Leaves in Water

[Niter]

Hello,

Waiting for my new D90 I decided to play around with an old Olympus Camedia C700 (2mp) to see if all the reading I've been doing is helping me out. Any critique, including harsh ones , are welcome.

Camera Model: Olympus Camedia C700
f/3.5
1/60sec
ISO 100
No editing

[Japaslavian]

Well first off I don't quite know what I'm supposed to be looking at. There's some leaves, but they all look the same, so nothing really stands out to me. Perhaps if you had placed an orange leaf, or a flower or something in there for contrast it would have some more appeal.
The composition is not terribly strong either. The way the leaves are pointed take my eye from the center of the shot to the bottom left and right off the page. There is nothing directing me around the shot and keeping my interest.
The colors and contrast are pretty flat, but I think that is due to the camera's abilities, and not yours.
All in all it does not seem like you spent enough time composing this shot, but rather snapped off a few and settled for one. Try backing off a little bit and getting in more leaves for a textural shot as opposed to just some leaves, or try placing something in there that contrasts against the green as a subject for some dynamic appeal. You could even come in closer and go for detail. Water running across one leaf can produce something cool I'm sure.
Just keep trying different things.

[Niter]

Originally Posted by Japaslavian

All in all it does not seem like you spent enough time composing this shot, but rather snapped off a few and settled for one.

Pretty much that's how it went down. Is a half barrel I have in the front yard. Was messing around with the camera settings (not too many to be honest) and didn't really thought the picture through, just snapped a few shots of this and couple more things in the yard till the batteries died on me.


I appreciate the critique, I need it. Like a lot your idea of adding a flower to create more contrast.