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UER Mobile > UE Photo Critiques > Very rookie photographer; Point Woronzof, AK. (Viewed 1563 times)

post by crows

Very rookie photographer; Point Woronzof, AK.
< on 9/1/2014 2:05 AM >

Hey y'all! I've been reading through threads in this forum at least making a strong attempt at soaking up advice folks have given to others. I'm shooting with a Nikon D3300 that I'm still learning my way around. I've never had a non-pointshoot/phone in my hands before this summer, so it's a little intimidating. Processing is minimal to nonexistent partially because I'm travelling and partially because even if I were home with PS I wouldn't know what I was doing! So, any recommendations there are also very welcome (I feel like it's probably very easy for inexperienced hands to make photos look very overprocessed, so I err on the side of less being more in my own endeavors).

Anyway, I went out to the last of the derelict military structures off Point Woronzof beach up here in Anchorage. Not much of an explore to speak of, given that it's basically just stuff sitting along a strip of public land, but it was a nice opportunity to take some pictures.

1.

And this one... I really wanted to take a nice picture of the driftwood caught up in the razor wire but I really don't think I managed to do so. So I'm tacking it on in hopes that maybe some of you more experienced photographers might suggest... I don't know, framing or angles that can help you get at better composition. Maybe that's too case by case, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to see if anyone had suggestions.

4.

[last edit 9/1/2014 2:08 AM by crows - edited 1 times]

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post by LadySpade

Re: Very rookie photographer; Point Woronzof, AK.
<Reply # 1 on 9/3/2014 8:10 PM >

These are really beautiful, especially for a beginner. Also, #3 is just hilarious.

Couple notes though:
1)Contrast could be better in them. They all have a washed out bluish tone that could be played with a bit. #2 is exempt from this statement

2)#3 is funny, but composition-wise, a little boring.

3) As for the issue of skinny, twisted things (#4), It's a hard shot to do, I usually try to get pretty close to the subject (The driftwood and barbed wire), and use a fairly open aperture so I can blur the hell out of the background, if shooting against a flat wall or something isn't an option. It also helps to shoot a light subject on a darker background, and vice versa. Here's an incredibly mediocre example of some swamp vines that I shot. Notice the background is a lot lighter, and totally out of focus, so it helps you see the vines despite the overall clutter of the forest.

Overall though, good work, keep practicing!

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post by crows

Re: Very rookie photographer; Point Woronzof, AK.
<Reply # 2 on 9/3/2014 8:46 PM >

Thanks a lot

I'm still figuring out what level of control over the camera's settings is good for me (and in what conditions). I'm definitely beginning to discover that I can shoot images I like better than the automatic settings in some lighting conditions, and even a few occasions where I've been able to hand-pull the focus more successfully than I could get the camera to do it.

I'll definitely mess around more with a wide aperture... the clutter issue is one that I run into a lot. IA spoils me, sometimes; the backdrop is often... a wide open corn or soy field! Trackless near-nothing, and bare sky! Thank you, corporate farming! But yeah, up here, there's like, woods and shit. Cool looking stuff in the woods. But... lots of it. Everywhere you look.

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