Oooo, that dreaded red X. Nope they didn't work .
BUT, the link to your gallery worked fine. I really liked your shot of Quentin. The processing and the expression on his face are wonderful. He kind of has that curious but guilty look with that torn paper in his hand. That one is my favorite.
I also like the town hall shot, the haze gives it a really moody feeling. The Monkey looks like he is thinking too hard.
Methinks Picasa does some weird things, because in Firefox I do see the images, but in IE not. However, if I copy the URL from the properties, the link works, but IE insists it wants to open an external program to show the photo... Any ideas?
I like all of the images - especially 2 & 3. Comments: for 2 & 3 I think I'd clone out the light spots in the cobblestones and try using curves to get some more pop into the images; #3 could stand some sharpening - exposed at 1/250 at f7 I would not expect movement to be a problem.
Don't know about the Picasa web gallery issue - I try to avoid IE wherever/whenever possible and use the Firefox IETab plug-in as an alternative if IE is absolutely required (and sometimes that doesn't work either).
Did you pp in Picasa? I often use it for family/friend web posts.
i like the picture of your son alot. although the post with the paper on it on the right is a tad distracting i almost wish it wasnt there at all. the foggy background makes him stand out alot. and the muted colors are unique, i dig it. perhaps a little more contrast would make it POP even further.
the rest of them arent doing much for me, the shot of the monkey looks a tad blurry almost like you cropped it out of a larger image? good job on the first one though.
Some interesting images.
I like the low contrast look of your first image. At first the paper on the right bothered me as well, and if you had a slight variation on this image, with the paper less prominent, I'd prefer it. But, looking again, I see his expression, and the torn paper in his hand. And I like the context. So, interesting image.
I like the next two as well. Scenes that just dont exist in the US. Of the two, I find the second (image 3) more interesting, with just a bit of color in the streetlamps and in the window on the left. Works well in what is otherwise a monochromatic image.
In the future, I'd suggest you post just a few images at a time, linked thematically or by some variattion. From that perspective, the monkey image should be a separate post and would receive more specific input. Also, forum rules generally ask that one new post/thread/forum/day be adhered to.
Welcome, and looking forward to seeing more.
Scott
1 is nice colors and focus but I find that the subject is competing with the background. I think you son needs to be bigger and away from the garbage.
2 has nice lines and is interesting but overall it is average for me. I am struggling with why. The horizon is in the right spot but it just seems like it would be better to get more or less in the picture.
3 is great. Nice mood and leads the viewer down the street into the alley. This is my favorite shot of the bunch.
4 is well framed with eyes 1/3 down and with monkey at 1/3 of frame for interest. The backgournd is a bit distracting. The picture would be better with different lighting I think. Did you use fill flash?
My favorite is 3rd. 1st would be greatly improved with cropping to put focus on son.
#1: Great mood. Someone else mentioned the paper - probably should be cloned out to strengthen the composition. Personally I'd crop it tighter too.
#2: I think the foreground lacks interest. Nice subject, but maybe too much competition for the eye here
#3: My favorite of your shots. However with one caveat - it's my favorite with the entire right side cropped off. If you crop off the entire right side buildings you end up with a really nice picture. Try it.
#4. Pictures of animals tend to be "catch what you can when you can" and you are suffering from bad luck here because the background doesn't contrast enough against the animal. I'm surprised that no one has mentioned how soft the focus looks on the monkey: Your F-Stop may have been too low here or one of the focus points picked up on something that threw off your focus, or perhaps the lens is just soft.
I really like the first 3. Quentin is adorable and the photo is addictive. At first glance the paper to his left was a real deal breaker, but when I resized it to fit my screen, the photo as a whole is just lovely. Hope you dont mind, but it is my wallpaper for today.
I like foggy/moody/desolate images and your #2 is cool. The sign on the left makes me feel like I am in Germany or Austria (sorry, I don't know the language or the politics, hope this isn't an insult)
#3 is much the same as #2, the moody/desolate. I think that the selective color on the lights looks nice.
The monkey is pretty much a pic of a monkey. In the set is loses continuity for the series.
Wow, thank you all for the helpful comments, this is really encouraging to try to improve my next request for critique. One simple one would be not to include monkey pictures anymore :-)
To answer a few questions raised in the comments:
- The first three pics were taken in Culemborg, my home town in The Netherlands.
- I used my good 'ole EF 24-70 f/2.8L for these, the RAW shots were then pp'd in Lightroom. So except for cropping, sharpening, a bit of NR (not too much) and desaturating no further modifications were applied.
Recently I have been making some night shots with my CZ Planar lens, maybe I'll consult you guys later for some comments. Some of them are already in my Picasa gallery mentioned in the starter posting.
Isn't Lightroom amazing? I'm a newbie as well and I've been using LR for less than 2 weeks and I love it.
I think Number 1 is interesting and I know with kids that age the shots are going to be candid since its hard to get them to do what you want I love your son's name...its the same as my late grandfather and I think anyone with that name has a great personality. I love Number 3. Feels very peaceful. The fog and low lights make me want to take a quiet job through the street someday (even though that would be a long trip )
Re-worked the monkey - cropped, smart objects to sharpen, blur, and the use a paint with light plugin (ePaperPress.com) - after looking at it I think it might be a tad oversaturated?
