The ABC's of Photography - Letter G (Reveal Phase)

[Antmeister]

Here are some other references to help to improve your photography:
12 Essential Photographic Rules
Secrets of Killer Concert Photos Revealed
Lights Your Way


Anyone in the future who wishes to join this group, follow these steps:

• Go to http://www.maverickmarks.com/abcphoto.
• Click the "Login" link and register from there.
• Once registered, login and click the Upload file(s) button to begin uploading your pictures.

[Antmeister]

bump for Discussion

[Lorena]

GardenOfTheGods1
GrandmasFarm
GiantsCauseway
Green
GardenOfTheGods3
Glass
GirlAndBoy
GardenOfTheGods2
Guitar
Garden
Giraffe1
GlassyBroad
GuitarStrings3
GuitarTuningPegs

[Lorena]

GardenOfTheGods1 – Great composition… like how the wooden gate leads my eye from the bottom to the middle of the picture. I might crop the top just a tad and possibly a little bit of the right so as to have the gate on the bottom right hand side of the picture. Leading lines always catch my eye.

GrandmasFarm – 1 of 2 people took this picture and I’ll try to guess after comments are over. I’m not sure what makes this picture so great. Maybe its simplicity is what makes it so nice to look at.

GiantsCauseway – Ahh… great use of slowing the shutter speed. This picture will kick some major ass after a bit of post processing. Love the flow of the water off the rocks. It’s so peaceful, love it!

Green – looks like the focus was towards the back… kind of a rushed shot it seems. I would have focused on the front part of the grass and zoomed in a bit closer to get more detail from the grass.

GardenOfTheGods3 – Something seems a little off... is it misty? Dunno, I can’t tell, but the mountain colors seem off compared to the trees. It’s a little centered for my taste and I’d probably crop the sky and the road a little bit. I’d move the camera to the right to include more of the mountains so there’s not so much space on the left.

Glass – based on previous work, I have a good idea of who this might be. I love the depth of field and actually don’t mind the space on the left. It’s like an invitation to grab some wine. I wouldn’t do anything different. Good contrasting colors with the wine… bravo!

GirlAndBoy – Hmm… I would of used a different vantage point. Whatever that thing is on the left is distracting as is the greenery in the foreground.

GardenOfTheGods2 – As with GardenOfTheGods3, something seems off with the colors… I can’t put my finger on it and it’s driving me nuts! I’d crop the top a little but the variation in color is nice.

Guitar – love the motion of the guitarist. How long was the shutter open for? I know you used a tripod because the background is not blurred. I would have cropped a bit on the left so the microphone stand is somewhere closer to the edge of the pic. A closeup of his hands in motion would have been pretty damn awesome.

Garden – I would have liked to have seen everything in focus, but nice rich colors.

Giraffe1 – I don’t mind the extra space on the left, having the giraffes mouth right on the edge would be too tight. I’m not sure if this was possible but, how about taking a picture from the backside leading up to it’s mouth for a different perspective?

GlassyBroad – I love the colors but it’s a little centered for me. I would have used a different vantage point and would have bumped the aperture several notches so the background’s a little blurred… the stuff back there is a little distracting.

GuitarStrings3 – interesting angle and I like how the strings aren’t right in the middle of the pic. Good use of depth-of-field.

GuitarTuningPegs – It seems a bit crooked, but good use of repetition. I’m not really sure about the blurred portion on the right but do like the strings on the top of the pic.

[Lorena]

bump

[lordscarlet]

I have the list and started making comments, hopefully I can finish it today or tomorrow.

[Bonegavel]

As always, I have not looked at any comments yet.

GardenOfTheGods1 - a little vignetting and a bit dark (that part could be my monitor). Nice shot but didn't arouse anything in me.

GrandmasFarm - I love the concept here but the stuff is too smashed together. I think if the wagon wasn't there, it would have added a bit to the shot. maybe then getting the wagon alone in the green grass would have been nice.

GiantsCauseway - I'm not digging the framing. Maybe getting more of the horizon would have helped?

Green - the blurry up close I don't think works in this picture. The shadows up top (a tree?) ruin the framing for me there as well.

GardenOfTheGods3 - I like this better than the first but something still seems to be missing and what that is I'm not sure.

Glass - I like this shot. A little tilted to make the mundane a bit new. The edge of the table (?) at the top is a little distracting but I can live with it.

GirlAndBoy - I would have avoided getting the tree limbs in the way. Getting some fill flash on the statues face would have been nice if you could have (a remote flash works wonders for this )

GardenOfTheGods2 - Something must be wrong with me. I feel like I should like all these GoG shots but something just isn't clicking. Obviously, the light can't be helped since it's snowing. Sorry, I just can't put words to it.

Guitar -Shots like this usually drive me nuts but I like this one. I like that I don't see his head.

Garden - The framing just doesn't feel right. I would maybe have concentrated on one flower in focus and had the rest nicely blurry behind?

Giraffe1 - I hate to harp on framing so much (I have many many of these kinds of shots too) but the framing doesn't do anything for me on this shot. Maybe leave some sky above or ground below, but the Giraffe takes up too much of the pic.

GlassyBroad -I love all the reflections on her but the background is distracting. Perhaps a smaller aperture would have blurred the back enough?

GuitarStrings3 - My light complaints may be my monitor (sorry if that is true) but I like the premise of the shot but the lighting seems a bit dull.

GuitarTuningPegs - Normally I'm all about the blurry but it seems that too much of it is blurry. I think it is the fact that the repetition of items and only have one in focus messes with my eyes.

[Barkeep49]

Is this set of photos darker than others?

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by Barkeep49

Is this set of photos darker than others?

I think, as a whole, darker pictures were submitted.

[Abe Sargent]

GardenOfTheGods1, 2, &3 – The place looks really awesome, and must have been a fantastic place to visit. All three of this pictures strike me. I'd prefer a little more light but maybe that's just me. Of the three, my fav int eh 3rd one, which I like because of the way the place is framed.

GrandmasFarm – This is one of my favorite all time pictures for this ABCs stuff, and I love it.

GiantsCauseway – I love water a lot. This is my second favorite picture of th e G's by far behind the farm pic above. I love the motion and the moment. I feel there, and that is tres cool.

Green – I can't tell if teh back focus was intentional or accidental.

Glass – i'm not sure what makes this picture anything more than just a picutre. Maybe I'm missing something, but this picture doesn;t resonate with me at all.

GirlAndBoy – The foliage int eh front makes it seems like you are spying on them. That's a cool effect.


Guitar – I'm not sure about this one too. I'm not convinced that this does anything for me other than wonder why teh photographer left the door open too long.

Garden – This is cool for me because I love the colors! It looks like it was made with just three crayons from the box.

Giraffe1 – I like giraffes as much as the next guy. I'm a fan of the nature. But what distinguishes this giraffe piic from every other one I've ever seen?

GlassyBroad – I really, really like the subject here instead of trees, flowers, and stuff, it's somethign interesting. Nice job!

GuitarStrings3 & GuitarTuningPegs – I guess I'm not into fruit basket painint, because the noraml item stuff just isn;t doing it for me. These look professional to be in a book about how to play the guitar, but they are very functional to me.

Those are my thoughts.

-Abe

[Kalypso]

Hello everyone!
I am just joining the ABC's - recruited by Anxiety. I love this concept as I am new to photography and looking for some advice!

GardenOfTheGods1-I like this picture alot- the mountains look great and the winding path and fence are a great touch. It would have been close to perfect if that sign hadn't been there.

GrandmasFarm- This is a nice shot where the red wagon really pops. It makes me think of childhood days of the past.

GiantsCauseway- I love the flow of the water and the motion is really captured well here. Maybe a little more light? Other than that- great!

Green- The light and angle are wonderful in this pic but it seems a bit unnatural since the way it's blurry in the front

GardenOfTheGods3- This is a fantastic pic- only thing I would change would be a bit less street and more mountains!

Glass- This is probably my favorite- I love the angle and pretty much everything. It looks like it belongs in Food and Wine magazine!

GirlAndBoy- I like this angle and the foliage in the foreground- it looks like you've stumbled upon lovers in a park.

GardenOfTheGods2- My second fav of this set- looks like a postcard pic.

Guitar-The effect on this pic is way cool. Love it!

Garden- The best part of this pic is the angle it was taken.

Giraffe1- This is a nice shot- maybe if it was taken lower to the ground looking up at the giraffe it would be a cool effect to emphasize the height of the giraffe.

GlassyBroad- This genre of art isn't my favorite, but this shot is impressive. It looks like the lights are reflecting in her eyes which is a cool effect to capture.

GuitarStrings3- I like this picture - the angle is very unique.

GuitarTuningPegs- This is good, but would have been better to me without the blurring. It could have been solid on it's own without that effect.

~Kalypso

[Antmeister]

Thanks for the participation thus far. I have added some links to the first post that gives some great photography tips. Add of these come from a site called PopPhoto.com so you may what to check it out if you have the time. I think I will probably add a few links each week to help people along as well. Although most of the links I deal with are usually for post processing, I still have a number that deal just with photograhy alone. Hope it helps.

[Antmeister]

bumping for Reveal Day

[Abe Sargent]

I was the submitter for Green.

[wade moore]

I'm going to go back and do feedback on these, i swear.

Ugh.. work has sucked lately.

[Kalypso]

I submitted Grandma's Farm.

[wade moore]

Oh - and I was girl and boy - I'll add more detail soon.

[Lorena]

Kalypso, you were grandma's farm?! Wow, that's awesome! I actually thought it was Bonegavel or Padresfan... ya fooled me

I was guitarstrings3, guitartuningpegs and garden.

The lighting on guitarstrings3 and guitartuningpegs was bad because I sorta rushed my shots and one of the light bulbs didn't work, so I winged it. I was looking for a different angle on guitarstrings3 and I'm pretty happy with the angle... lighting, not so much. Guitartuningpegs was one of like 20 pictures I took of that guitar and I liked the repetition. I used my macro lens and didn't know how to manipulate the depth of field so everything was in focus. Still need to work on that.

Garden was taken several months ago and when looking back at old pics, I really liked it. Well, I liked the colors more than anything because looking at it again, I should have made my f-stop bigger (or is it smaller?) to have everything in focus. I'm still pretty happy with the results though.

[Lorena]

actually, since no one has claimed glass, I'm gonna guess that's bonegavel and guitar was lordscarlet.

[Kalypso]

Thanks Dogerchick! This is such a great idea and I enjoyed my first round- your guitar pics were very impressive- I liked your technique alot.

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by Dodgerchick

actually, since no one has claimed glass, I'm gonna guess that's bonegavel and guitar was lordscarlet.

I'm going to be quick like everyone else seems to have been.. it seems the summer is over and everyone has gotten busy.

I was guitar, giant's causeway and glass.

[Lorena]

Originally Posted by lordscarlet

I'm going to be quick like everyone else seems to have been.. it seems the summer is over and everyone has gotten busy.

I was guitar, giant's causeway and glass.

Yay, got guitar right but I totally thought glass was Bonegavel. All 3 pictures were very, very different from each other and I wouldn't have guessed you were the other 2. Love 'em!!

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by Dodgerchick

Yay, got guitar right but I totally thought glass was Bonegavel. All 3 pictures were very, very different from each other and I wouldn't have guessed you were the other 2. Love 'em!!

I am a man of many tastes. I love action shots (sports and entertainers), the only landscape shots I like are architecture and moving water, and of course small aperture, up-close inanimate objects.

I still plan to write comments and expand upon the pictures I took. Maybe this afternoon, we shall see. Our team lead was out last week so I had to take on his role.

[OldGiants]

I took glassy broad and giraffe.

Glassy Broad was taken in the display room of a fornace on Murano island in Venice. I agree the background is too distracting, even after I cropped a lot out. But that's why Photoshop exists, to blur the background. I still need work on my aperture settings, like learning to use them and not relying on automatic.

Giraffe was taken from a moving truck on the Safari ride at Animal Kingdom. He's eating, and I wanted to show the length of his neck horizontal instead of the usual vertical.

[OldGiants]

I really like all the textures and colors in grandma's farm, my favorite of this week's shots.

[Lorena]

Originally Posted by OldGiants

I still need work on my aperture settings, like learning to use them and not relying on automatic.

Small number = small amount of focus on subject
Bigger number = bigger amount of focus on subject

That's the easiest way I remember it.

[sterlingice]

The three part Garden of the Gods set was mine- was trying to get 3 different looking photos but I had quite a few shots I liked from there. A bit of a story behind these. In February of this year, I went to Colorado Springs for a week of training. I had never done business travel before and I'm a sucker for tourism so I wanted to go out and do stuff every night. And not the "drinky drinky" stuff that some like, but some actual seeing of sights and the like.

Well, a few miles west of Colorado Springs is a place called Garden of the Gods. Actually, heading west on Garden of the Gods Avenue is really neat, particularly on a cloudy day. You're driving along with clouds in front of you and, bam, there's a mountain range and you're at the foot of it. The park itself is a Very cool place- large red rock formations, cool mountainous backdrop, all on a small road that winds up and down the hills of the park (wait, wait- this will be a key point later).

One evening after class, I drive out towards the park. It's maybe 5pm, still have an hour or two of light. Sure, there's a little snow falling but not much. In the city, it's sticking to the ground a little but not much so I figure there's no harm in going to the park. The visitor's center closed at 5 but the park is still open.

So, remember that little winding road. Yeah, that little winding road goes up and down the hilly elevations through the park. Maybe goes up 100', down 200', up another 200', and back and forth. Not so bad. Except, well, the snow starts getting a bit heavier as I head deeper into the park. That's why you start seeing the odd shading in a couple of the pictures. GoG1 was at a path at the start of the park, GoG2 is further in, while GoG3 had to have been at least halfway.

I start thinking I should head back as the snow is getting a bit heavier and the grade a bit steeper. But I'm only a mile or so in, so no big deal. About the time I take GoG3, I figure it's time to stop taking pictures and get the heck out of the park. Oops, the road is only one way. And they don't exactly salt or plow it. Check out GoG3 again- that's what the road looked like- it wasn't heavy snow but it was freezing to the ground, making a nice coat of ice on this hilly road.

Now, I'm not an ice driver. I'm from Houston. We get a ton of ice in Kansas but I try like hell to avoid it because I know I can't drive on it. Well, I spend the rest of the hour getting out of the park, staying ever so slightly on my brakes when I can but basically coasting around the park at 5 mph and gladly getting the heck out. I do actually stop for one last round of pictures before it gets dark and you can see how badly icy the road is in them but the quality of the pictures is a bit iffy (see below).

One of the kickers is that I go back a couple of days later on my last day and it's in the 50s. I get some other pictures and it's just night and day (also, see below). I just love the red/green contrast in the pictures there and going there in the snow is just not something you can really duplicate nor do I care to





SI