Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Telling a story


I have had the privilege recently of having some friends who are artists give me some constructive feedback on my photography and I thought I might share some of what has been said.
I chose to get feedback from artists as it is the creative, artistic approach to photography that I feel I lack the most.
The resounding feedback I am getting is that my photos aren't evoking enough of an emotional response. Although the pictures are techically good (sharp, good contrast and saturation, good composition) they aren't telling enough of a story. This is good feedback. Its not just good enough to photograph a scene well. It needs to tell a story, bring across mood, evoke an emotion, transport you there... You might apply this feedback to say landscape photography (like the photo above from Jay Wesler) only by I think this can apply to all types. Whether photographing people, animals, buildings or flowers its not just enough to capture the object. It needs to tell a story!

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom is amazing!

I've just invested in the new adobe photoshop lightroom package and its just amazing. Its a software package developed specifically for importing, cataloging, fine tuning and printing photographs. You can even publish a website straight to the internet with the push of a button! Its quite intuitive to use and there are lots of nice features such as simple shortcuts, screen fill mode and my personal favourite, you can turn out the lights on your computer so that you can better see your photograph! Like a darkroom. I've shown here a before and after example of a photo I have taken and subsequently developed in Lightroom.


Before


After

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Red Acer, Westonbirt Arboretum

I find that the beautiful colours of autumn are here best seen and photographed in one of the many arboretums scattered around the country. I am lucky enough to live near to Harcourt Arboretum in Nuneham Courtney and only one hours drive from Westonbirt Arboretum, near Tetbury.

The acers are my favourite.

I think I've struggled here to get the full impact and atmosphere (poor lighting) and I don't think its very well focused. I should have used an f-stop of about 11 or higher and set the hyperfocal distance about 5 meters into the shot.
Oh well, maybe next time.

Saturday, November 3, 2007

Hi there!

Hi there,
As I'm starting to get into digital photography I thought I'd keep up with the world by posting a regular blog of what I'm photographing, where I'm going and what gear I'm using.
I also want to share problems I'm having and get your help in improving by having you critique my photos. For now, all my photos are on www.flickr.com/photos/danandbecs so please go on there and have a look at them and put your thoughts down in the comments box.
Bye for now!