looking for C&C

[jconti3]

I'm very new to photography and have only been using editing tools for about a month now.(gimp,UFRaw and Dynamic HDR 5) Please, tell me where to go with these pictures and what it is I'm not quite capturing. Thanks everyone. I love this site!!!!

[jconti3]

most of the pics I tried posting "upload failed"....maybe they are too large?

[jiro]

Welcome to CiC, John. Since you asked for C&C, I'll try to share my idea about your first image.

I do like the main subject but the roof seems like a total distraction on the image. It robs the story of the climber's intensity. How?... by thinking that the rock that he is climbing is just too low that it's just a tad higher than the roof. I know it's tough to take pictures of climbers but still the main principle applies - look for the best angle to tell your story. I wish you could have shifted your location a little bit to show more of the climber's body. That would definitely pin our attention to him on the frame. I don't mind the color since I 'believe' you probably shot this when the sun is already going down. The digital noise on the sky is evident so you might probably need to apply some noise correction on the image.

You have a very good subject and story on this one. Just concentrate on your main subject and let the viewers see your vision clearly. If it is OK with you, I want to share to you a statement given by David DuChemin about composition:

"You are responsible for every element within the frame. If it is in the frame, it's because you allowed it to be. If it's missing, it's because you chose to exclude it, or you neglected to include it."
-David DuChemin

Hoping to see some more of your work in the future, John. You have the idea and the eye for photography. I'm hoping that you'll continue to practice and develop your talent. Stick around here at CiC and you'll learn a lot from the fine ladies and gentlemen that we have here. Good luck!

[jconti3]

Jiro, thanks alot. How can you remove the 'noise"? I had the iso up way to high. I thought that I was prepaired and then when I started shooting In the freezing cold hanging in a harness things changed. He is actually about 30' up and I'm about 20 or so. The building behind us is a huge (tall)old cotton mill. I see what you mean though. Getting in position on that ice was quite the challenge and unfortunately this is one of the best pics I got that evening. Ice climbing at rocktown climbing gym.

[jiro]

Jiro, thanks alot. How can you remove the 'noise"? I had the iso up way to high. I thought that I was prepaired and then when I started shooting In the freezing cold hanging in a harness things changed. He is actually about 30' up and I'm about 20 or so. The building behind us is a huge (tall)old cotton mill. I see what you mean though. Getting in position on that ice was quite the challenge and unfortunately this is one of the best pics I got that evening. Ice climbing at rocktown climbing gym.

Regarding Noise reduction, I would probably recommend that you buy a noise reduction software. Some of the well known noise reduction software available are NoiseNinja, Neat Image, Niksoftware Define, Topaz Labs DeNoise, and others. I tried these 4 in one time or another. What I can say is that they have their own unique merits in their digital noise reduction algorithm. Right now I am using Topaz Labs Denoise software and this one is a pretty decent software. I always go for what is easy for me to use without relying much on the manual.

As for your effort, I really have to commend you first for being a climber and second for being an enthusiastic photographer. I really know it's hard to compose a shot while hanging on a harness and during a cold weather. Just keep doing what you love and what you want to shoot.

[Hans]

Hi John,
I've done a little ice climbing and mountaineering and you did well to even get the camera out without dropping it with numb fumble fingers! It's all I can do to let go of the ice-axe! I would love to see what you come up with on a real face in the mountains with good light. When on an expedition in NZ I was struck by the profound photogenicity (is that a word?) of the mountains and if you persist up there you might even find a niche for your photography that will blow peoples minds with your images.

Re the portrait. Cute expression, nice light. The compostion is good. Looks to be a bit of camera movement creating blurring. Some people will recommend a tripod which is a good idea, except kids are notoriously difficult to pin to one spot so shooting tethered to a tripod can be counterproductive. I moved over to a fast prime lens for indoor kid snaps for this reason. Upping the ISO a little (say 400 -500 as a start point) and shooting close to wide open at f1.8 - f2.8 will usually give you plenty of shutter speed to cope with subject movement and camera shake if you are situated in good light. But be particular with where you focus and use a focus point that is close to the subjects eye (closest eye to the camera) in your chosen framing orientation so if you have to recompose after focussing you will not have moved to far and you will limit the chances of your focus shifting to an unwanted point on your subject. The larger apertures (smaller numbers) will also help to blur out the distracting background elements (as does B&W conversion sometimes).

have fun and look forward to those shots in the snow covered Alps!

[jconti3]

Hey Hans,
Thanks alot. Lucky for me I was able to climb a dry route next to the ice action. Our local climbing gym, for the last two winters ,has been running water down the sides of the silos to make ice. Since we live in Oklahoma its pretty cool to be able to get your ice gear out and park your car next to the climb. So, the "portrait" is actualy a candid shot. My son,Nash ,playing with playdoh at our dining table.I'm getting closer to the correct exposure triangle. Also, I just picked up a 50mm 1.8 at the pawn shop and I'm blown away by the speed. The things I'm hearing so far on here are very encouraging ,seeing as though I got this camera 5 weeks ago and I'ts my first DSLR. I have been in full manual mode since day three!

[Hans]

Cool pic! Looks like that eye has been effectively nailed with the focus point. Nice work.

I have been in full manual mode since day three!

That's pretty impressive. I brave that from time to time when the action isn't going too fast and the light isn't constantly changing!
If you like the 50mm 1.8 (which was my favorite lens) you'll LOVE the AF 1.4D if you ever justify moving up to it.

The things I'm hearing so far on here are very encouraging

My photography isn't anything special but you should have seen it before the CiC community started helping me out!