The Photography Thread

[john voight]

Originally Posted by Money2Burn

South Manhattan (looking up):

Very ****ing nice.

I think the reflection shots w/ water could benefit from longer exposure so that the water doesn't have ripples. But if no tripod available then disregard my idea!

[Syous]

Originally Posted by cardsharkk04

Woo, I'm back on 2p2!

Here's from the town where I'm living in China:

this is my favorite. This is awesome! What touch ups did you do and what settings did you use? I really like this a lot.

I'm in Budapest

[Syous]

probably nothing special but I had fun shooting in Manual yest

[cardsharkk04]

Originally Posted by Money2Burn

Hey guys, I Just stumbled on this thread recently and think it's awesome. I know nothing about photography, but I have a budding interest in it. I think I might have a good eye for it, but my technical knowledge is literally zero. I guess I'm looking for some pointers/encouragement so I can start building my knowledge base and develop a new fun hobby. Here are some photos I've taken that I like for various reasons. The quality is poor on them because they were taken with my phone or they are low-quality versions of the photos that my mom emailed me from a family road-trip we took a few years ago, but I hope this can give you all some idea of the things I like to shoot and perhaps provide good fodder for criticism or advice. Thanks!

Glad to see you're getting interested in photography! Some things can be fixed by editing your photos after you take them, but some things can't be fixed because your phone is just not capable of it. Here's a few thoughts (criticisms), hopefully I don't come off as too harsh.

Yellowstone: It is a nice composition, but the sky and the mountains are overexposed (too bright). You need to to darken them

Grand Canyon: What am I supposed to be looking at here? It looks like some sort of rock arch, but there is nothing to catch the viewer's eye. Now if you can see the grand canyon through this rock arch then you might have a nice photo.

Venice Beach: I like the photo, but I would crop out the bottom part of the image. And if you could take it again I would suggest to get closer to the empty beach chairs because they are interesting foreground objects.

Moab: This is a very difficult photo for a phone

Arches: Nice, try to get a little closer to the sunglasses

Apple Store: A bit overexposed

South Manhattan: Composition-wise I think this is your best photo! Although I would like to see you bring down the exposure (it's too bright)

SLC: You should try and face the building straight on. And once again its overexposed

I agree you do have a good eye! But sometimes it can be difficult to take nice photos with a phone

[cardsharkk04]

Originally Posted by Syous

this is my favorite. This is awesome! What touch ups did you do and what settings did you use? I really like this a lot.

Thanks! The PP'ing on this was a little tricky due to the high dynamic range, but I shot 3 exposures (-2/-/+2) at f/9 and manually blended them in photoshop. I probably spent a good hour playing around with it

And your Budapest picture is pretty sharp as well

[Syous]

can stacking pics be done in lightroom? Or must I get photoshop to do all that hdr stuff

[chisness]

What is the best way to combine the following functions:

1) Have a basic blog/website
2) A *good* place to store photo galleries, so like SmugMug or similar, not a random WordPress gallery plugin
3) A place to do trip reports as part of the blog in (1) or if needed, separately

Is the best way some SmugMug + WordPress integration?

Maybe just doing a WordPress blog, doing trip reports as people do on 2+2 (ie just a blog post with text and in-line pics), then having a separate SmugMug page?

If one is not actually selling photos, does it make sense to have SmugMug over Facebook now that Facebook photos are very high quality and in the case of a major amateur like myself would get seen a ton more? Also they have nice features that put the locations on a map, very easy to browse through, no limits, etc.

[suzzer99]

Originally Posted by Syous

probably nothing special but I had fun shooting in Manual yest

I like this a lot. The color is amazing.

[Syous]

ty

I really like both pictures. I was trying to catch the sunset and I was late and had no real idea of where I was going to shoot. That one is just right around the corner of my apartment and looks plain during the day

[eazygoing]

^^this is really awesome. actually it's my wallpaper right now is that the only resolution you've got from this picture?

[Syous]

aww thanks

I have the jpeg in original dimensions, where should I email it to or post?

[john voight]

[john voight]

Originally Posted by Syous

can stacking pics be done in lightroom? Or must I get photoshop to do all that hdr stuff

You can install a lightroom plug in that can blend exposures:
http://www.photographers-toolbox.com...s/lrenfuse.php
I think it used to be $5? Maybe not, idk. Maybe its free, no clue. I don't think you can do it any other way in lightroom. You'd need photoshop or photomatix.

[Syous]

is that plug in just as good as photoshop and matix? I'm really loving the new lightroom

[eazygoing]

Originally Posted by Syous

I have the jpeg in original dimensions, where should I email it to or post?

great, i'll PM you.