Beach Bird

NDS

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Name
Nigel
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Having lurked for a while, I finally found the time and courage to post up one of my own. This is from a recent trip to Jersey where I had a chance to play with my new birthday present - a Lee filter set!

I'd appreciate any pointers for improvement. Thanks.


Beach Bird
by NDS on Talk Photography
 
I like the way you have managed the colours, I have a Hitech 10 stopper and I struggle a bit with the colour cast. The sea may be a bit too blue in this though but it still a nice shot ? ? ?
 
Its a nice shot, I don't have much experience with long exposures so it all looks tight to me. I like the reflection of the rock in the water. Compositionally, I think the subject, the rock formation in the water is far too central, it draws my eye straight away.
 
Beautiful long exposure what's to improve.(y)
 
Its a really nice shot Nigel, Very nice colour throughout, lovely light, and your new Lee filiters are working nicely! I love the shadows thrown on the sand by the rocks and the reflection in the sea.
I would have probably have plonked the tripod more to the left to pull the rock in the sea over more to the LH of the frame.

Oh and kicked the Sh1tehawk off the rock:exit:
Personal vendetta;)
 
Only Joking Jerry;)
 
Very nice LE :).

For me, I would have positioned the bird above the horizon line so not to be lost in with the background, it would also stand out as the focal point somewhat more. Shooting from a lower position may have created that!!.

Also the bird looks a touch soft from any slight movements it made during the exposure. I would Personally have a play with cloning it out as I think the actual image is beautiful.
 
Thanks for all the comments guys - this is exactly what I needed. I wish I'd got started with the forum earlier!

I like the way you have managed the colours, I have a Hitech 10 stopper and I struggle a bit with the colour cast. The sea may be a bit too blue in this though but it still a nice shot ? ? ?

The Lee Big Stopper does give a blue colour cast, but Lee say that setting the colour temperature to somewhere in the region of 10,000 should sort it out. I suspect I set it a little lower - hence the blue, but perhaps the polariser helped too? I'll have to check later.

Its a nice shot, I don't have much experience with long exposures so it all looks tight to me. I like the reflection of the rock in the water. Compositionally, I think the subject, the rock formation in the water is far too central, it draws my eye straight away.

Its a really nice shot Nigel, Very nice colour throughout, lovely light, and your new Lee filiters are working nicely! I love the shadows thrown on the sand by the rocks and the reflection in the sea.
I would have probably have plonked the tripod more to the left to pull the rock in the sea over more to the LH of the frame.

Oh and kicked the Sh1tehawk off the rock:exit:
Personal vendetta;)

Composition is my key concern, I've read some rules, but putting them into practice is a bit harder. Thanks for the tips here - I completely agree. I think there was a boat to the right, which didn't look good with the long exposure - hence the central rock. My original idea was having the bird looking out onto a peaceful seascape, especially as it was standing so still for me. On reflection, I agree that it competes with the rocks and would have preferred the shot without it. Next time I'll keep a few pebbles handy just in case!!!
 
Very nice LE :).

For me, I would have positioned the bird above the horizon line so not to be lost in with the background, it would also stand out as the focal point somewhat more. Shooting from a lower position may have created that!!.

Also the bird looks a touch soft from any slight movements it made during the exposure. I would Personally have a play with cloning it out as I think the actual image is beautiful.

Thanks. Cloning out the bird sounds like a great idea. Not sure how difficult it'll be - I'll have a go later...

I wish I was able to think about these things out in the field. I suppose that's what experience is all about.
 
Thanks. Cloning out the bird sounds like a great idea. Not sure how difficult it'll be - I'll have a go later...

I wish I was able to think about these things out in the field. I suppose that's what experience is all about.
The fact that you have posted up and asked for critique is (ive found) one of the best ways to learn. Everyone has their own unique types of shooting or editing but as long as your happy with what your doing and what your producing who cares :).
Next time you go out you will think about these things that have been said above. I know I do and it leads me to take 3 -4 times as many pics. From high or low positions. Different camera angles. Different ways of framing the same scene i.e. 1/3rd above the horizon or 2/3rds above the horizon or even 50/50!!!.
Its all valuable info and sometime the harshest comments are the ones that embed into you and make you a better photographer :)
 
Dont Clone it out on my behalf Nigel... It was only a joke, i have a running thing about seagulls.
Richie is spot on, remember photography is subjective! To prove that point post a picture here 5 people will dislike it, 5 people will love it. You will know when you get it right! Dont think for a moment every shot is going to be good. Even pros make mistakes some of the guys on here will be the first to admit I'm sure. But they are Pros because they do it day in day out and there expert at what they do. They know their equipment inside out, they know their subject, and they know how to Photograph it, even in the most difficult lighting and get the best out of it.

If you ask most people how many photos they shoot to how many they post on Flickr or wherever im sure the ratio will be fairly low, in other words people only post there best shots.

One thing that helped me was a checklist, i went on a workshop a fair few years ago and the Guy running the workshop reccommended it. It seemed like basic stuff, but I cant think how many times i whipped the camera out and forgot to, Reset the ISO, Change from continuous focus, Change back from spot metering, the list goes on. It gets shorter as you get better at photography, then as you get older (And have more brain farts) its gets longer again!:(. (BTW its Just a little card with memory joggers on it)
Eventually it becomes second nature and you do it automatically like driving a car...... I recently was caught out by not checking the front element of the lens.... (Big smear across the filter) Took a load of shots, and i dont care what camera you have those LCD displays on the back, dont show you the whole story, you dont see that till its up on the screen at home!

Anyhow this is meant to be an encouraging post! You have a great shot there, so you can see you are more than capable and hearing about others pitfalls may help you to not fall into the same traps. You have made a great start, lots of brilliant posts on here, plus lots of helpful people. Remember the more you shoot the more you learn.

Enjoy!
 
Thanks for the pick me up! Don't worry, I'm not down, I just tend to focus on all the problems!

The checklist sounds like a good idea. In fact I learned about checking the front element the following day as I had a great sunset pic spoiled by the amount of spray on my filters. I was gutted - but learned my lesson.

Not sure if I should start another thread on this, but how do you guys work with filters in the field? I felt a little precarious trying to get filters out of my rucksack while balancing on rocks or in the surf. I was convinced I was going to drop one of my new filters, but it turned out to be my wireless remote instead. Is some sort of belt system or waistcoat useful? Any recommendations?
 
Hi Nigel, you have captured the scene very nicely indeed, I wish I was their, the bird certainly is part of the scene looking for food as always, just looks a little blown within the highlights (Bird), thank you for sharing.
 
Thanks for the pick me up! Don't worry, I'm not down, I just tend to focus on all the problems!

The checklist sounds like a good idea. In fact I learned about checking the front element the following day as I had a great sunset pic spoiled by the amount of spray on my filters. I was gutted - but learned my lesson.

Not sure if I should start another thread on this, but how do you guys work with filters in the field? I felt a little precarious trying to get filters out of my rucksack while balancing on rocks or in the surf. I was convinced I was going to drop one of my new filters, but it turned out to be my wireless remote instead. Is some sort of belt system or waistcoat useful? Any recommendations?

Nigel. I use a filter pouch attached to my tripod (a Lee pouch). I have a strap that allows me to carry my tripod over my shoulder but when I am at the location I can unclip the strap from the bottom of the tripod and clip it around the base of the tripod head, threading it through the belt loop on the filter pouch. So basically, all my filters are sat right under my nose and I can remove add them at any time without reaching for my bag or rooting around in pockets etc.

This is the only image I can find but its similar to this: http://static.squarespace.com/stati...-grad-filter-pouch-03-01.jpeg?format=original
 
And the microfiber cloth....
I think i might have to find something to sort my lens caps, i can never find them! Take them off stuff em somewhere, come packing up time "Wheres it gone?"
I think a big lump of blue tack on my tripods the answer!
 
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