Personal Photo Critique

You've heard them all: everyone's a critic, you're always harder on yourself, etc. Mostly true, I believe. But you have to start somewhere, and where better to start than being a critic of your own art? So, one of the things I will do from time to time, is post a personal critique of some of my work here. I invite anyone else to post their (constructive) critiques (NOTE: I will delete any comments that are just plain rude and derogatory. This is not a forum for such).

[caption id="attachment_21" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Follow the Pathway"][/caption]

My "Follow the Pathway" picture was taken recently during one of my lunchtime walks. I wanted to convey a feeling that this path could take you away anywhere, and also capture the different colors and textures that I imagined and saw in person.

This is my post-processed image. I enhanced the sky a bit because the clouds were blown out (I could have probably made that better by utilizing Graduated Neutral Density filter. However, I don't own one yet). I also did some additional saturation to the grass. Some have said that the sky especially doesn't look real. To an extent, I must agree. I think that If I were to go back and re-edit, I would tone down the blue a little. I would still want to make sure the clouds were visible, as that was one of the main reasons for taking the picture.

As I look at it now, I think I would want to edit out the dead foliage a bit in the foreground, as they are a bit distracting. If I were to retake the photo, I might change the composition some to remove the trees in the upper right-hand corner. I could also accomplish that somewhat with a crop I suppose, but I wanted to preserve the bridge. I believe the bridge plays an important part of the picture as a whole.

Another change I would probably make would be to get down even lower to the ground. I did kneel down for this picture, but once I got home and looked at it again, I thought to myself, "I wonder if this could have been better if I had gotten down further onto the ground." Perspective is everything!

Overall, I like the general concept of this photo, but would certainly change the composition a bit.

What do you think? I welcome your comments and suggestions. I enjoy learning how to make my photography better.

Finding inspiration

As I've been learning how to use the features and functions of my camera, I've been trying to find my inspiration of what to photograph. Some days it just hasn't been in me to go search out different things to take pictures of. Other days, I can't wait to get out there. Much of it is dependent upon what else I've got going on in my life. That being said, I do try to find a way to take pictures of some sort every day. I don't always succeed. When I do go out and shoot, often I go out with only the sole purpose of using the camera. No subject or destination in mind.

So, when I'm doing this, where do I find my inspiration? Lots of places, actually. I spend a lot of time reading other photography blogs, like those of Chase Jarvis, Zack Arias, Catherine Hall and Scott Bourne, to name just a few. I also get a lot of inspiration from 500px. These photographers, as well as those on 500px, provide me with a variety of different subjects, themes and ideas that often make me think, "Can I make pictures like that too?" Not that I want to duplicate their pictures, but how can I capture the same mood, ambiance or lighting?

Some days my inspiration is simply my 3 (almost) year old daughter. Just watching the delight she gets from such simple things and how she looks at the world just amaze me. Thinking about how I can capture how she see's the world inspires me to try different angles or even camera settings. As an adult, it's hard to get into the mind and point-of-view of a child.

Other days my inspiration comes from the day itself. If it's a beautiful cool day, especially in the fall, it's very easy to see very picturesque scenes (in my head). Capturing those is proving to be a much more elusive feat than I ever dreamed. But, I'd much rather be outside in that weather and failing at capturing a good image than being stuck inside doing most anything.

So, what gives you inspiration? What do you do on those days you just can seem to find inspiration?