Too late for the photo contest. Did any of these pics from around my house come out decent?

[NNN0LHI]

[Solly Mack]

1. I really like those! # 8 is my favorite.

I love the frog!

[alfredo]

2. The DOF is very good.

[Solly Mack]

3. It is very good. Maybe that's why I like it so much?

I know my eyes went outward and my smile increased. I'm naming the frog Tulip.

[alfredo]

4. I wonder if he has a thing for motorcars?

[Solly Mack]

5. Maybe he checks the engines? Sorta a froggie pit-stop?

That's where he gets the name 'Tulip' from...'cause he's a twin-engine expert. :) (the V kisses at vertex)

[alfredo]

6. He's certainly not a mother Fokker

[Solly Mack]

8. Something else the Dutch are known for...

[alfredo]

10. "coffee shops"?

[Solly Mack]

11. Those too.

[alfredo]

13. Mechanics from pro cycling teams holiday there.

I had a friend with the Motorola team back in the 80's. He said it was one of the perks of the job. He loved the Pink Floyd coffee shop. Sadly it has been sold and renamed.

[Solly Mack]

14. A-town is a great city. For many reasons...

Smallest house in Amsterdam

[alfredo]

15. Don't forget your camera.

[Solly Mack]

16. lol

[NNN0LHI]

7. Thank you guys for any and all critiques. Positive or negative

I am really new at this hobby and can use all the help I can get.

My favorite was the frost damaged purple flowers.

Thanks again.

Don

[Solly Mack]

9. I like those too. I hope to see more of you and your work.

It's quiet around here at times. More people will be along. Folks are very helpful and kind here.

Alfredo is right about the depth of field in photo number 8. It's really good.

I'm a novice myself. I like taking pictures but am just now really learning about the craft.

The blur in your picture of the flowers is called Bokeh...and blur isn't a bad thing...though it can be.

[NNN0LHI]

17. Thanks again and I have a couple of questions if you don't mind me asking?

Is the depth of field something that I have control over? Or does it only have to do with the inherent limitations of the camera?

Could the Bokeh problem have been caused by me forgetting to switch the camera to the Macro setting, which I know happened?

The info you have supplied so far has been very helpful for this novice.

Think I need a tripod too? Everything I have shot so far was by bare hand, usually while trying to hold on to a big, energetic dog which doesn't make things any easier.

Don

[Solly Mack]

19. Bokeh isn't a problem. A good blur can make for an outstanding photo.

Bokeh is a desired effect (mostly). Your blur is good. Photo edit programs can enhance the effect. (Picasa is a free one....photo-shop has an editor as well.)

Below isn't an outstanding photo but it's an example of a desired blur. (bokeh)



The blur/bokeh behind the focal point (flowers)...the background.

I don't know what caused your blur but it's a good one. I would have gone for a smaller grouping of the flowers...but that's just me.



How you choose to shoot - frame - a photo can make for good DOF. The subject has to also contain the possibility. The table with the linens from the link, for example. The table is long, the linen is all lined up...so you stand at an angle to get the full depth of the repeating pattern.

Your picture...the grass and trees nearest you...then the water...the surrounding trees and shoreline...all the way back. Closest point to farthest point away...without it being out of focus...just a soft transition that goes outward.

A good camera is always a plus.


Tripods do help keep the camera still. Do you need one? Depends on what you're going for...but if you continue to take pictures, you're going to want one. :)


Someone with far more experience than I have will be able to give you more technical/accurate answers.

[Celebration]

12. Nice hawk!!

Fun hobby, isn't it? The frog (toad?) is too cool!

[NNN0LHI]

18. Yes, been having a real good time for about a week now since getting the camera

Nice way to spend some time. It was a toad. Had a lot of them this year. Most have dug themselves into the ground for the winter now. But they will be back in the spring.

Had a gorgeous double rainbow in the eastern sky this summer and no camera to photograph it with so we decided to get one.

Don

[maheanuu]

20. The Hawk on the pole adn the Toad are my favorites

Wouldn't take too much "Gimpin' or Photo Shopping to make real keepers out of either... Sure would liked to have seen more of the hawk, is that a sparrow hawk or a red tailed one? Been so long since I have seen one like that... When I was back in Orygun taking care of my mom I was standing outside on her front deck and we had a Bald Eagle and his mate on the hunt pass through Moms Orchard about 15 feet off the deck going like a bat outta Hell chasing a Crow who knew that his time was real close to being up.... I still visualize that chase to this day... It was one of those things that I had never witnessed in my life and will never again have that chance.. Just another reason my camera or cameras are always by my side or within my hands reach.....

Good work and I want to see more....

[NNN0LHI]

22. It was a Cooper's hawk

There is one perched about every mile apart on this road waiting for and ready to pounce on a mouse or other small animal crossing the highway.

Don

[Mz Pip]

21. My favorite

is #2.

It's a nostalia pic for me. I lived in rural NE on a farm as a child and then moved to Northern IL. I spent my first year of college at NIU in DeKalb which really was out in the middle of nowhere when I was there.

That picture really captures the solitude and isolation of those memories for me. And that makes it a good photograph IMHO if it can trigger an emotion in the viewer.

[NNN0LHI]

23. If you have seen the movie North By Northwest that road may look familiar

That is the same road, but not the intersection, where the scene was filmed where Carry Grant was shot at with the machine gun toting guy in the crop dusting airplane.

Don