Bryon Anderson 0 Report post Posted March 24, 2014 Thanks Mike. I'm enjoying just playing with it and slowly learning how things work. Hopefully spring will get here soon and help me out with this task of injecting color into a dull landscape. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
COMike 0 Report post Posted April 22, 2014 Bryon.... If you haven't done so....take the RAW shots and archive them! Keep them in a separate folder. Make your "adjustments" in another folder......tweak them as necessary......but KEEP THE ORIGINALS! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bryon Anderson 0 Report post Posted April 23, 2014 Good advice Mike -- I am keeping all my RAW files of pictures in which I like the composition so I can go back and "fix" them multiple times as my knowledge of photography and post-processing increases. I'm taking a digital photography course at the local arts council right now and I'm reading a ton, too, so I'm learning a lot. I'm also looking at tons of truly great pictures on some photography forums, so I feel like I'm starting to develop more of an eye for what makes good pictures good. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
COMike 0 Report post Posted April 24, 2014 Bryon, I just went back through the pictures and I was wondering .... How the heck did you manage to make the waterfall look like it was flowing water as you did? I have simply no idea how you created that picture.... Thanks ! Mike Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bryon Anderson 0 Report post Posted April 24, 2014 Mike, Funny you should mention that -- that picture was the result of my first time attempting that effect. It took a few tries. To get that effect, you just have to slow down your shutter speed. How slow depends on how fast the water is moving and how far away from it your camera is; you just have to play around with it. Because the shutter is open longer, the motion of the water blurs instead of being "frozen" as it would be with a fast shutter speed. The background rocks, trees, leaves etc. stay in sharp focus because they're not moving. That's my understanding of it, anyway... Cheers, Bryon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlaFly 0 Report post Posted April 26, 2014 Like Mike, I use the picture viewer that comes with MS Office. It has some (limited but some) editing capabilities. Best thing is you can try something, like change contrast, etc., and if you don't like it, you can just not save it, and reopen the original. Play around with it. My camera automatically tends to darken photos and I just add about 10 per cent mid range color and it comes out just right. The waterfall is a great photo.... as far as I'm concerned it would make a great jigsaw puzzle. It apparently was dark due to clouds or shade, and your camera appears to have lengthened the shutter exposure time. That's the way you get that milky effect in the moving water, which to most viewers is highly desired. If you took the same photo in bright light with automatic exposure set, it probably would have responded by shortening the exposure time and decreasing the aperture, resulting in a more "instantaneous" shot, and to get it "milky" you'd have to manually lengthen the exposure time (sometimes up to 10 or more seconds in dark conditions), which of course mandates using a tripod. Looks like you might have used a tripod on your shot, either that or you've got a very steady hand. One more hint, if you need a steadier and don't have a tripod, just hold your camera on a tree limb or a boulder, or anything else that is supportive. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bryon Anderson 0 Report post Posted April 26, 2014 FlaFly, I did use a tripod--I do so whenever it's feasible, because I actually don't have a very steady hand at all. I actually prefer shooting with the tripod -- it forces me to slow down and take more time framing and composing my shots. When I'm hand-holding the camera I tend to impulsively aim and shoot when something catches my attention. The milky effect of the moving water was intentional - I was shooting in manual mode and lengthened the shutter speed on purpose to get that effect. It was quite overcast that day, and the original shot was underexposed. I should have gone with a larger aperture, or bumped up the ISO just a bit. Or used my exposure compensation, which I just learned about last week. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
famill00 0 Report post Posted April 26, 2014 How was the fishing in Cades Cove? -Forrest Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlaFly 0 Report post Posted April 26, 2014 Well Byron, I think it looks just fine the way it is! You'll find different peoples' tastes in photography is as variable as their preferred species of fish. Sounds like you're far from a beginner... you're doing good. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bryon Anderson 0 Report post Posted April 27, 2014 Forrest, I didn't actually fish in Cade's Cove. I fished for about an hour in whichever river runs beside the road on the way out to Cade's Cove--I think it might be the Little River?-- anyway, I didn't have much luck. Actually, none, other than getting to go fishing when there was still a foot of snow on the ground back home in Michigan. I'd like to go back sometime when I have a decent amount of time to fish. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
