Autumn Trees Avenue

[shruggy63]

It's a fairly boring pic imo. It seems to be technically correct but it just doesn't do it for me.
Exif:
Aperture priority
1/25
F8
ISO 400
Focus: 31mm
Anti-shake ON
Autumn Trees Avenue.jpg

How should I crop it? Can anyone suggest anything that would give it more zing?

[Doug Sundseth]

I can see why you wanted to shoot this scene. It looks really beautiful.

But there isn't much in the way of foreground interest. If you want this without a foreground subject, I think you need to emphasize the path by taking it out of the dead center of the photo.

[shruggy63]

Thanks Doug, you're right. I'll go back & get a member of the public involved :-) If it stops raining...

[Krusty79]

Your focus looks soft also. When you go back, I'd try using a tripod instead of relying on the vibration reduction.

[shruggy63]

Darn it Krusty you spotted the obvious flaw! Fact is, I don't believe I got an image that sharp at that speed, hand held.
It's a problem I didn't have when I was younger but now I'm having trouble focusing. I'm short sighted & need glasses but in-camera diopter adjustment doesn't really work that well for me. If I keep my specs on I can focus nicely but can't see the info my DSLR gives me.
I need specially designed rubber

[Krusty79]

My eyes don't work as well now either. I can't use manual focus in dim light, so I have to rely on auto focus sometimes. A general rule is to focus 1/3 of the way into your image, but you should check out this DOF calculator - Online Depth of Field Calculator.

For those times when you don't have a tripod, there are tips for taking hand held shots - How to Hold a Digital Camera

[shruggy63]

I think the slow shutter speed + being handheld is a problem (ie. camera shake) but not the worst problem. I use AV mostly but I haven't shut down the aperture enough to give the huge DOF required? You live & learn :-) Also I used spot focus. In fact, a lot of what I did was completely wrong for the scene! But I'm hoping I'm improving.