Fall colors in Michigan with windmill

[RachelEsterline]

I took this on Oct. 9 outside of Gaylord, Mich. The fall colors were at their peak. When I got home, I used Photoshop to crop the photo and adjust the colors so they more clearly reflected what I saw that day.



Photo information:
Camera: Nikon D3000
F-stop: f/5.6
Exposire time: 1/500 sec
Focal length: 92 mm
Max aperture: 4.3
No flash

I'm currently taking my first photography class to learn how to use my Nikon. This is my first DSLR camera. (This is also my first forum post here on DPS).

[Msbelle442]

Beautiful colors but I wonder if your horizon is slightly off. I initially thought the rise in the foreground was a slight hill but when I look at the windmill it also appears to be slightly tilted to the left.

[crockny]

I agree - you need to straighten it out -- also not sure if you really need the dried grass in the front -- the interesting part is the echoing of colors between the leaves and the windmill ...

[Krusty79]

Welcome to DPS. I also like the contrast of the trees and windmill. I find the tilted foreground distracting from that, though. Did you use f/5.6 to keep the DOF shallow? I ask that because the windmill is in focus, but the trees are a little fuzzy. Most lenses are sharpest around f/8 and you'll get more DOF there.

A circular polarizer might have helped you get the colors you want. Shooting closer to sunset gives you softer light and shadows.

[EOBeav]

First of all, welcome to the forums. There are a lot of elements here that would create a nice first image for you. What would greatly improve your shot is if you took it around sunrise or sunset, to get some good colors out of the sky and make a more interesting photograph.