Seaside Holiday

Well, we got back yesterday and here are the first batch of images I've gone through.
As always, let me know what you think folks

[IMG]http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i296/Father_Ted/PHOTOS/IMGP4321.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i296/Father_Ted/PHOTOS/Image3.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i296/Father_Ted/PHOTOS/Image5.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i296/Father_Ted/PHOTOS/Image6.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i296/Father_Ted/PHOTOS/IMGP4268.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i296/Father_Ted/PHOTOS/IMGP4028.jpg[/IMG]

25 views and no comment.
Is that good, bad or even worse...mediocre??

Or early in the day? Sadly I am waiting for some work to turn up!

For me the first and last work best. The first because it has a big bold subject but could it be a bit sharper? I'd be curious to know what focal length you used. For something like that I'd get low (which would lose the tracks at the top) and close with the widest angle lens I had. Did you fiddle with levels much in this?

The last one I like because you have a great sky, have kept the shades of grey in the foreground and boat and the composition seems satisfying. I think it would have been even better if the boat were a little more to the left of the frame.

Mike

I was just "bumping" it.

I tweaked it a bit in curves. I probably should have gone right up to it, but it was just something which caught my eye up the beach. If I remember correctly, I took it with my 70 - 300mm because that is what was on the camera at the time.
I think I need to tweak the yellow up a bit. As for focus, I've never been able to get satisfactory focus on a spherical subject

A crop could soon sort that. This one nearly got dumped as it doesn't work too well in colour. But I tried mono and it really brought that sky out.

Oh! Hope some work turns up soon

I know how you feel Hope it was a good holiday.

So here is my inexpert opinion - sorry but the only one that I really like is the last, the B&W , it's quite dramatic, but would it be better cropped as a portrait: I like the sky in the castle one but I'm not sure about the composition, is it Harlech?? I'm never taken by such as the ball and chain.

Cheers,

Howard

You should be able to get a good focus by aiming at something with a hard edge like that white label. A danger with that yellow is that it will sort of burn out if boosted too much. I'd be more concerned about the sand and trying to inject some life into that.

As for portrait B&W I wouldn't as you run the risk of losing the drama of the sky which in part is the width of the clouds. A different crop might be worth playing with.

As always IMO.

Mike

Yes, thanks, we had a great time. Stayed in Abersoch. You are spot on with the castle, it is Harlech. By eck, it gets windy up there!

I know what you mean about the composition, The tower is a little too central, but the clouds had a symmetric feel, so I left it there.

Ball and chain. I suppose they are a matter of taste. There are quite a few photos I see which I just don't "get".

I quite liked the two with yachts ( are they yachts or dingies?? ), so I'm intrigued as to why they haven't generated any comment.

Here is a comment from someone who viewed your post earlier but didn't have time to comment until now!

It has to be the last one for me. Very moody although some of the detail is lost in the bottom half of the shot. Maybe playing about with levels etc. will pull out some contrast in the foreground?

Number 1 just isn't interesting for me, in Number 2 my eye is constantly searching for the focal point as none of it appears to be crisply in focus, Numbers 3 and 4 are just not my subject matter so I don't find them interesting or exciting (not to say that they are not good, just not my cup of tea), and I don't like the composition in Number 5, as it chops the view in half.

So there you go, you wanted comments, you got comments!

Fiona

Thanks Fiona..
I knew that method of bumping it would back fire on me

Will try that with the last one.

Well the thing is, I try to check new posts on the forum before I go to work, but never get the chance to comment until my lunch break. You don't necessarily need to bump the post either as I always check out new comments/threads.

Fiona.

I try to check the forum when I'm at work...but don't tell the boss

Gotta be that dramatic b&w for me.

I'd crop out the dark cloud, crop the left side, and fiddle around to bring out detail in the foreground.

Had a play with levels and it does make a difference. I will upload the finished result when it is ,erm,...finshed

I'm interested you say crop out the dark cloud. I think that adds to the drama.
I've cropped the left a bit and that improves things, ( I suppose the rule of thirds exists for a reason ).

Last one has most potential for me too. Bringing out a little more detail in the sky & wet sand & a tweak to the composition is all that's needed for a keeper.

Alot of the others are perfectly decent holiday snaps but I think you know yourself that had you put a little more thought into them you could have come away with much better results.
Alot of people would not have even looked twice at the buoy on the sand, but it could have been used to much more dramatic effect. By using the longer focal length you've flattened the perspective somewhat, whereas as Mikew says it would have benefitted from being shot with a wide angle from a closer distance. This would have exaggerated the perspective & scale.
It also looks like you had decent light & skies whilst at Harlech castle & could have made more of it.

It's easy to criticise & I know myself that you have to be in the mood to think about composition & put the effort in at the time to get the image exactly how you picture it in your head. Alot of the time if I'm sightseeing with friends or family I will take the camera but very rarely use it, as I know that others in my group will not have the patience to humour me whilst I take photos.

Bob