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A Critique Please?

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BigM1218
Posts: 998 - Karma: 13
So I have a Nikon D60 with a couple lenses and have just been messin around with it lately and taking a few pics. All of these are unedited and im still pretty new to photo so any criticisms are appreciated.

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The last few were taken on a trip to the Virgin Islands last year. The long exposure ones were taken without a tripod so I did my best to keep still, but they mite look a little shakey. and the water droplet one is sideways
Apr 27 2009 9:25PM
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Yung_Gnarley
Posts: 9092 - Karma: 3,022
i like them a lot
Apr 27 2009 9:31PM
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BigM1218
Posts: 998 - Karma: 13
thanks dude, i wasn't sure how these would be received because i really didn't think they were that great
Apr 27 2009 10:12PM
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Christian_Schum
Posts: 354 - Karma: 82
the longer shutter ones are ill. always a fan of those. with a little bit of photoshop work they would be baller
Apr 27 2009 10:45PM
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cobra_commander
Posts: 16909 - Karma: 4,684
no, they will still be meh.

photoshop does not turn lead into gold. it can polish off gold to make it a bit shinier but it does not turn one thing into another, (although it can do a really good job of making gold look like shit).

the photos are meh.
for the most part there is no story behind them. just a bunch of snapshots.

the last one is kinda interesting as I get a bit of impresion that your taking a photo of the edge of the world. It looks like the water is higher then the gap between the hills.  It's under exposed however and has that ugly line going across the right hand side that is really distracting. 
Apr 28 2009 2:15AM
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BigM1218
Posts: 998 - Karma: 13
well yea, there is no story and they are just snapshots. like i said, i just got into this and was messin around with it. the line on the sunset one is a cable that was from the sailboat i was on. I dont have photoshop so I cant really do anything about it right now. thanks tho
Apr 28 2009 7:15AM
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Hannah.
Posts: 4625 - Karma: 56
there are so pretty good ones i liked the water ones and the last few.
Apr 28 2009 12:34PM
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cobra_commander
Posts: 16909 - Karma: 4,684
how about taking two steps forward?
Apr 28 2009 12:42PM
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BigM1218
Posts: 998 - Karma: 13
i didnt think about it at the time. i wasnt going for anything special, i just thought the sunset looked cool so i snapped a quick one from where i was sitting. like i said, im still new to this and i took that pic probably 4 days after i got my camera.
Apr 28 2009 2:07PM
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cobra_commander
Posts: 16909 - Karma: 4,684
ya, no I understand.

Just really think about everything thats in he frame when you take a picture.
If there is something you like, think about how you can make it more prominant.
if there is something you don' like think about ways to get rid of it.
Apr 28 2009 5:00PM
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1080ski
Posts: 4424 - Karma: 191
yea listen to him. thats good advice

i like the photos though, especially the lake/ocean with the mountains there (the day shot). pretty dope, but there is something in the left side of the frame that is a little distracting. other than that its pretty sick.

i think a bit of good advice is to go out and shoot a lot. after you do that you'll start to realize what looks good in the frame and what doesnt, and you'll start to think about it more when your actually taking the picture.

and dont worry about photoshop- the pics will look good coming out of the camera if they are good pics! your definitely off to a good start though. how are you liking the camera?
Apr 28 2009 5:11PM
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BigM1218
Posts: 998 - Karma: 13
thanks a lot guys, ill keep that stuff in mind. I think my biggest problem this far is that i havent been noticing things that may distract/take away from the shot. I'll definitely keep that in mind from now on. But I'm loving the camera, I know its not top of the line or anything and neither are my lenses, but its a huge step up from point and shoots and its a lot of fun. Plus I'm in a photography class in school and that has helped me with some technique stuff as well.

Personally I still like film better tho because at this point digital shots in general most often seem to take too much after shot work in photoshop. I mean, it has become to expected that you do photoshop work on a lot of stuff. I'm happier taking a really great shot that doesnt need any work at all. Plus all the darkroom stuff is a lot of fun too.

My other problem is that I just dont seem to have enough of an artistic mind sometimes. Like I dont always see the potential for shots in everyday things so it can be tough for me to spot that kind of creative stuff. I have more of a mind for action shots and thats what I really wanted the camera for. I wanted to shoot skiing, but I have been out of action for 2 seasons because of 2 ACL tears, so I havent gotten a chance to do that yet, thats why I dont have any ski shots on here.
Apr 28 2009 5:21PM
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cab509
Posts: 806 - Karma: 34
first to address the first part of the quote, you do not need photoshop to fix your digital pictures, I actually rarely do any post process and have produced some decent shots from my D60, (i'll post them at the end for reference and some ideas of what you can do.


as for the artistic eye, yeah that seems to be something that others have better then some, but it is something that with practice you can train (just like sports you need to practice). Next time you are out shooting, think about how the object is there in front of you and try and think of seeing it in some way that makes it interesting, you can make even the most boring things interesting with a good point of view or an interesting style.


Also what program mode(s) are you shooting with? I'm assuming that you got the D60 kit that comes with the Nikkor 18-55mmVR, and the 55-200mmVR. so the lengths there are some decent beginner lenses (due to budget restrictions I'm stuck with the 18-55 for a it bit until I can get my 70-300)

so just some thigns I think might help, I could be entirely wrong, I am no where near pro either.  Also remember the rule of thirds when you shoot to help out in the begining.

here are some things I've shoot this quarter (all done in full manual) for ideas and some exapmles of thinking of framing, point of view, etc.
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Apr 28 2009 5:56PM
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cab509
Posts: 806 - Karma: 34
let's try this again... (at least the pictures are not showing up for me)

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and if it doesn't work then here are the direct links
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x148/cab509/Pics%20or%20AF/DSC_0156.jpg?t=1240956762
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x148/cab509/Pics%20or%20AF/DSC_0007.jpg?t=1240956763
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x148/cab509/Pics%20or%20AF/DSC_0009_2.jpg?t=1240956869
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x148/cab509/Pics%20or%20AF/DSC_0032_4.jpg?t=1240956772
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x148/cab509/Pics%20or%20AF/DSC_0022_3.jpg?t=1240956781



Apr 28 2009 6:16PM
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BigM1218
Posts: 998 - Karma: 13
those are some really nice shots man. I love the one with the pathway and lamp posts and the one with the flower. But yea i have the 18-55 and the 55-200, I've also used my friend's 50mm f/1.8 and i love it, im gonna pick one up real soon. Its real nice for shooting at night and whatnot becuase the other lenses dont stop down as low. But for the most part, I try to shoot on full manual, if not I'll use aperture or shutter priority depending on the situation. And for a quick one, programmed auto. But thanks for the advice, I try to keep the rule of thirds in mind most of the time.

Right now I'm working on trying to make a simple HDR shot becuase I've never done it before and they can look pretty cool. However, I only have photoshop to do it in and I know thats not best, but whatever its fun.

I'm going back to the spot where I shot the long exposure waterfalls on Sunday, so I'll keep some of your comments in mind while I'm shooting.
Apr 28 2009 7:59PM
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Omega2227
Posts: 225 - Karma: 11
I feel kinda like an idiot saying this but I assumed the line was a pole or something from a boat and I kinda thought it made the picture a little better..

Awesome photo's I think
I couldn't do anything like that

Apr 28 2009 8:08PM
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1080ski
Posts: 4424 - Karma: 191
another good tip is to shoot in the late afternoon or early morning. more dramatic light that way. sometimes the light at that time of day also adds a nice color to things that normal daylight wouldnt be too intersting
Apr 28 2009 8:25PM
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BigM1218
Posts: 998 - Karma: 13
yea i live right down the road from a reservoir (like a lake) so this weekend I'll probably go down there at sunrise or sunset to get some nice stuff

and to the guy above thanks for making me feel better about my mistake in the sunset one haha
Apr 28 2009 9:38PM
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BigM1218
Posts: 998 - Karma: 13
this is my horrible first attempt at an HDR. its just a picture of the front of my school that I took quick in Photo class. Its all merged and edited in photoshop cuz i dont have photomatix or anything. I know im gonna get slammed on this one but whatever

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Idk if this is way overdone or anything, or maybe I'm just missing the concept of an HDR, but I tried
Apr 28 2009 10:00PM
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BigM1218
Posts: 998 - Karma: 13
wtf that looked a lot different on my computer. now it just looks like a normal picture
Apr 28 2009 10:01PM
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vinnyvan
Posts: 132 - Karma: 24
i like you photos dude there sick, i like the water ones up top they look real good... i only have one thing to say that may help..
i am not big into photography but i know a few things, ya know the basics.. i think on that second to last picture if you would take the picture a little to the right, used the rule of thirds and had that tree on the left and have it sort of frame the picture, with the 3rds split between that hut. ( cant remember the technical term) space and that other tree it would be sooo sick.. i may be wrong, but it would be cool if you could go back and do that see how it turns out.. but that looks like a vacation, so it would be unlikely of that.. but they look good, nice job. and just putting in my two cents.. and in my opinion i think it would look cool like that.. but good job. nice pics
Apr 29 2009 2:31AM
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BigM1218
Posts: 998 - Karma: 13
thanks a lot. I'd kill to be able to go back to that spot. I took those shots on vacation last summer in the British Virgin Islands. Idk if any of you have seen the mtv cribs episode with richard branson and his private island, but i was on the island next to his and its just beautiful there.
Apr 29 2009 2:08PM
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vinnyvan
Posts: 132 - Karma: 24
ya that place looks really sick. you covered it well in the pictures.. i bet those sunsets are amazing at night.
Apr 29 2009 3:04PM
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BigM1218
Posts: 998 - Karma: 13
yea they are, that picture was taken from a sailboat on like a "sunset cruise" but the unique thing about it is that right before the sun disappears, theres like a 2 second flash of green light. its nuts and i hate myself for not catching a pic of it
Apr 29 2009 5:37PM
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BigM1218
Posts: 998 - Karma: 13
is anyone gonna say anything about that hdr?
Apr 29 2009 9:01PM
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BigM1218
Posts: 998 - Karma: 13
bump
Apr 30 2009 11:17PM
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Chickendodo
Posts: 1426 - Karma: 33
I love the one with the streetlights on the brick walkway towards that mansion,
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x148/cab509/Pics%20or%20AF/DSC_0007.jpg?t=1240956763
that one.

That shit looks like the road is paved with gold.  Sick shot.
May 1 2009 11:34PM
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