Almost gone..

[Learn2C]

Hello,

While out and about, I came across this little pond and was very taken with the colour surrounding it. However, not sure if I was successful with the composition. I tried to keep in mind the 2/3, 1/3 rule. Is the foreground to much? Any deas as to how I could have improved the image? Would appreciate any and all CC as I am new to landscapes and I am here to learn. Unfortunately, something happened in the transfer of the photo and no EXIF data is available. Hopefully, this is okay as I know it is part of the forum rules.



Almost gone by drako44, on Flickr


Cheers,
Carrie

[Krusty79]

Your foreground does dominate the image, so it's hard to say the pond is the subject. Why is the foreground blurry? Was it windy?

To make the pond the subject, I think you would have to get a lot closer to it and use something closer to the water or in the water for foreground interest.

I know this is out of your control, but having the clouds on one side of the shot gives it an uneven feeling.

[Learn2C]

Thanks Krusty79 for your thoughts... In response to your question, it was a bit windy. I did use my tripod, I guess to no avail. I am still struggling with where exactly to put my auto focus point on most shots. Quite often I will have a blur somewhere in my image and not sure if this is the result of wrong placement or just using the wrong settings. I guess that discussion is better left for another thread

Cheers,
Carrie

[Krusty79]

You can always switch to manual focus. I don't use manual focus much because I'm often shooting at dusk and my eyes don't work as well anymore.

You could have tried increasing your ISO to get a faster shutter speed to try to slow down them movement, but there are tradeoffs with image quality when you do that. Using the self timer or remote shutter release helps to reduce vibration. Your IS or VR on your lens should be turned off when using a tripod.

A good place to start is to focus about 1/3 of the way into your image, but the best thing to do is read the DOF calculator - Online Depth of Field Calculator

[Learn2C]

I will take your advice and try manual focus and/or the self timer if in the same situation again, although my eyes are not very good either! Some people have a natural eye for composition, I seem to be one that has to really work at it. Practice,practice,practice and a whole lotta patience is what I say

Thanks again,
Carrie