walk in the woods

[xsport652]

What do you guys think of these?

[zrfraser]

I like the first and thrid the best. The second it just seems like the focus is on the wrong area. I like the 1st because it gives a sense of overpowerment, and there is great contrast between the sky and trees. The 3rd looks good just because of the framing. I wish there was person or animal or something else it, but it is still strong without it. This is also a good use of the rule of thirds with the wihite fence post.

[Don Schaeffer]

Very nice. The first is very vivid, I like the high color saturation. I wold suggest straightening the fence rails in #3 to make them parallel to the frame.

[SpeedingSphere]

Great shots, I too like the 1st and 3rd. The moon in the first one adds a little something I think. The 3rd shot has a sunset lighting feel to it that I find to be very pleasing. Good job!

zrfraser, what is the rule of thirds? Thanks!

[zrfraser]

The rule of thirds is bascially a way of composing a photgraph so that your fucus point isn't dead center and therefore static. There are of course excpetions to this rule and that is where artistic license comes into play. However, if you use the rule of thirds you will create diaganols which will wind your eye through the photo. This is one reason modern SLR's have more than one focus point. My Minolta has 9 focus points int he viewfinder ( 1 in each corner, 1 top, 1 bottom, and 3 along the center) this can be used as a reference to help compose your picture.

Take a roll of film and experiment placing something in the center of the frame, then take the same subject, but place it in different parts of the frame. You will notice that most of the time your will look at the center place object one time, and then move one. However, you will notice that your eye will look around more in the other photos, and you might come back to them later to see if you can find anything new. It just makes photos more interesting to look at.

In the above photo of the white fence post, if he put the fence post in the center of the frame it would become static. But, by placing the fence post to the left of the frame it helps draw your eye through the photo.

I hope this helps and if anyone has anything to add by all means...

[amithi]

I love the first one, wow! Definitely an overpowering feeling... Great job! The other two are good also, but the first one steals the attention from them

[SpeedingSphere]

Thanks for the info! :-)

[WillCAD]

I have to go against the crowd here and say that I like all 3 shots, and the middle shot stands out to me the most.

The middle shot nicely focuses on the forground plant, while the narrow DOF pleasantly blurs the background. But composing the shot asymmetrically by moving the subject to the left side of the frame gives it a less predictable feel than if the subject had been centered, and makes it feel a little more artistic.

I do think it looks rather like an advertizing shot of some kind. If it were an ad, there might be some text or inserted pics superimposed on the right side of the shot.

Perhaps white text that says something like:

Canon Digital Rebel 300D - $600
Sigma 18-125mm F3.5-5.6 - $230
Walk in the woods - $0
Ability to appreciate and capture natural the beauty of one's surroundings - Priceless

Some things in life are intransitory. For everything else, there's Canon.

Edited to add: Of course, I typed the wrong word at first - transitory instead of intransitory. Serves me right for trying to be all eloquent and stuff at 2:30am.

[Alison]

I love the first and third images. I don't really know where to look in the second.
In the first, the composition, the pov, the colours and the exposure are all wonderful! And I love the trees being half silhouette. Superb!
In the second, I think the composition and dof do it for me. I never thought a fence in the woods could look so beautiful! You did a fantastic job!