Completely new to this - help with where to go from this picture!

[TarrenA]

Absolute Complete newbie!!!! I enjoy taking photo's and thinking about taking it further as a hobby, and just getting started in learning about all the technical information and how to get off the auto settings!!!

What I really want is for someone to take a look at the above pic and tell me whether with a bit more technical knowledge you think i'm going along the right sort of lines. Also if you (more experienced than me) had taken this photo, what settings etc you would have used!!

Thanks to anyone who can give me a little critique!

Camera: Nikon D60
Exposure: 1/100
Focal Length: 80
Aperture: f/4.5

[navcom]

I think the composition looks pretty good. I like the negative space aspects of it. The only technical advice I might give is to possibly use a smaller aperture (say f/8-f/13). That will give you a better depth of field and will result in a sharp image. Use a tripod (if you didn't) and don't worry about what the shutter speed is.

ISO set to lowest the camera can muster, aperture set for depth of field (start in the f/8-13 range and depart only if required for DOF), shutter falls where it may. That's the standard landscape formula. It's not a "rule", just a good starting point. If you need more DOF, go with a smaller aperture, but understand that at about f/16 or so, diffraction starts which will start to soften your images. The smaller the aperture, the worse it can get. But if you need DOF, it's there to use.

Hope that helps!

[dandellion]

As a beginner, you made a great start. It's a really nice one. Keep going.

[oceanillusion42]

Congrats on a terrific shot. Only thing that could have possibly made the image more effective would be a smaller aperture (as mentioned above). Typically for landscape shots a smaller aperture is more effective because it gives you an increased depth of field. A large depth of field means that more of your image will be in focus. This translates to more sharp, clear shots. A narrow depth of field produces a blur in the background, which is not typically desirable for landscape pictures as it makes the shots soft and blurry.

[TarrenA]

Thanks for your comments - much appreciated. Will try playing around with aperture in the next few photo's and see what I come up with!
Photography is a massive learning curve for me, but enjoying it thoroughly... what a rewarding hobby!

[Spiralofourdiv]

For a beginner, this is an incredible shot!

I really like the use of negative space, as others have commented. You also kind of broke a really basic composition rule: you put the subject RIGHT in the center of the frame. Normally this is a terrible thing, but this is one of the cases in which intentionally breaking the rules adds effect. Beginners (i.e. me) usually can't pull that off as well as you have!

The only issue I have is that the vignetting is pretty strong, at least in the lower corners. But that is a VERY small and pretty subjective gripe.

Well done!

-Brian