I worked REALLY hard on these...I'd love some feedback!

Question

There's 24...I think. No need to comment on all of the, maybe just a quick glance and let me know what you think. I really appreciate helpful criticism and honesty. Thank you so much.

http://picasaweb.google.com/SJSpildener/UntitledAlbum

Answer 1

Too much glare on some of them.   And the colors look too bright and unnatural to me.   I think they would have looked better before you worked on these so much.  Just my opinion.

Answer 2

WOW!

those are some really good pics.

I really like the 6th one.

I LOVE taking pics, and i'm really good at it too.

It seems that you have the same style as me in the way we

take our pics..

(Everyone has their own "style" lol)

They're deff really good!

Answer 3

Very nice. I would get some good frames for them and sell them on Etsy.com . That's a place where you can only sell things you make yourself. That's where I sell my wands (secondhandsorcery)

   If you can make a living doing something you really like doing, you will truly have a wonderful life.

- Grim

Answer 4

Wow! you are a true artist! Thank God for your skills! good job man! Each one says something about you! cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! wow! i love these pictures! is it ok if i save these pics? they rock!

Answer 5

stunning pictures!

Answer 6

They're all really soothing. My favorite is the second one. Not to be rude or anything at all but it seems a little unoriginal. I mean, *I'm excluding the flower one and the 2nd one.. I think there is a grave yard one too that I liked a lot* it's been done before. You need to take it a step higher. Delve a little deeper and find that place where people look over. Don't give up and you're an awesome photographer!

Answer 7

didnt really like the darker ones,

but loved the later ones were the sun was setting/rising

the colors were pretty nice

Answer 8

these pictures are so pretty but some of the have a glare

Answer 9

I am particularly impressed with your ability to display shadow and light, your colors are wonderful, the pics are crisp....I even set one as my desktop background...that is how good they are.

Answer 10

oh WOW...yeah, I can tell you definitely did put a lot of work into these!  I think picture 5 is my favorite.  It's hard to properly expose a backlit picture.  Usually the foreground is completely dark and the sky is washed out.  But that one looks good, especially the way the tree contrasts against the dark blue sky and the way the sun shines through the branches.

I also like picture 7, how smooth the water looks.  It has a rich, almost silk appearance, yet without losing texture.  You can see the current and the spray of the water, but the surface looks smooth.  

The only picture I think could have been better is picture 4, with the two people standing.  It's a nice picture and does have a serene feel to it...but it's just too underexposed.  You might have waited a little bit too long to take this and the sun was too low.  If your camera has manual shutter speed settings, maybe a long exposure would have worked in that case.  Then again, with people it's hard to do...since you can't be sure they're going to stand still long enough!  So I know that would have been a really tricky shot to get. It's good that you didn't try to use a flash.  That would have ruined the scene, but also I always think it's better to use natural lighting as much as possible.  Unless it's absolutely necessary, a flash ruins most pictures because it messes up the color balance and causes too much glare.  

You pictures are definitely better than the lame ones we usually see on here!  Keep up the good work!

I don't know if you used any editing on your pictures, but they look completely natural to me.  They look like they could have come straight out of the camera...of if you did do any editing, it was very slight.  That's the way you do it!  Either get it right the first time with the camera, or if you do edit, do it as little as possible.  Only enough to improve the picture.  

By the way, I got a violation notice from Yahoo Answers...for "solicitation"!  I don't post spam!  Probably one of the MySpace and Photoshop kids didn't like one of my answers and reported it as spam.  Isn't that great?  I guess from now on I should just tell people  "kewl...i like ur pics"  

Anyway, great job with the pictures!  You're taking time with them and getting the right lighting.  And the composition looks good...there is definitely a "real photography" feel to them...they aren't just snapshots.  You do seem to have a knack for landscape photos, and I think with more practice it will get even better.  Especially that one with the tree   :)  

EDIT:  LOL...yeah, I don't know what kind of "solicitation" they meant either!  I'm not sure I want to know!

I was looking at your pictures again and I just wanted to add that I also really liked picture 1.  The walkway with the railing helps to add an illusion of depth.  I know the sunset was your main subject, but the walkway helps because it naturally draws your eyes into the picture.  It's good to use something in the surroundings...like a walkway, a road, telephone poles, railroad tracks, etc that help to create a natural line that goes into the horizon.  You naturally follow it from the foreground into the background, and it gives a more three-dimensional feel to the picture.  You don't always have to do that, but it can help for some pictures.

Answer 11

absolutely beautiful...stunning!!

Answer 12

They're really pretty! Love the colours.

Answer 13

They are nice.  I think you have too much sun glare going on.   In many, I thought your shadow values were too dark.  My favorite sunset shot was the fourth one, second row.  The composition is good, it has a defined foreground, middle, and background, the exposure is in the ballpark (although I would adjust the levels some to darken the shadows a bit) and the light is pleasant.  There is no sun glaring away in the corner either.  

On the top row, the silhouette shot is almost great.  Unfortunately one person's head is merged with the tree trunk.  Moving a step or two one way or the other might have given separation and thus better definition to the subject.

Overall, they are decent shots.  It is hard to be original with sunsets, and really no need to be.  Shoot them because they are pretty and you like them.  You have some very pleasant work already.  Keep learning and growing in your photography.