Learning curve ~ More coffee please and thank-you.

[JBW]

[Ziggy]

Brian I have to ask.

What did you learn from this shot?

[JBW]

Brian I have to ask.

What did you learn from this shot?

Good question.

(1) that cloning is a much needed skill
(2) that identifiable bits and pieces at the edges can be effective
(3) purple really doesn't go well with multiple shades of brown
(4) shadows and shades can be powerful
(5) it is a mistake to let my coffee mug get that empty.
(6) I need more practice.

I also wonder why raw processing programs don't include a crop tool.
B.

[Ziggy]

I have to agree with number 5.

[DougR]

(1) Very true
(2) Possibly true
(3) Don't know that to be true
(4) Very true
(5) Absolutely true
(6) Everyone needs more practice
(B) Don't know what program you're using

I know this, if I were in the PI, I would be taking pictures of all kind of things that most people here on this forum have never seen or heard about. I would take pictures of the colorful jeepnies (?) the people, culture, everything that I thought would be interesting to the people who have never seen the country that you are living in. I'd go down to the beach and take pictures of the boats and people. You have a very capable camera, pixels are cheap, don't like the shot - delete...

and you need more coffee...that's what I learned about from this picture.

I honestly hope you don't take offense as this is meant to be light hearted and helpful.

Doug USN Ret.

[JBW]

I have to agree with number 5.

[JBW]

(1) Very true
(2) Possibly true
(3) Don't know that to be true
(4) Very true
(5) Absolutely true
(6) Everyone needs more practice
(B) Don't know what program you're using

I know this, if I were in the PI, I would be taking pictures of all kind of things that most people here on this forum have never seen or heard about. I would take pictures of the colorful jeepnies (?) the people, culture, everything that I thought would be interesting to the people who have never seen the country that you are living in. I'd go down to the beach and take pictures of the boats and people. You have a very capable camera, pixels are cheap, don't like the shot - delete...

and you need more coffee...that's what I learned about from this picture.

I honestly hope you don't take offense as this is meant to be light hearted and helpful.

Doug USN Ret.

No offense taken Doug.

For processing I mix and match Picasa, Sony Express and Gimp.
I always need more coffee.
Due to health reasons I don't get out a lot.
It has been suggested that I would do well to learn studio shooting
I live near the end of a dirt road outside of the city so not many jeepnies.
The road is on a sleeping volcano so no beach
If you look through my posts you will find a lot of 'look at what I've found in the back yard' type of shots.

Finally... time for coffee.

[Mike Buckley]

On the subject of learning, I'll explain what I learned from the image.

1. Diagonals (in this case, the grain of the wood) work every time for me.
2. Including the laptop near the edge of the frame provides really interesting, helpful context to the subject without becoming a distraction.
3. The direct reflection in the bottom of the coffee mug helps define not just the shape at the bottom but also the distance from top to bottom (in essence, making the mug seem more three-dimensional).
4. The warm tones work really well together.
5. The direct reflections in the wood near the mug disguise both texture and color without providing any helpful information.
6. Soft shadows almost always work best for still life images so I'm not surprised the hard shadows in this image detract for me.
7. The negative space in the top left corner isn't helpful.

[JBW]

Mike, did you mean negative space in the bottom left?
the direct reflections in the bamboo should go
softer shadows are definitely an option
I like diagonals too.

it was the reflections in the bottom of the mug that grabbed my attention.

[Mike Buckley]

Mike, did you mean negative space in the bottom left?

No, the negative space in the top left area mentioned in my post is what I meant.

[Kris V]

I have to agree with number 5.

Me too! What's life without coffee??

[JBW]

Me too! What's life without coffee??