Bridge in the Park
by dsterner

Comment by Melethia:
Good simple composition which very effectively shows off the bridge. It does appear to need a bit of contrast in the scene beyond the structure, but it's hard to get that quite right when your scene has snow in it. Snow is something I've been told you should overexpose for - though that seems contrary to what I might think. I haven't had a chance to play with snow - haven't had any! When you look at the original, does it seem too dark and did you lighten it? If so, did you shoot in one of the auto modes? It may have metered to balance the scene. One thing you could try in a similar situation is to set the camera to autobracket the shot - it will take one at what it thinks is the correct exposure, and one each over and under that setting. You can set the camera for how much over and under you want. If you shoot RAW, try setting it for one full stop over and one full stop under - you'll then have three very different exposures you can work with.

Architecture...Lost toTime
by dsterner

Comment by Melethia:
A very good detail shot to show not only the design but the state of decay. Kinda sad to see these old places start to fade.

The Stream Flows After Rain
by dsterner

Comment by Melethia:
Good for you on the manual thing! I try that every now and then, but am not that comfortable with it either - so this is a good reminder that I should work with it more. You captured the water well (which was the challenge) but the overall composition seems to be a bit lacking to me. I often get the comment "there's no where for the eye to go" on some of my stuff - I tend to do "too busy" - and I have to step back and see whether or not what I like will be of any interest to anyone else because of that. Since I'm not familiar with the location, I can't say whether a wider more encompassing shot would make a better composition, or a closer focus on the way the water moves across a particular section of rocks. If you have the chance to shoot around here again, also try shooting from different angles if at all possible (without doing the Dr Achoo camera submersion trick!).

You're Kidding Me, Right?"
by dsterner

Comment by Melethia:
Heh! I love the look. I use onboard flash when I'm shooting stuff that folks at work ask me to shoot (parties, meetings, ceremonies - odd stuff like that) and oddly, no one ever comes back to tell me that the flash was too harsh. :-) But for "professional" stuff, or to improve skills, onboard camera flash is generally not recommended (though it does work somewhat well as fill flash outside). I find it hard to light people well without all the fancy doo-dads that the portrait folks use, but natural window light if you have it works well, and a simple reflector of white posterboard if it's handy will fill in on the side opposite the window. It looks dorky, but it works. I've been trying it with cats, which is a bit harder since they refuse to sit still, but that's neither here nor there. Anyway, I think you met the challenge well and caught an excellent expression!

All That's Left ...
by dsterner

Comment by Jason_Cross:
Not my favorite image but there's really nothing wrong with it.

All That's Left ...
by dsterner

Comment by PHOTOKID:
Lighting is a bit off on the piece of bread in the foreground, and the photo could be a bit sharper overall.

All That's Left ...
by dsterner

Comment by raish:
heh

All That's Left ...
by dsterner

Comment by HeiSch:
ther is not a lot of contrast in your arrangement. May be a darker bottom would have helped.

We'll Meet When You Awake
by dsterner

Comment by colorcarnival:
Sorry I did not get to commenting sooner. Your #1 fan has been busy with the kids and the neighborhood kids since they too are off school today :(

So you know, I think photos with very personal meanings don't often translate well, because they mean so much more to you than anyone could ever appreciate. I know we talked about what you were going to do and look what happened - you created an image the way you described to it me. Definitely a morning scene, definitely from the perspective of your eyes as a child. Excellent job of taking this from concept to creation.

We'll Meet When You Awake
by dsterner

Comment by hihosilver:
Deb...I bet you couldn't wait for her to wake up. You were a disciplined child. My children would have been bouncing on her bed to wake her up...;-) Although the photo did not receive the appreciation it deserved...the treasures of your memory are warmhearted and thank you for sharing your Oma with all of us!