Canyon Lakes, Tx

[l330n]

First pic posted. This was from some of my first shots with nifty fifty.
Ive had my 450D for couple of months. Shot was taken at Canyon Lakes New Braufels couple months back. It was kind of crummy day outside, cloudy so i kind of spiffed up the sky and some level and curves in CS4. Thought i would share. C&C welcome. Love this forum. Keeps me entertained on my graveyard shift and i love to shoot.
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa26/l330n/CanyonLakesDog.jpg?t=1250228777

[Grimlock]

This is kinda a weird shot to comment on. Can't quite put my finger on it. It must be the angle or the expression on the dogs face that makes me feel unnerving.

However, I can say for sure that the sky has a very unnatural look. It's definitely leaning towards the purple side, which doesn't help the image, IMO. The dog seems to be overexposed (hotspots) which take away from the detail. Also, the subject is possibly slightly OOF, but it might be my tired eyes. Were you shooting into an embankment that caused the focus issues in the foreground? I think a more gradual focus would work much better.

Moving on to composition ... In this particular shot; I would of gone more sky and less foreground, but that's just me. I don't like the foreground on this one. Rule of thirds would save that portion. Either more sky or more foreground, and avoid the dead middle. Just food for thought.

And finally timing ... I would time your shots a little better. Wait for your dog to "look his best" before plunging the capture button. In this shot he looks a bit dehydrated and lost. But, maybe that's what you were going for. I dunno.

I don't mean to hit you with both barrels on your first post here, I'm just trying to help. I'm glad you posted this and hope to see many more from you. And welcome to POTN.

[l330n]

Now that im looking at it from my home and not my work laptop the sky does look purple. Laptops color may be off. Im gonna give it another whirl soon. Thanx for taking time to check my newb pic out. I dont mind bluntness.

[l330n]

well now i definatley know my laptop needs some serious calibration. That damn pic was stupid purple. Sorry bout that. Ok here is the fixed version cropped a little diff and hopefully the color is better this time. Round 2. Better?
So much for a good first pic post. Everyone must think im color blind. Stupid laptop. Atleast now i know not to do any editing with it. I usually dont but ever since ive been checkin out this forum i fiddle around with my pics at work.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa26/l330n/2.jpg?t=1250254300

[MattMoore]

Canyon Lake....I live near there...yes, the weather has been pretty crummy for most types of photography (all sun, all the time)

[joedlh]

I'm going to take a great personal risk and observe that large aperture lenses are not the be-all and end-all for every image under the sun. (Disclaimer: I have large aperture lenses.) You got great focus on the wildflower to the dog's left (camera right) and the dog's chest. But his face it out of focus. You either needed a smaller aperture or a more precise focus on the face.

Commenting on composition, I don't think the blurry foreground contributes anything. I would crop it out. The dog is also a rather small portion of the image. Get in closer. Honestly, I think you would have gotten a better shot if you'd used a telephoto instead of the 50mm.

[DerekSimon]

Honestly the angle with the shot really makes it not a favourite for me. I am sure that you were trying to achieve this but I just dont see it. Somewhat eerie to a point.

[PixelPusher]

Much improvement with the second pic. I also regret ever doing any post on my laptop, (even on my $2k Mac laptop). Keep it just for organizing and rating the pics and edit on a calibrated monitor.

The dog has a kind of tired look to it, but I kind of like the feeling from it.

[Grimlock]

Edit is much better. Good job.

[l330n]

Thanx for everyones comments. Here are a couple of others from that day
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa26/l330n/IMG_3247.jpg?t=1250284912

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa26/l330n/IMG_3242.jpg?t=1250284946

Dog and his owner
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa26/l330n/IMG_3239.jpg?t=1250284984

[Sprfunk]

Personally I like the first edit. I think the interesting thing is the dogs strange gaze and stance. I would just crop a bit of the blurry bottom out.

[jasonstiller]

i like the original pic because the dogs face makes me giggle a little.

[korrektor]

the last one is the winner! a stunning dog and great post processing!

[l330n]

the last one is the winner! a stunning dog and great post processing!

i like the original pic because the dogs face makes me giggle a little.

Personally I like the first edit. I think the interesting thing is the dogs strange gaze and stance. I would just crop a bit of the blurry bottom out.

Edit is much better. Good job.

Thanx everyone. Happy to share.