944s2 Posted September 17, 2010 Report Share Posted September 17, 2010 Just looking for some feedback from the Photography pro's and such on this site. Anything I could do better with these photos? I am def just an amateur at this still and have basic Photoshop skills. *(I really don't want to have to use Photoshop for any of my photos other than framing and basic cropping/watermarking.) Blue Truck http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd58/reitzmj/2010%20Photography%20Portfolio/Vermont2010240editcopy.jpg Midday sky and mountains in the backyard of the Von Trapp Lodge. http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd58/reitzmj/2010%20Photography%20Portfolio/Vermont2010309copy.jpg Smugglers Ski Resort http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd58/reitzmj/2010%20Photography%20Portfolio/Vermont2010160copy.jpg Stowe Gondola up Mt. Mansfield http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd58/reitzmj/2010%20Photography%20Portfolio/Vermont2010065copy.jpg Thanks for looking/feedback!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojoe Posted September 17, 2010 Report Share Posted September 17, 2010 Last picture, off to the far right outside the picture, is Smugglers Notch Pass. Hopefully you got the chance to drive it. There are more twists and turns with elevation than I have seen on any other mountain road I have been on. At one point, you have to drive under a huge bolder hanging over the road. Very cool place for camping and tons of trails for hiking. Pics look great. I grew up in Vermont and will be back there in a few months once the snow hits. Thanks for sharing. Care to post more about what you did while up there and places you visited? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
944s2 Posted September 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2010 (edited) Last picture, off to the far right outside the picture, is Smugglers Notch Pass. Hopefully you got the chance to drive it. There are more twists and turns with elevation than I have seen on any other mountain road I have been on. At one point, you have to drive under a huge bolder hanging over the road. Very cool place for camping and tons of trails for hiking. Pics look great. I grew up in Vermont and will be back there in a few months once the snow hits. Thanks for sharing. Care to post more about what you did while up there and places you visited? Yep have been going up for 8 years for snowboarding. I had never been through the notch since it's closed in the winter, so we went through about 4 times. This is one of the boulders you might have been talking about, it was about the size of my house and these pics don't do justice to how high up I was. http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd58/reitzmj/Vermont2010177.jpg http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd58/reitzmj/Vermont2010182.jpg The notch has 1000 ft cliffs (as you can see in the pic above) and if one of these huge boulders falls on you its game over. http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd58/reitzmj/Vermont2010221.jpg We camped at Smugglers Notch State Park, which is in Stowe about a 1/2 mile from the mountain and it was awesome. http://www.vtstateparks.com/htm/smugglers.htm We got a Lean-to to protect the tent from rain and it was only $87 for 3 nights. The bathroom and showers were very clean and well maintained. We did a lot of touristy stuff since the fiance had never been there before. Ben & Jerry's tour, Magic Hat tour *(which I had never done before and was awesome, free tour, free samples, and $9 Growlers of beer, only $7 if you have a growler already. Jay Peak to see the new Ice Haus, which we had all to ourselves, a pro hockey rink with a beautiful view and go up the tram, but tram was closed. *When we ride Jay is my favorite place, if you have never been it's like no other resort in the East in terms of snowfall. We rode the gondola at Stowe and Hiked down 2000 feet of vertical, ouch quads. http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.endomondo.com%2Fworkouts%2Flp61D9rwwL4&h=e43b6 http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd58/reitzmj/Abbyicehaus.jpg http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd58/reitzmj/abby2.jpg Hiking down under the clouds. http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd58/reitzmj/Vermont2010370copy.jpg Ate at the Shed and bought some more Growlers of beer, http://maps.google.com/maps/place?hl=en&safe=off&rlz=1C1GGLS_enUS352US352&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=the+shed+stowe&fb=1&gl=us&hq=the+shed&hnear=Stowe,+VT&cid=16830350504035782545 We shopped on Church St in Burlington and hung out at Lake Champlain. Oh yeah forgot to mention Switchback.... the best beer in the world, only on tap in VT, that guy needs to bottle that stuff, at least you can get it in many more places than 8 years ago. Edited September 17, 2010 by 944s2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
944s2 Posted September 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2010 Mojoe, what are your favorite resorts, and where do you stay, (if it's not with family). I would love to move to VT imo it's just such a great state, and you gotta love there lack of gun laws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTQ B4U Posted September 17, 2010 Report Share Posted September 17, 2010 Love to see you getting into photography! Enjoy the learning curve and fun. It's a blast. Don't be afraid of using photoshop. It's an essential part of photography. No different than the days of darkrooms and chemicals. There are some purists out there, but I'm not one of them. To each their own though. Just keep in mind, out of camera jpegs are processed, just not by you. Shoot RAW and process away. The Stowe Gondola and the prior shot would really "pop" if processed. Anyway, my biggest insight given the types of shots, would be to invest in a wide angle lens and have fun. 10-16mm focal lengths will do wonders with some of those shots. Read up on HDR too. You'll have fun with Dynamic range and bracket shooting. Can't tell on this browser and my work PC what camera you have (I can at home) but if you don't already, get one that allows bracketing and a wide range of bracket shots. Many of the entry level ones, especially Nikon, really limit you there. Play with Depth of Field too. Especially on the Smugglers Ski Shot with the corn up close like that. I will post some edits and some of my similar shots next week so you can see what I mean. I'm out of town now with no access to them. Nice job on the lens flare shot too. I might suggest cropping it so the clouds and the sun are all that are in it. Again, hit that with a wide angle and it would be spectacular. Again, will post similar when I am able. Lastly, just play around a bit with your watermark. I use a faded in one, not perfect, but it works, and it keeps the scene the main point of the shot. Only time I use one that pops out a bit more is on small printed proofs. Just serves as a reminder to my clients. Most proof online though. I don't deliver nearly as many prints as I used to. Enjoy and keep in touch. Love to go out shooting sometime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otis Nice Posted September 18, 2010 Report Share Posted September 18, 2010 Great pics. First is my fav. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
944s2 Posted September 18, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2010 Love to see you getting into photography! Enjoy the learning curve and fun. It's a blast. Don't be afraid of using photoshop. It's an essential part of photography. No different than the days of darkrooms and chemicals. There are some purists out there, but I'm not one of them. To each their own though. Just keep in mind, out of camera jpegs are processed, just not by you. Shoot RAW and process away. The Stowe Gondola and the prior shot would really "pop" if processed. Anyway, my biggest insight given the types of shots, would be to invest in a wide angle lens and have fun. 10-16mm focal lengths will do wonders with some of those shots. Read up on HDR too. You'll have fun with Dynamic range and bracket shooting. Can't tell on this browser and my work PC what camera you have (I can at home) but if you don't already, get one that allows bracketing and a wide range of bracket shots. Many of the entry level ones, especially Nikon, really limit you there. Play with Depth of Field too. Especially on the Smugglers Ski Shot with the corn up close like that. I will post some edits and some of my similar shots next week so you can see what I mean. I'm out of town now with no access to them. Nice job on the lens flare shot too. I might suggest cropping it so the clouds and the sun are all that are in it. Again, hit that with a wide angle and it would be spectacular. Again, will post similar when I am able. Lastly, just play around a bit with your watermark. I use a faded in one, not perfect, but it works, and it keeps the scene the main point of the shot. Only time I use one that pops out a bit more is on small printed proofs. Just serves as a reminder to my clients. Most proof online though. I don't deliver nearly as many prints as I used to. Enjoy and keep in touch. Love to go out shooting sometime. Thanks a lot for the great response! I wish I had shot these in RAW but I didn't. I didn't know that processing could make that huge of a difference. I don't mind using photoshop I guess, just much to learn. I definitely want a wide angle lens next because it seems I really enjoy the nature photography. I currently just have the stock 18-55mm lens and a fixed 35mm Nikon lens which is great for that "Party" shot closeups of ppl etc. As for the camera I have a D5000 and am really happy with it, but had the opportunity to play with a D90 (which I was stuck between buying the two) and really liked it, since I had a few months with my camera I now know about some of the settings, they were much easier/faster to change on the D90. The watermark was a bit much for me... I don't mind it online since it's just for show and I don't want anyone using my pics (although I'm sure it's not that hard to shop out.) But the girl really liked it because she likes that look, so I kept it for now on these shots. All in all I have always loved photography, and feel I somewhat have an "eye" for it, even though I am not that talented artistically. I hate point and shoots and have wanted a good DSLR for awhile now and just got the D5000 this spring, and have learned A LOT! So much thanks again for the feedback, I am always willing to learn more. -Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tractor Posted September 18, 2010 Report Share Posted September 18, 2010 Shots look great. The only thing you should keep in mind is composition, it takes practice and I still catch myself not watching out for it as well. What I'm meaning is things like the "rule of thirds." Some of the shots have way to much sky, grass, or both. Unless the sky or the ground have something very interesting in them or in some way are helping to tell the story they are just taking up space. Its typically best not to center subjects also. Though when shooting horizontally putting that old pickup truck in the far left 1/5th of the frame and letting a lot of that beautiful scenery show across the remaining 4/5ths would be completely exceptable. This is an exception to that rule of thirds that works. Of course photography also falls into the realm of "art" so one guys art is another guys trash so don't take any criticism to seriously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trouble Maker Posted September 22, 2010 Report Share Posted September 22, 2010 Mojoe, what are your favorite resorts, and where do you stay, (if it's not with family). Jay Peak. AFAIK he always stays with family up there. I've only been up with him once, but we stayed with his family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allblack02 Posted September 22, 2010 Report Share Posted September 22, 2010 Great pics. I've been up there a couple times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojoe Posted September 22, 2010 Report Share Posted September 22, 2010 (edited) Jay Peak. AFAIK he always stays with family up there. I've only been up with him once, but we stayed with his family. Thanks Jesse. Yup, Jay Peak is by far, my favorite place when I catch it on a good day. Jesse saw a good day. Sometimes the weather is so brutal up there, it's not fun. Winds can be so bad that the whole mountain is a sheet of ice. But they got like 140" of snow by New Years last year, I think. They get dumped on HUGE. And lift tickets are only $45 all day. Great deal for a huge mountain. Make sure you have snow tires before going up there though. Howie, on here, went with me last year in his 4x4 Tacoma and said it was the most challanging snow drive he had ever had to get up the mountain. In his defence, he litteraly had to weave in and out of cars spinning and sliding and not making it up the hill. LOL Edited September 23, 2010 by Mojoe spelling owns Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xyster101 Posted September 23, 2010 Report Share Posted September 23, 2010 Nice work. I really like the blue truck and the one of Stowe. I agree with what Tractor said about 1/3 rules. Get some photo books on composition just to read for fun. The colors in the truck picture are neat. That blue really pops. Work on your water mark, it really is annoying and takes away. Are you really worried about someone stealing your images? I would if you were selling the prints, but just to post up here on a private board? Those are not even large enough to set as a background or print larger then 5x7. Just curious the reasoning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
944s2 Posted September 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2010 Are you really worried about someone stealing your images? I would if you were selling the prints, but just to post up here on a private board? Those are not even large enough to set as a background or print larger then 5x7. Just curious the reasoning. No just kind of playing around with different stuff, they are def not permanent and/or my favorite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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