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Kore

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 7, 2007
21
0
Hi. I'm Kore and have recently discovered the joys of photography. I only really started taking photography more seriously when I got my Fuji FinePix S5700 about a week ago (I'm what I like to call incredibly loosely a former happy snapper). So all these pictures (I'll limit it to 5 in the first post and add more later) are all recent. Constructive criticism would be appreciated as I'm teaching myself. All of my shots are taken in rural Australia.

This is a cloudy sunrise. I quite like the colours in the sky.
nature002.jpg

This is an amusing shot at a golf club where I was working at (volunteering for my Grade 12 Golf Day fundraiser) of a bird looking for food.
2007_0103golfday0037.jpg

Dusk on Hole 18.
2007_0103golfday0057.jpg

The native wildlife. I wanted to go closer but kangaroos attack on occasion if they feel their territory to be invaded.
2007_0103golfday0026.jpg

Last but not least: an outback sunset.
2007_0103golfday0058.jpg


Yeah, I guess I kind of have a thing about sunsets. :p
Comment away. Constructive criticism recommended. Thanks. :D

Edit: I realise now that there is a digital photography section but I feel as I haven't got a common "theme" to all of these photos, I don't feel it would be threadworthy in that section.
 

EvryDayImShufln

macrumors 65816
Sep 18, 2006
1,094
1
I have a suggestion, although I may be completely wrong in regards to how a professional photographer would think of this. I like all your photos, but in the first one there is a bit of tree that is sticking out on the top right, which I would THINk would look better if it were not there in the first place. Just my thoughts, again, I'm not a photographer!
 

Kore

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 7, 2007
21
0
Ooh, good thinking. Yeah, I think I kind of overlooked it, I'll crop it later. None of these pictures are shopped either for those curious.
 

klymr

macrumors 65816
May 16, 2007
1,451
103
Utah
Yeah, either more or less of the tree. Not a bad start. My first roll of film (I own a Nikon N80) was just a big blurry mess as I was trying to figure out how to use my camera on it's own, no auto settings. Once I learned my way around the exposure settings, things kinda worked out nicely. I had a bunch of people tell me I could major in photography and asked how long I had been shooting. It was kinda fun to say, "that's my 3 roll ever." or "about two months."

I might possibly be buying a Nikon D200 from a guy at work. He is upgrading to the D300 when it is finally released. The D200 has less than 1,300 shots on it and he got it within the first week the store had it. I wish I had his kind of money.

Back to your photos:

They are all really nice. I like the last one, of the sunset. You have everything in a pretty good composition. The pole is in a good location, as well as the horizon line. A good rule of thumb, keep things on the thirds. Imagine breaking your photograph into three sections, top to bottom and also side to side. You want objects to be placed on those lines where the thirds are, and more importantly, place objects in where the horizontal lines cross the vertical lines. Check out this for a better understanding http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thirds.

The same thing can be applied to the photos of the two animals. The bird could be up and to the right a bit more. I absolutely love the diagonal lines in that photo. It is pretty amazing how a small thing like that can make the photo that much better. You'd be surprised. As far as the other one, place the kangaroo head in that area up top right where the two sections would cross, and run the body down the section on the right. It gives a sense of motion to the picture, like the kangaroo is about to jump across the photo and off the left half of the image.

Good luck, and keep up the good work! Only one way to get better, SHOOT MORE!
 

JBat

macrumors regular
Apr 6, 2007
158
17
Washington
Hey Kore,

I like your shots a lot and I'm a big fan of sunsets and sunrises, too. One thing to consider when shooting them is to be aware of distracting elements in the image. The colors are great in the last shot, but the telephone pole takes away from the photo overall because the eye is drawn to it.

If you try to seek out vantage points that eliminate distracting elements, your compositions will become stronger as a result.

Nice job overall. :)
 

Kore

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 7, 2007
21
0
Thanks for the constructive criticism, all. I will edit more pictures into this post soon. Your time is greatly appreciated.
 

LethalWolfe

macrumors G3
Jan 11, 2002
9,370
124
Los Angeles
Hey Kore,

I like your shots a lot and I'm a big fan of sunsets and sunrises, too. One thing to consider when shooting them is to be aware of distracting elements in the image. The colors are great in the last shot, but the telephone pole takes away from the photo overall because the eye is drawn to it.

I like the telephone pole. An image of something man-made jutting up in the middle of something very natural has some symbolism to it. Maybe I'm reading into the image something Kore didn't mean to put there, but I think it's a nice image of man's encroachment into nature.

I would, however, crop or remove the roof top at the very bottom of the frame though as that is a bit distracting. :)


Lethal
 

Kore

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 7, 2007
21
0
I know I said I'd edit into my last post, but meh.
My gorgeous puppy, Jess.
nature031.jpg

Bird.
2007_0109nature0005.jpg
 

redrabbit

macrumors 6502
Aug 8, 2006
320
0
I like the bird shot. I don't see what's so significant/interesting about the stump, though. I'd delete that to be honest :rolleyes:
 

zioxide

macrumors 603
Dec 11, 2006
5,737
3,726
Try to do something with the composition. Having all of the objects right in the center of the frame (bird, kangaroo, etc) gets boring. Use the rule of thirds that was mentioned above.

Also, the dusk on 18 would be a great shot but its a bit overexposed.

Not bad though. I really like the pic of the sunset.
 

Kore

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 7, 2007
21
0
I like the bird shot. I don't see what's so significant/interesting about the stump, though. I'd delete that to be honest :rolleyes:

Sshhhh....I like my stumpie. :p
Yeah, you're right, it's a bit boring.

Thanks for all the tips, everyone.
 

JBat

macrumors regular
Apr 6, 2007
158
17
Washington
Hey Kore,

One thing I like to do with pets is try to get down to their level. Your dog is really cute, but almost everyone shoots their pets while standing over them. One time try to get down on his level and take a shot of him that way. It makes for a pretty interesting picture.

Something like this (my girlfriends dog, Bogie):

956246329_e5758de842.jpg
 

Kore

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 7, 2007
21
0
I like the bird shot. I don't see what's so significant/interesting about the stump, though. I'd delete that to be honest :rolleyes:

Hey Kore,

One thing I like to do with pets is try to get down to their level. Your dog is really cute, but almost everyone shoots their pets while standing over them. One time try to get down on his level and take a shot of him that way. It makes for a pretty interesting picture.

Something like this (my girlfriends dog, Bogie):

956246329_e5758de842.jpg

That's really effective. Thanks! I'll remember that next time, although it's a bit hard cause she adores jumping up on me.
 
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