1 year progress - Thank you note...

[tyasa81]

Started getting interested in photography more or less 1 year ago... with no background (all centered photograph, what's exposure etc)... reading lots and learning lots from this site...so thank you to all who post advice... here's a couple of my best takes recently.. to be honest they are somewhat emulating pics i've seen and liked... low angle, foreground interest...

#1 - Island of the Fairies


EXIF -
shutter - 30 secs
f - 16
ISO 200

other shots are:
Island of the Fairies on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

ps: this may be more related to share your shots, but i learned more in the critique section than share your shots section hence why i leave the thank you note here.. but if it needs to be moved, i dont mind...

[navcom]

You want to know a secret? The best way to achieve better results is to emulate those who have succeeded. So there is nothing wrong with trying what others try. If you didn't, you would have to make all of their mistakes over and over again! And quite honestly, you won't live that long!

Compositionally-speaking, your image is pretty good. It's not out of this world, but it's definitely on the right track. I love the variations in color...from the blues/grays in the distance to the more saturated greens and oranges/reds in the foreground. This adds depth to your image. The only thing it really lacks is a definite focal point or subject matter...but the color and mood kind of make up for it in sorts.

I also like that you used a long shutter to produce the smooth water. It adds to the mood of the scene and was a good choice for this composition.

Nice progress at the one-year mark!

[SuperDan]

I think that this is a fantastic shot!
The colors, the composition... !

Thanks for sharing!

[tyasa81]

superdan: thank you for taking the time to comment...it's definitely a morale booster that i'm finally doing something on the right track...

navcom: thank you for your time to comment and critique on the photo... this image has a lot going that makes me biased to like it...lots of 1st in fact...1st try in getting the silky water effect .. 1st try in light painting the rocks (the red is from tungsten bulb) and getting a 'feel' of how long to correctly exposed the rocks (i missed and luckily able to correct in post).... 1st in getting to a beach with a dslr with a serious intent to bring back some good photos... there's more 1st in this photos but if i list them you'll probably be asleep...

i have one that has a more definite focal point... the rock chosen after the light is bright enough for me to be able to see the textures of the rock...the first one the beach is so dark i have to navigate using the torch i brought.. does this work ok?

iso:200
shutter: from 1 sec for the sky to around 8 sec for the rocks and water
post: tried hdr but didn't like the effect... so i blend back the original photos of the sky and foreground to lose the hdr effect...
f:16

considering to redoing another post with more accurate colours... but dont know if this image is worth it...

[KaaPhotography]

I like this one much better! The diagonals are great, love the rock in the foreground. The diagonal horizon leads ones eye to the gorgeous colors in the background.

[gjakovare]

I definitely like the second shot more than the first. It's definitely an interesting angle and the sky colors make it 10x more appealing

[tyasa81]

KaaPhoto& gjkovare: Thank you both for your generous comments.. sorry for the late reply..been swamped with work (not photos) for past weeks...that i didn't have a chance to say proper thanx..