20 replies to this topic

[Jocky]

Hi all,

Can more experienced photographers than me (ie anyone who has ever held a camera) have a look at the pictures I have posted in another thread http://www.thefossil...esert-tomorrow/ and give some constructive advice in this thread.

Fuji HS-20.

CHEERS

[bdevey]

I'm no expert.... but, I liked your photos. I like taking landscape photos, and here is what I might of done with your first one, if It was mine. Jest a thought

[Jocky]

Thanks for the reply.

How about these:

Before:


After:


CHEERS

[Sharkbyte]

The after picture is great. Now lets talk about your finds.

[bdevey]

Wow, looks great and natural.

[Jocky]

Thanks for the comments.

I just downloaded a trial of Lightroom and it appears to do well with my landscapes.

CHEERS

[Dave (POM) Allen]

I`M SURE I DROPPED THAT CONTACT LENS AROUND HERE SOMEWHERE.

[Jocky]

More desert pics:





cheers

[Missourian]

I'm no expert.... but, I liked your photos. I like taking landscape photos, and here is what I might of done with your first one, if It was mine. Jest a thought

I prefer more sky, as it helps give one a sense of the expansiveness of the scene. I do crop sky if the horizon is too low.

Regarding the before and after, I prefer the before. The lighting and colors are more natural. The after ended up with those darkened corners.


And sunset pictures in the desert are always amazing.

[grampa dino]

What I have being told is to look at the photo in question in thirds (9 squares) and never have the main interest in the center
If you know what i mean

[Missourian]

What I have being told is to look at the photo in question in thirds (9 squares) and never have the main interest in the center
If you know what i mean

I know exactly what you mean.

[Jocky]

Thanks guys.

The sunrises were taken from the roof of a house so my angle was very restricted. During next week I am planning a visit to the desert to take a few sunsets over some large dunes.

CHEERS

[jes4him]

I love to take pictures at the beach while I'm out fossil collecting. I love to take pics of the water-scape looking out over the water. What I don't know is where to place the horizon of the water? Do I center it "vertically" so I have equal amounts of water and sky? Not sure if there is a rule of thumb when taking these types of pics.

[Roanoker]

I'd say to take a bunch of pictures and try all sorts of angles. High, low, right side, left side. Include bits of trees or shells. Tilt your camera with the sun in the upper right corner, for example. You may be surprised at what turns up. If you use a digital camera, you can throw away all the pictures you don't like. (I find it difficult to throw away any pictures.) You are in control, not some "expert" who wrote an article.

[Missourian]

I love to take pictures at the beach while I'm out fossil collecting. I love to take pics of the water-scape looking out over the water. What I don't know is where to place the horizon of the water? Do I center it "vertically" so I have equal amounts of water and sky? Not sure if there is a rule of thumb when taking these types of pics.

There really aren't any set rules. The arrangement of the scene is up to the discretion of the photographer. There are a few aesthetic qualities that seem to come natural to me.

The amount of sky I use depends on the overall balance of the scene. In most cases (i.e. on clear days), I'll cut it down to 20-30%. Exceptions to this are if the sky itself adds to the scene (eg. dramactic clouds, or colorful clouds above the setting sun).

As for sunsets over the ocean, I'll usually center the sun horizontally. If an island, hill or boat are present in the scene, I'll shift the sun to the side to balance it out. Sometimes I'll adjust the zoom to improve the balance.

If I'm imaging something of particular interest, such as the green flash of the setting sun, or a large fossil in an outcropping, centering it will take more priority over scene balance.

Remember, it is always about balancing the subject matter in the scene. If you practice enough, it will come naturally.

But still, take many, many photos, and at least a few will come out winners.

[Jocky]

I would love to see a cloudy sky. All the desert landscapes I take dont include much sky because of lack of clouds.

CHEERS

[Missourian]

I would love to see a cloudy sky. All the desert landscapes I take dont include much sky because of lack of clouds.

CHEERS

Remember high cirrus clouds. Those can be wonderful, especially at sunset.

[cybris]

I've taken some pictures early in the morning as the sun rises when I go fossil collecting with my dad. I turn the flash off and it usually works better.

[Kosmoceras]

Some great photography there! I find taking pictures against the sun gives them a great effect, like you have recently done. The ones the with lovely colouration with the icy blue and warming sand are lovely too. Contrasting colours work well together like that. With your close ups of teeth etc, I would recomend a plain background, or one with contrasting colours, it helps focas it on the parts you want. When you can, use the rule of three with objects that stand out, it it more attractive to the eyes for some reason.
Here are some examples of my work what you can do with practice:

Best wishes,
Thomas.

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[Kosmoceras]

Above examples:
Pic1: Against the sun
Pic2: Mode on camera (forgot to say in last post: the modes on cameras are good, eg close up, or landscape mode)
Pic3: Rule of 3
Pic4: Contrasting colours
Pic5: Against the sun