The Great Escape

[Amira]

So I was looking through the old Assignment threads since I am brand new to the forum and to photography, and I was inspired by the Coffee assignment everyone did recently. Let me tell you I spent FOREVER setting up this shot and took about 100 (literally!) before I found even 1 that was decently in focus and looked okay. I would LOVE some criticism as I am just barely starting to get the hang of some of the manual settings and how they all coincide. (About half of my frames were blue because I kept trying to use a flash with +1 incandescent light white balance setting and I couldn't figure out what was going on! lol!)
Anyway, thanks so much in advance for the criticism. Any and all is appreciated! =)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kristalkareh/2145377696

Thanks!

[Amira]

Sorry, forgot to attach the image. My flikr page has the bigger image if you'd like to see it, but it's not ground breaking so this should be big enough! =)

Thanks again!

[jiminyClickit]

Amira,

My favorite kind of post: when the title isn't immediately obvious, and I go to the photo, then back to the post -- Oh, the beans are climbing over the wall of the filter prison! Subtle, slowly funny and creative for all that.

When you were focussing, where did you place the [ ] before hitting the half-depress shutter stage?

[Sime]

hey hey!... I just saw your escapee coffee beans go up on flickr! well done. there is an easier way for you to display your photos on dps [if you like] you can goto this page

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne...5377696&size=m [this is from your coffee shot, you get to it by clicking the "all sizes" button above your photos...] choose the "code" from under the medium sized shot and just cut and paste it into the DPS window as you would type... [email me if you get stuck]

I like your coffee shot, like I said over on the flickr page - i'm an addict! Nice clear'ish shot, I wasn't sure about that string, but then my head screamed out "they're escaping!" ...so I understand!... A question, your camera seems to have taken this shot at iso1600 which seems pretty high for a flash lit shot like this one, is your iso setting auto, or manual do you know? I keep mine at 100 for anything lit / flashy / outdoorsy daylight [sunny] ..not a rule, but thats what I do... I might try placing the beans jus a little more to the left of the image. maybe? Were you on a little tripod? That could account for the slightly soft focus, see your shutter was open for 1/10th of a second... and your focal length seems to have been at 125mm, so, ideally you'd be after a 1/125 of a second shutter speed to try and get rid of a touch of the shakes... [wow, i'm rambling on!!] ... ok, well, if I have confused, please ask as many questions as you like... Sime

[Amira]

jiminy- I did use auto focus as I am still learning all the mechanics of my camera and photography in general at the same time. I didn't use the center focus, but a focus point in the upper right side that lines up perfectly with the bean at the top of the rope. I wanted the ones outside the "prison" to be out of focus as they are supposed to be running off in the distance. =)

Sime- I originally used the code and placed it in my thread posting, but once it was posted it looked way to huge and I thought I might be using too big of a size for the forums, so I removed it. I didn't want to be breaking any rules or anything. =) I have been playing around with white balance, which was my main purpose for shooting with a white background, so the white balance settings are manual and there is no flash. I think I used an Irridescent white balance setting of +1 if I remember correctly and did a slight curves color correction after the shot so the shadows in the filter were a little more accentuated, but that's about it. I held a maglite flashlight above the beans to get the light semi-okay for the shot. The ISO settings were automatic, and I believe they got so high because the light was not the best in my location (shot at night inside a large room with vaulted ceilings) so I assume the ISO settings went higher automatically to compensate? I'm still learning so I have no idea. Learning ISO is my next hurdle now that I've kind of gotten a feel for white balance. I do notice that at 100 and 200 ISO I usually get the best results. Next time I do a shot like this I will manually set that and hope for better results! =)

I was using a tripod (my first time ever!) and so am still getting used to shooting with one. It does tend to shake when you press the shutter, so that will take some getting used to. I may try to use the timer so that will help until I can get a wireless remote.

Thanks for the feedback, it is all so very helpful! I am going to experiment some more and use your suggestions and do a similar shot and see if I can improve it.

THANK YOU!!! =)