Some B & W Photos

[F-15_Flyer]

Hey guys, i'm back on the forums.(If you even remember me ) I got a scanner so I can finally scan all of my photos that I take. Also got a new Minolta Maxxum 4 SLR Film camera, i love it.

Ok, this first photo was taken at Belleview State Park(Delaware).



Second photo - Taken near Western Railroad



Third Photo - Also taken near Western Railroad - It's a crappy print, the negative got messed up, but I like the picture.



Fourth Photo - Taken at Hoops Resevoir at mid night(pitch black) - 12 second exposure



Tell me what you think, what could have a done better, are they bad photos? I'm a beginner, teach me oh wise one's.

Thank you.

[Chunk]

I really like the textures and pattern of the trestle. The last shot needs to be untilted and less symmetrical.

[Tuna]

A nice smattering of photos. The horizon in 1, 3 and 4 look to need straightening. 1 and 3 need sharpening unless you are going for the soft focus effect (which actually works well in 3 - intended or not...). Generally, 1 and 4 hold no interest for me but 2 and 3 are nice with 2 being my favorite.

Tuna

[F-15_Flyer]

I'm off to work but i'll post real quick.

Yes tuna i agree with you, the horizons arent as straightened as i wished. For the last one you can really see it, the ground on which i was standing was very rocky, and i could not really see enough to tell if it was level or not. The third one believe it or not is level, it was very hilly there so it may make it look like it is not.

When i get home i'm going to try to sharpen up 2 and 3 and see what it looks like.

Chunk, thats a good idea, i've never really thought about leaving a photo untitled. It would be more "mysterious" yes?

Thank you both for your comments.

[Chunk]

Chunk, thats a good idea, i've never really thought about leaving a photo untitled. It would be more "mysterious" yes?

While I am OK with untitled pictures, what I wrote was "unTILTED", trying to say that the horizon wasn't level. Youve got some good ideas with these shots, keep up the good work.

[Steph_B]

Chunk, thats a good idea, i've never really thought about leaving a photo untitled. It would be more "mysterious" yes?

Thank you both for your comments.

I believe Chunk meant 'untilted' and not 'untitled'. I do agree with him and Tuna that the horizon must be straightened.

#2 is my favorite as well, even though I would have liked a stronger contrast.

#3 has some appeal as well, even though I would have preferred a sharper image. In particular, if you had adopted a shallow DOF with focus on the fence, I bet that the texture of the fence could have been a nice contrast to the blurry/soft aspect of the house in the BG. I would also tilt the image slightly to have the roof of the house straight. But that's a detail.

BTW, which film do you use? Are you developing it yourself?

[F-15_Flyer]

The film i'm using is KODAK PROFESSIONAL TRI-X 400 Film.

And yes, i'm processing, developing, and printing everything. It's very fun.

Chunk, i just noticed that you meant to say untilted...as i said before i was in a hurry to get to work so i skimmed over everything, my mistake.

Thanks again...for everyone's comments.