Yosemite

[MaxSteel]

Some pics from my recent trip to Yosemite. The lighting could've been better but I had a great time. Didn't get to see a bear which I was bummed about. Had my 70-300 on most of the time incase I ran into one :( Enjoy.

C&C and tips welcome as always.

Thought this was a person when I first drove by :rofl
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3597/3599716492_6b2ddacc28_b.jpg
Squirrel that greeted us at our campsite.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2422/3598914325_d2ea50f779_b.jpg
Birds N **** y0
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3302/3598915979_dc1c14a246_b.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2426/3599726452_c774a9e983_b.jpg
The Views
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3560/3599725614_62865597c1_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3586/3599729032_b602438999_b.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2475/3598920763_66f6f4d3b0_b.jpg

[Sisyphus]

#7 Working backwards, the last one is my favorite overall. It has an epic look, which I like.

#6 I don't care for the soft-water effect in most cases, here included. It seems unnatural somehow. Fun to play with, but it's generally overdone.

#5 This is nice. Might have been better with more foreground besides the body of water. The piece of wood is good, for example. The big rock on the far left is good, too, except there's too little of it.

#4 How did you manage to get all four animals to moon the camera simultaneously? ;)

#3 The bird photo is excellent. Great separation from the background and a nice, clean shot. I like all the space -- the bird seems to be surveying the vastness, free to take off and fly wherever he wants.

#2 What can I say? Cute cute cute. I don't mind at all that he's smack in the center -- and the center of attention.

#1 Can't decide whether the carcass signifies roadkill or it just happens to lie beside the road. Either way, the photo is technically okay but the subject matter is not something that holds my interest for long. I'm sure it's attractive to some, just not for me.

[tonydee]

#1/Bones: Can imagine your mistaking it for human! Looks well munched.

#2/Squirrel: Very cute. Nice sharpness, colour. Could crop from right ala Rule of Thirds, but fine as is too, so just do it if you want a squarer image for a particular spot.

#3/Bird: Plants draw attention down and out of frame, especially for having such a small strip of them in frame. They're surprisingly bright too - less noticable against the background - but can see why you've perhaps needed to lose some shadow detail on the bird to avoid blowing more foliage. Anyway, main thing for me would be to frame (or hopefully crop) with the bird a bit higher up and more plant matter included.

#4/Deer Bums: Fair enough, but run around next time ;-P. I'm nonplussed by the background - could crop just above the deer for a minimalist (perhaps overly) look.

#5/Lake: Interestingly thin slice of water. The protruberences therefrom - I assume some branches? - are too small, distracting and frustrating. We're left scanning forwards for something to look at. The rock at left draws the eye but doesn't offer much either - a bit more in frame might have helped.

#6/River: Not a fan of the water treatment really, and there's overexposure issues at back, but what I was immediately struck by and do like is the consistent chunkiness of it all: the numerous largish rocks and the many decently thick contrasted tree trunks at back left. That fits in with the robust flow of water too. The crop at top looks a bit harsh and incomplete for not including any folliage - an HDR portrait treatment might have been interesting too.

#7/Mountains: Not enough foreground - pity as the flowers looked adequate, but so marked I'm wondering if you're avoiding something ugly beneath. Bit lopsided/unbalanced by the sheer weight of mountain at left. You've tilted the lens upwards a lot, making the trees at the sides lean inwards - particularly obvious at right. Central mountain's terific and nicely lit: makes me want to be a rock climber.

Cheers, Tony

[MaxSteel]

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

[KenVP]

The views are great, the first fella did nto have such a good day and seems a bit off imo....