Low and Wide Angle

Getting low will give you another perspective that is often different. It makes the image stand out among all the others you may have. This means getting the camera to a low angle closer to the ground. The foreground will take a greater dominance. So this won’t work on everything. But wildflowers and rocks near the shore come to mind in images that I have seen. The effect makes the scene have more of a sense of depth. The flip side is that the background ship here is much less important.

Horizontal or Vertical

I tend to favor horizontal shots lately. It’s because the format of the computer screen lends itself to horizontal images. Vertical is important to remember. And now we have the convenience of panorama and square cropping. Keep them in mind to enhance your image. And remember to crop. Here you have two choices. I lean toward the horizontal. It’s your call.

Details

Sometimes it’s not necessary to see the whole object. In this case the ship is a common shot. But focusing in on a detail of the structure would bring the viewers attention in a way that is unique. It can be the difference that makes the shot stand out. With digital it’s ok to get a wide view and close up. But I find that the zoomed in shots tend to hold more interest.

Detail

Technical: Nikon D90, 1/200 sec, f14, focal length 20

Susan sent me two shots. It was hard for her to choose. There’s something to like about both. It’s a matter of taste since only one will make the final cut. And the discarded one will languish on your hard drive never to brighten your monitor again, an orphan. Ahh… tugging on your heartstrings…(Susie, Kevin says, never throws out anything.) As to digital images, why throw out anything. Actually Susan does discard images to make room on her memory card. And, I actually don’t discard any images. So everything I shoot stays buried on the hard drive. My hard edits (everyone seems to have their own system) leaves me with about 10% of keepers. Try as I might I can’t whittle the number down much more than that. And at that number you are asking for boredom to settle in among your viewers. There are a few really outstanding shots. And then there are the collections of events. Of the two shots Susan sent, I like this one. We see the figure without an explanation. As to the plate, you still need someone to wonder what was going on. It’s a good thing to have too many good images. Keep in mind that the National Geographic guys edit thousands of shots to a single or two, which illustrate the article. Tough.

 

 

 

Sharing

Technical: Nikon D90, 1/200 sec, f14, focal length 20

FOUND AN ARMY MAN IN THE SAND…SO YOU PUT DOWN YOUR SNACK PLATE AND STEP ON IT !???? WINGAERSHEEK BEACH, GLOUCESTER

Just a couple of dudes sharing a moment, eh Susan? As to why stand on the plate…? If you’re environmental, you don’t want that plate to fly away. You’ve heard of flying saucers? You need the caption to tell what they are holding. Some illustrations need explanation. I did wonder why stand on the plate, too. To be picky, you could have moved the horizon down a little to isolate the heads and hands against that great blue sky background.

Honey Crisp

Technical: Nikon D90, 1/200 sec, f6.3, focal length 34

Did focus…The Honey Crisp apple really is that big! Caption “OH…Snow White!” the not so evil queen! Sweet Matilda!

“Oh…Snow White!” the not so evil queen! Susan says that this is a big apple. It’s really a cute kid, too. I have no complaints here. She shared the shot at the apple orchard on apple picking day. Thanks.

Great profile shot. Most grown ups don’t look good in profile. It’s a nose and wrinkle thing. But the button nose of a cute kid is usually a winner. The eye is nearly center, which goes to show you that breaking the rules sometimes is a good thing. There is enough going on to make this work. Nice shot.

Lifeguard Chair

Technical: Nikon D90, 1/1600 sec, f4, focal length 29

A Glimpse of the Atlantic for you from Devereaux Beach, Marblehead Great Sky!

Susan, thanks. It is a good sky. You can dial down the exposure in editing and get more drama. The composition is good. The chair stands out. It’s needs a tweak to be a better shot. Glad to see you are doing some landscape shots.

 

Fall

Technical: Nikon D90, 1/200 sec, f10, focal length 70

Susan, you got a nice fall shot. The colored leaves are unmistakable. I have personally shot many images like this one. None have stayed in my selected edit file. I think it’s because it’s too much of a snapshot. Nothing special. I’ve seen so many shots like this. Not to deflate your enthusiasm, but you’re a much better photographer. So go for a better shot. Look at the scene. And think what was special that made you pause. Is the scenic? Or is it a detail? I would guess it was the color and the contrast of red and green. Then, your mission is to bring that concept to the viewer and capture that idea. Anyway that’s just a thought. It’s a little early in the fall. You have plenty of time. Go shoot some more leaves. Even the leaves in the front yard can be a source of material.

Door Norwich II

Technical: Nikon D90, 1/40 sec, f6.3, focal length 20

So she cropped it and got the doors front and center. That’s a way to get the center of attention. It leaves the viewer with little doubt as to intent. Susan, if it was the doors, then shoot the doors. That is to say get in close and focus on the doors. Zoom up. I tend to think that it was probably not the doors, but like you, I agree that there’s a good image here. Just what it is is hard to decide. You needed to change the angle, move your feet, zoom in, out, or something. Something caught your interest. It’s just that you couldn’t really get it on the image sensor and into the memory card. Shoot early and often… or was that vote early and often?

 

Door Norwich

Technical: Nikon D90, 1/40 sec, f6.3, focal length 20

Susan visited Norwich and Kevin’s old school. She liked the door. I know ‘cause she told me. She later sent me a crop of this image. The door is placed at approximately one of the intersections in the ‘Rule of Thirds.’ What caught my eye was the fall flowering chrysanthemums. The eye gravitated to the color. The doors are too small and are outdone by the large bushes. It’s a good image but not a good image of doors.