode
Spot

PELLA TULIP FESTIVAL
http://juanpics.zenfolio.com/img/v3/p312674632-5.jpg

Focal length
250 mm
Max lens aperture
f/5.7
Exposure
1/60 at f/5.6
Flash
Not fired, compulsory mode
Exposure bias
0 EV
Exposure mode
Manual
Exposure prog.
Manual
ISO speed
ISO 1600
Metering mode
Pattern

IGUANA
http://juanpics.zenfolio.com/img/v3/p233093726-5.jpg

[tonydee]

#1 has slightly strange levels of saturation and contrast throughout - the clouds in particular look a bit funny. Am curious how much of that is from post-processing. Good composition, though the foreground and background blend together a touch too much. It might work even better from a higher elevation (if available). Unfortunately, going any further right would lose the door into the lighthouse, and the sense of it reaching the ground rather than spouting from the tree. I'm in two minds as to whether a wider angle encompassing a touch more to the right might have helped, getting more blue water reaching around the closer rocks: down side of change this is that currently the land ends at about the distance in from the right that the lighthouse is in from left - which is nicely balanced. So, while the scene doesn't ring "perfect" to me, seems you've made pretty good compromises.

#2: The reflection is dictating the central placement of horizon. It all works fine, but for me personally I'd prefer to see a swan or something to lift interest levels. Best to carry one in your pocket ;-).

#3: Decent effort. Some distortion with the buildings at the sides converging slightly, but not bad and could be sorted out in Photoshop / GIMP etc.. I'd have preferred to be looking more downwards on to the pond rather than through it, but that would require elevation or a much wider angle lens (that you might not have?). I think an angled shot may also be more interesting than this frontal one. Did pretty well controlling the blown highlights for a single exposure, but the scene's still suffering a bit. HDR's an alternative, though a bit tedious. The hue in the sky is pleasant but uninteresting... just luck of the draw, or a waiting game.

#4: many of the focused tulips are cut into, leading the eye out the bottom of the frame. At a minimum, you needed to reframe to include them more fully, but I personally typically prefer to focus through the front flowers and find some a little further back. The building also looks chopped into... would like to see some of the ground connecting the flowers to it. It reaches quite a long way to the right too, but I can see there are other distracting buildings behind it that may not look so great being further included in frame. Clockwise rotation needed.

#5: Looks pretty sharp at the size posted, and the background colour suits well. To take this to the next level requires some extra element of interest... a tongue, a passing insect/ant being watched/hunted etc..

All up, outstanding work considering your 6 months behind a camera.

Cheers, Tony

[juanpafer]

Tony,
Thank you very much for taking the time to look at my pictures.

#1 Different colors. I see what you mean about the clouds, but that was the sky, not me... looks any better on this one? Unfortunately this pic was taken from a boat, so no way you can shoot it from a higher point.
http://juanpics.zenfolio.com/img/v8/p896015276-5.jpg

#2 I will try to include a swan in my bag next time :)

#3 I corrected the perspective (The one on the right looks weird... I don't remember if it had some kind of concave shape...) I took several shots at different speeds on a tripod thinking of HDR. Unfortunately my skills are not very good at HDR (yet) so I have not ended up with a better result than this single shot. I will keep trying. (I got a wide angle two days ago!! I have to practice a lot with it...)
http://juanpics.zenfolio.com/img/v3/p781866140-5.jpg

#4 I found another shot. Do you think this one works better? I was trying to include that house because I think it goes well with the tulips.
http://juanpics.zenfolio.com/img/v2/p1009840522-5.jpg

#5 I can find a place for that insect right next to the swan.

Again thank you for the very constructive critique.

[tonydee]

The repost of #1 works better for me... more vibrancy in the grass helps differentiate the distances, and the rocks aren't quite so dominant, letting the eye move around more freely.

Good job straightening the building... looks much better to me. For HDR, full on HDR software can sometimes be hard to control, so sometimes it's better just to open a darker version as an additional background layer, then gently brush through the blown areas with a feather-edged brush on low opacity until just enough detail is revealed....

The new tuplip and house shot works much, much better in my opinion. Though, if you happened to have an elf in your backpack... ;-P.

Cheers, Tony

[juanpafer]

Tony, thanks for you input. Any more comments?