Round Hill Beach in Dartmouth, Massachusetts

[ksouza]

new to photography and the blog, looking for critiques and helpful suggestions! This was taken aug 13 in Dartmouth, Massachusetts

From Photography

[KansaiGreenie]

Hi ksouza,

This is a very inviting scene. I see why you made an image of it. I really like the color changes in the water and I like unusual clouds. It's really quite a beautiful scene.

Since you didn't ask any questions, I will just make a couple of general observations about this image....

It seems that the horizon is dipping to the left. With this kind of image I think that a straight horizon is very important. (The good news is that's an easy fix in post.)

Also, to my eye, I think that this image would be better with a long, horizontal crop that shows less foreground and less of the sky. I think that would focus attention on the house. (Which I think is the subject of the image, but of course, that's just my opinion.)

One last thing, the EXIF data on Picasa shows that this image was taken on "Sep 13, 2010," so I think that the date is set wrong in your Camera. You might want to fix it.

Anyway, the is nice a image of a very interesting scene.

I hope that helps.

KG

[Michael_2010]

Very nice setting! Is this location convenient for you and do you know if your camera was facing east, west, north, or south? This scene would be well worth spending a little time and experimenting with different camera settings.

[ksouza]

Originally Posted by KansaiGreenie

Hi ksouza,

This is a very inviting scene. I see why you made an image of it. I really like the color changes in the water and I like unusual clouds. It's really quite a beautiful scene.

Since you didn't ask any questions, I will just make a couple of general observations about this image....

Thanks for taking the time to write all of that up! I really appreciate it! The date on my camera is wrong, i'll have to fix it, i noticed that when i uploaded pictures today.

[ksouza]

Originally Posted by Michael_2010

Very nice setting! Is this location convenient for you and do you know if your camera was facing east, west, north, or south? This scene would be well worth spending a little time and experimenting with different camera settings.

Yes, this is about 100 yards from my grandmother's house and i go to that beach very frequently. The camera is facing East. Any suggestions for cool experimentations? I have taken a couple other shots but both times it was a dreary day and they didn't come out well.

[Michael_2010]

Originally Posted by ksouza

Yes, this is about 100 yards from my grandmother's house and i go to that beach very frequently. The camera is facing East. Any suggestions for cool experimentations? I have taken a couple other shots but both times it was a dreary day and they didn't come out well.

That would be perfect for a sunrise session as well as some long exposures to give the water that dreamy, mysterious appearance.

I made a few quick edits to straighten your horizon, get rid of the boards sticking up out of the sand and increase contrast. The saturation may be a little over done, but it might give you some ideas about punching it up a little.

[ksouza]

Originally Posted by Michael_2010

That would be perfect for a sunrise session as well as some long exposures to give the water that dreamy, mysterious appearance.

I made a few quick edits to straighten your horizon, get rid of the boards sticking up out of the sand and increase contrast. The saturation may be a little over done, but it might give you some ideas about punching it up a little.

Thank you so much for taking the time to do that! The straightening did really help. If i can ask, what editing system do you use (i've been asking everyone, i'm trying to decide which to purchase). I've been in a trial period with PSE 8 and i have a really hard time with spot healing, try as i might I cannot get erasures (like you did with the wood) that look correct/natural. Sunrise and slow exposure are great ideas.. I will be going back there soon and will try and play around a bit more.

again, THANK YOU!

[Michael_2010]

Originally Posted by ksouza

Thank you so much for taking the time to do that! The straightening did really help. If i can ask, what editing system do you use (i've been asking everyone, i'm trying to decide which to purchase). I've been in a trial period with PSE 8 and i have a really hard time with spot healing, try as i might I cannot get erasures (like you did with the wood) that look correct/natural. Sunrise and slow exposure are great ideas.. I will be going back there soon and will try and play around a bit more.

again, THANK YOU!

I used the clone tool to get rid of the wood and I was not even meticulous in doing that this morning, because I was on my way out.

I think Adobe's Photoshop is the all around winner among most users, then Lightroom and Elements. GIMP is a strong contender, because it is still a free download. I use Paintshop Pro, because the upgrade was cheap. lol

Years ago JASC offered Paintshop as a free image editing software for web stuff. I just stuck with it over the years and upgraded along the way. When Corel bought the program, I think the upgrade was like 59 bucks.

I'm not a power user by any means and have learned alot from reading this web site over the past few weeks. Before, I mainly just used it to brighten, darken and crop. Now I have branched out a little with what I have been learning here. If Photoshop does something, chances are Paintshop does too, but it might use a different name. Kind of a fun challenge figuring out how to put it to use.

[ksouza]

Michael, Thank you so much. You've been so helpful