Dadashi_Hatake

I don't brag about the pictures I take. I take them because it's fun and I enjoy doing it. I don't have big or expensive cameras (no DSLRs here lol), but I do the "best" with what I have.

I mainly take photos of nature. Be it: Flowers, animals, the sky, etc... Just figured while I was here waiting for my pc to get cleaned, I'd show what few pics I have uploaded on the net. (Dial-up internet is evil, so I don't upload many.) All of the following pics were taken on a Canon Powershot A570 IS Digital Camera. Last Christmas I received a Panasonic Lumix DCM FZ28K, and I haven't had much chance to use it yet. Hopefully I'll be able to get some nice shots with it soon.


*~Flowers and Such~*
Lilacs
Orange Flower (not sure what type it was >.<)
Spider on Lilacs (Close up cropped image of a spider on some dark purple lilacs)
Wheat (I think it's some form of wheat... Not really sure, one of the first pics on that camera)
Rose with Dew Droplets (My favorite pic I've taken.)

Well, now that the flowers are out of the way, here's a few shots of the sky at different times and places.

*~Sky~*
Firey Evening Sky
Pretty Clouds Hiding the Sun
Lunar Eclipse

Well, any feedback on any of them? It'd be nice to hear some honest (albeit kind) opinions.

Thanks.

DonaldG

Hello Dadishi
A very warm welcome to TSF & especially to the Photographer's Corner.

That is the most important aspect of all - the fun & enjoyment! If you take a photograph and it pleases you, that is really what matters. If the picture also pleases someone else, that is the extra bit.

I have taken many photos that are technically poor but I am pleased with them because they have bought back treasured memories of the time.

Thank you for sharing some of your photographs - I enjoyed viewing them.

I guess you have discovered the sheer pleasure of digital photography - once you have the kit sorted out, taking a photo does not cost anything. this makes it easy to try those shots that you are sure will not come out, only to be very pleasantly surprised to see the great result, albeit not as expected at the time!

I know what it is like uploading files on a dial-up. the cost & time! When I was in Western Australia, a couple of years ago, 28K was the best speed we got - took hours to d/l stuff!

Coming back to your photos - do you have any photo manipulation software?
There are many packages out there - many of them are free. I get as much pleasure 'trying' to improve or alter the photographs as I do taking them.

Giving a critique on an image (painting, drawing or photograph) is very subjective. The photographer/artist may have been striving to achieve one effect, say a dark, soft, low contrast effect whereas the viewer may prefer brighter and more vibrant details.

As an example, I copied your lovely rose photo into Photoshop and added tiny amount of contrast and sharpening. To my eyes it was more pleasing result. To others, the result may be too 'hard' and a softer image should be applied to a 'rose' subject. But there again, I like sharp detail.


Your original photo


I may have pushed the brightness just a tad too much, but there is more detail in the water droplets...


I love the technique of using the sky as a backdrop in the 'Wheat' photo... but the power cables are distracting - try and remove them in with your software....It is very satisfying to improve a photo by removing distracting details.

For example, I took what I think is a nice photo of our church in the snow but it was spoilt be a power pole and a load of cables:


The photo straight from the camera no manipulation other than to reduce it to 500 pixels wide. Dull, lifeless, power pole & cables distracting AND using a wide angle lens, I photographed a bit of my lens hood! (The dark part at the top left!)



My 'improved' version! Increased brightness, added a little contrast and removed the major distractions!

You are the best critic of all because the photo you take must be pleasing to you. Look at the pictures with a fresh 'critical eye'. Note things that gave a great effect (Shooting against the sky - develop that technique a bit). Look at what went wrong - figure out why and avoid next time. )

If you don't have digital photo software, you are missing out on a huge section of fun.

Happy shooting...

Dadashi_Hatake

I thank you very much for the welcome and the tips. I tried to take your advice and fix up that wheat picture. I used Paint.NET and it's Clone Brush tool thingy, and did the fix up kinda fast, it's probably not too much better, but maybe just a little lol.

Wheat Fixed That's what I could do with that one.

Here are just a few other pics I uploaded today, these taken by my Panasonic DMC FZ28K

Ice
Stairs

Just two pics I kinda liked. The ice one is cropped and I sharpened it a little in Paint.NET.

DonaldG

Wheat Pic: Well done looks a lot better. I have not used paint.NET but just had a look at their website - It look like a good package.

The clone tool is a great tool to become skilled with. If Paint.MET allows it, I suggest that you use a soft edge, that way, the cloned image overlays the target area with a nice feathered edge.

To effectively use any Photo/graphics manipulation effectively, you do not have to be an expert on every tool. Becoming familiar with just a few of the tools will work wonders.

Ice image: Fascinating! I am intrigued with the air bubbles that appear to be trapped in the icicle. A difficult subject to do effectively. I like it.

Likewise the Stairs photo - a quite different perspective. It would look good framed and in an art shop! Nice one.

I hope others will pop in & give their perspective on you post and pictures.

WereBo

Yep, I'd agree with Donald there. The Wheat pic looks a lot better, and with the way you've cloned the lines out, the very faint 'shadow' that's left could easily be and aircraft that flew through the clouds, they're indistinguishable enough to keep a viewer wondering, if they notice it

The real trick to photo-editing, is so that no-one realises it has been edited.

I love that Ice picture, the detail to able to see the bubble shapes is fascinating.

The Stairs pic is also excellent, with the coloured mobile on the ceiling, it leads the eye into it, giving the photo a focal point.

Oh, the orange flower, I think it's a Lily

Well done with the Lunar Eclipse photo, It's surprising just how fast the moon moves, in relation to a camera We don't really notice it when we look at it but, it's all too easy to get either blurred or waaay under-exposed shots, as I discovered when I used to play with my 35mm SLR

Yours has turned out very nice though, with clarity enough to get crisp edges and still see the colour-change to the moon