Wintry Trees Bathing In Misty Sunrise

This is a photo I took Christmas Eve morning around 9am. I want to get

into photography but don't have a budget to spend on equipment and I've

never had any formal training. I just appreciate beauty on earth and try

my best to capture what I see. I would like some honest evaluation so I

can learn as I go. Thank you for taking time to look at my photo.

This is a fabulous photo with a minor flaw - the dark branch on the right. If you have photoshop or the like it could be easily fixed by either eliminating it totally or lightening itso it is less obvious. But all in all it has an almost spiritual and serene quality to it. Well seen and done. Barb

 

ps: and thank you for your explanation on the tree in my own pic :)

Never, I meant never get to technical and photo gear junky. It is not a camera, . . you are the one whom making the image. You has a good start, you like nature and you can see beauty. It is a perfect start. Do not follow those guys whom walking around with expensive cameras and big lenses. If you can see beauty, you can create beautiful images with the cheapest (relative) cameras. The only equipment you my need, when you like to expand your creativity is, lens wider angle or some short tele, to control perspective or isolate subject more successfully. I known people whom have 10,000.00 dollar cameras, all kinda lenses and producing images, meaningless, uninterested etc. Walk around with open eyes and discover beauty and use your camera, any camera you have with you. If you start with digital, start with a most lower priced, and a 24 to 80mm range lens, or something similar. Even a basic 35mm lens is just enough. ( in small sensor digital mode=50mm) Last, but not the last, a sturdy tripod is very important, more important then a more expensive camera. It is a good help, go and take some photographic curs/lecture. Study painters and good photographers images. Learn PhotoShop, todays darkroom. Weak up early, and walk in late afternoon. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., do you work, everyday chores, have a nap, work, edit your images on the computer. Exception, studio work, street photography and architecture. And have a wonderful time. It is a nice image you have here. The grass or twig on the right not bothering me at all. You can crop it out too.

 

Cheers; Bela

Nathan, my background is like yours, as is my motivation for photography. I think this is a very good photo. Here are a couple of things to think about that might make it even better. The main interest is the sun coming through the trees and haze; everything else is secondary to that main element. Therefore, it's helpful to look for ways to reduce those secondary elements to maximize your main element. I would crop (or better, omit it in the beginning by zooming in or moving forward) the bottom portion of the image that has the dark row of soil/vegetation (the lower 1/5 of the photo). In a similar manner, you might want to take just a bit (not too much) off the top. To maintain proportions if you crop, some could be taken off the right side to eliminate that protruding grass, which is a significant distraction (that's one of the reasons why I like 100% viewfinders). Finally, it's often (but not always) best to have a main element, in this case the sun, off to one side rather in the center of the photo. Cropping after the fact or (better) getting the best composition before pressing the shutter could address all of these issues. The fact remains that the photo of a low sun coming through a line of deciduous trees and heavy mist is a very compelling image.