Hamilton Parks

[zenador]

These were the "best" ones I took today. Comment if you like, I'm still learning... Taken at Websters Falls Park and Tews Falls Park.











Cheers,

Zen

[Mad Aussie]

Since you've mentioned you don't mind some comments/critiques ... I like the compositon in shot 1.
It was a tough shot too with that dull day creating a bright, lifeless sky and then that tree with the shadow under it. Dull days are great for lessening shadows and stopping the bright light bouncing off things but it's usually best to avoid including the sky where you can. Basically if the sky has no interest then don't shoot it. Perhaps there was somewhere near you could have shot down on the bridge. Or shot from close up and through the arch using the arch as a frame for the photo.

Looking at the photos I can see other opportunities as well. For instance, don't be afraid to get in closer and not include all of the subject, or even only take parts of the subject. We often shoot an animals eyes and face for instance in the same way you could have gotten in and showed us the texture of the blockwork on the bridge perhaps?

The 1st waterfall shot is a bit washed out which you could fix easily in post processing.
I know we harp on about not centering your sbject as you have done in the final shot but quite often it really does enhance the shot. In this case you are restricted I guess by the viewing platform and can't move around much to improve your view but moving the waterfall to the right of frame may have added more rockface as interest in the photos as well.

You should have just put this into the Critiques thread dude ... they are perfect examples for people to help you with

[zenador]

Thanks for the comments. All the shots are unprocessed (other than resizing.) I have PS CS3 Extended, but have not done anything with the photos. I liked my first bridge shot better than the second as well. I'll take some of the other suggestions back to the park, hopefully when there is more green.

For the waterfalls, I'm attaching other images, not centered, and almost no sky visible.





Cheers,

Zen

[Mad Aussie]

Both of these are improvements in composition in my opinion.

[AntZ]

Both of these are improvements in composition in my opinion.

Me too. I like the extra foreground and position of the waterfall in the 1st pic of the repost.

[Marko]

MA has given you good advice here for sure.
I too like shot 1 in Post 3 the best. - a much more pleasing composition and I like the misty feel in the bkgd. It could use a bit more contrast (locally) IMO to make it sing even louder.

[jjeling]

I think they are all good efforts in composition. The second set of images deserves a compliment on the improvement of their composition.

IMO, I think the 4th shot in the first post has the most potential. The composition of the image is great, but the exposure ruins it. If this image were taken at a low iso(100-200) and a really high aperture(f-22) on a tripod, the water would be soft. If performed on the other images in this series, would look the best on that image. They are all good efforts. Keep up to he persistence.

[zenador]

Thanks for the comments guys. On the first photo in the repost, I was not sold on it for the reasons you liked it (Antz.) I felt that the forground rocks made a huge imbalance, and thought it was front heavy. I do like the shot (otherwise I would not have taken it, right?) I just didn't fell it was the best.

The exposure was difficult for me ton control, the sky was mixed, and clouds moving at a good pace. I could setup the shot in the shade, and the sun peaked out when I pressed the button, or vise versa.

The shots at the bottom of the falls were "rushed" as it was quite misty where I was standing. I was concerned about too much water getting on the camera and the lens.

jjeling - that shot was taken on a tripod. EXIF data was F13 - 1/100, ISO100, Focal length of 28mm. That's one of the shots I was reffering to in this post where reviewing on the LCD in daylight is frustrating at times. I have the same shot taken 5 times, each one progressively over exposed.

I guess I'm a little slow on letting my creativity out. I've always thought that if X is your subject, than X is in the shot, not half of X, not a quarter, but X as a whole. Mental block, that hopefully over time will go away.

Again, thanks for the comments.

Zen