A day at the park

[kkraczek]

Here is a shot I took on a soon-to-be-stormy day. All comments appreciated!

I cropped in a little from the original, and used the unsharp mask in PS.

[gahspidy]

Hey Kristin
This is not bad. I think you framed this shot very well. I like how you put the tree in the left of the frame with the leaves coming down from the top and the bridge going across the frame. I would only wish it to be sharper and a bit clearer or more vivid. I would be interested to know some specifics, i.e film,lens, tripod? manual focus

[ACArmstrong]

Great color in this photo, but I find eye a little confused as to where I should be looking. It just like there's way too much going on to take it all in and immediately recognize what's going on.

Sorry for the negative. Thanks for sharing.

[Yoyo Szeto]

Hi, When I look at this photo, I have a very calm feeling. I think the colour of foreground is not compatible to the overall tones of the rest). If you capture this photo after rain, it may be better.
All the best.
yoyo

[Dave L]

Nice shoot - well thought through !

[kkraczek]

Hey Kristin
This is not bad. I think you framed this shot very well. I like how you put the tree in the left of the frame with the leaves coming down from the top and the bridge going across the frame. I would only wish it to be sharper and a bit clearer or more vivid. I would be interested to know some specifics, i.e film,lens, tripod? manual focus

Thanks to everyone for your helpful comments. I was on a field trip with my daughter's class that day, so I'm not quite sure of the settings, but I'm almost positive that I had it at F16 or higher, thinking that I would get better DOF. I didn't have a tripod with me, and I was manually focusing with my Sigma 105mm macro.

I also liked the composition of this shot, but was rather disappointed with the softness of it. Today I took some shots with a tripod, to see if that doesn't help. I do have a bit of a caffeine habit that could be contributing to my soft shots!

Also, the original print isn't as soft as the scanned version, although I did use the US mask in PS before posting. So, tomorrow I should have a better idea as to what I'm doing wrong. I also got my voice recorder today so that I can keep better track of what I'm doing!

Thanks again to everyone for your help!

[Wings]

Kristin, this is a typical image in which every part of the image yells "I want to go first!".

The idea with the tree, framing the background, is an excellent idea, but it should have been nothing more but a 'frame'. Now the foliage "touches" the background and the things on the left side of the tree are distracting and draw too much attention to the frame itself.

I made a rough "sketch" with Photoshop to show you what I mean and how it impacts the overal shot. (btw, I didn't go for perfection in this image, it's just an example)

Photography is lot about predicting how the eyes will look at an image.
Don't let the eyes be clueless, but lead them the way, try to control them. You already did that very well with the tree, it's just that the tree itself is too tightly "connected" to the background.

[kkraczek]

Kristin, this is a typical image in which every part of the image yells "I want to go first!".

The idea with the tree, framing the background, is an excellent idea, but it should have been nothing more but a 'frame'. Now the foliage "touches" the background and the things on the left side of the tree are distracting and draw too much attention to the frame itself.

I made a rough "sketch" with Photoshop to show you what I mean and how it impacts the overal shot. (btw, I didn't go for perfection in this image, it's just an example)

Photography is lot about predicting how the eyes will look at an image.
Don't let the eyes be clueless, but lead them the way, try to control them. You already did that very well with the tree, it's just that the tree itself is too tightly "connected" to the background.

Thanks wings, I see what you mean, I think... do you think that making a tighter crop would help at all, or does it still seem too connected? Thanks!

[gahspidy]

Kristin, yes the crop will help it but the crop on this pic should be from the left side not the right. Lose that squigley dark shadowed tree on the left and crop a bit from the top, as Wings has done in his example. Definetley helps. Would like to see your reshoot.

[PuckJunkey]

Basically I think everything is pretty good, except for how low the tree branches are relative to the bridge (as Wings said). His "fixed up" example is pretty close to what I would envision for this shot, though maybe not quite to the same degree. [snip. your second effort is much better in that regard].

[natatbeach]

On the next trip bring a large set of pruning shears with you

just kidding I agree with wings a little more space would have changed the dynamic of the entire shot...but it did accomplish making me want to move to Florida even more now---oooohhh

[kkraczek]

Kristin, yes the crop will help it but the crop on this pic should be from the left side not the right. Lose that squigley dark shadowed tree on the left and crop a bit from the top, as Wings has done in his example. Definetley helps. Would like to see your reshoot.

Thanks for the help Gary... will do!

[kkraczek]

Basically I think everything is pretty good, except for how low the tree branches are relative to the bridge (as Wings said). His "fixed up" example is pretty close to what I would envision for this shot, though maybe not quite to the same degree. [snip. your second effort is much better in that regard].

Thanks Puck... I'm a little discouraged with my "eye" for photography right now. I like my trees. But, I agree that the second crop looks better, without the empty space on the right. Oh well, that's what this forum is for... to help me learn! Thanks for the help!

[kkraczek]

On the next trip bring a large set of pruning shears with you

just kidding I agree with wings a little more space would have changed the dynamic of the entire shot...but it did accomplish making me want to move to Florida even more now---oooohhh

LOL Nat, you can come down anytime!

I'll make sure and bring my pruners with me next time, too.