mikesoliman

This is my first attempt at shooting long exposure shots at twilight.

I was fascinated by a lot of the photos I've seen where the water

looks like fog or clouds. I didn't have a ND filter so I just waited

until a bit after twilight to start taking photos.

 

Do any of you experts out there have any advice as to time of day,

equipment to use, general technique? Advice is greatly appreciated!

Thanks for your time!

 

(There are 4 photos total in this set, but I only submitted 2 for

critique)

This is my first attempt at shooting long exposure shots at twilight.

I was fascinated by a lot of the photos I've seen where the water

looks like fog or clouds. I didn't have a ND filter so I just waited

until a bit after twilight to start taking photos.

 

Do any of you experts out there have any advice as to time of day,

equipment to use, general technique? Advice is greatly appreciated!

Thanks for your time!

This is from a set of shots I took at a Tee-ball game. I was really

enjoying the 5 fps burst mode of my new 20D. :) Constructive

critiques welcome!

Tack sharp. Great expression!

This was taken on New Year's Eve 2004. My little cousins were getting

dolled up for the big celebration. I think my older cousins were

having just as much fun applying all the make-up and doo-dads.

This was taken on New Year's Eve 2004. My little cousins had a blast

putting on make-up and dressing up.

I was moved by the expression of sadness in this nun's visage. It was

if she was carrying the prayers for all those who have fallen in the

Iraqi war.

This is one of a series of shots I took at the Eyes Wide Open exhibition in San Francisco. Combat boots were laid out all over the place representing all the U.S. soldiers killed in the Iraqi War.

 

The nun pictured above was walking to each pair of shoes and saying a prayer over each. The expression on her face struck home for me. I tried to capture the sadness that I felt.

I had a difficult time shooting at this event. There were a *ton* of

photographers. I constantly felt like I was getting in everyone's

way. Of course, whenever I composed a shot, people would step into my

FOV anyway. :) How do you deal with this (in a nice way)?

 

Anyway, I'll post more shots from this set when I get the chance. Enjoy!

This was taken at Telegraph Hill in San Francisco from the steps

leading up to Coit Tower. There was a documentary made about these

parrots: http://www.wildparrotsbook.com/

 

Enjoy!

I like the contrast of color between the parrots and the background--really makes the parrots "pop". I agree, the setting is unexpected as well. Makes for a nice photo.

 

Good photoshop work! ;)

The shoes in this shot represent the Iraqi civilians that were killed in the war. Considering the amount of people at this exhibit, I was struck by the image of the solitary figure of an old woman walking down the isle of shoes.

Please tell me what you think.

This is one of a series of shots I took at the Eyes Wide Open exhibition in San Francisco. Combat boots were laid out all over the place representing all the U.S. soldiers killed in the Iraqi War. What I didn't expect were the thousands of pairs of *other* shoes surrounding the combat boots that represented the Iraqi civilians that were killed.

This was an experiment with medium to long exposures with a tripod.

Constructive critiques and feedback welcome!

This basket of flowers was on the floor in our bedroom, along with

the cats and a ton of furniture, since a plumber was fixing a leaky

pipe in our living room. Our shy cat, Kaoru, jumped into the flowers

and made herself at home. I quickly powered up my G3 and started

snapping pics. Constructive critiques welcome!

I was thinking about doing that, but I've been trying to stick to a personal goal of not extensively editing a photo aside from sharpening and curves. You make a good point, though, that since the background (a wall) is white and there isn't anything else in the photo, it might do well to get rid of the water, but won't the picture be a bit empty after that? I'll give it a shot. Thanks, Greg!

A friend and I were actually taking pictures of a water fountain at

Mission San Luis Obispo when this hummingbird stopped by for a

drink. I cropped the spigot of the fountain out, but I still find

the water distracting. I didn't know what to do with it. Anyway...

constructive criticism is welcome! Thanks for your time!

 

-- Mike

Here is one of my favorite pictures from a set I took at a

performance put on by the Pilipino Cultural Exchange of Cal Poly

State University. I sat in the front row, so I was able to get some

great close-ups, but I had difficulty in choosing how to compose a

lot of the shots. In this particular photo, I really wanted to get

all the guys in the background, but if I went any wider, I'd get the

curtains and ugly lighting above. Any suggestions? Thanks for your

time!

 

Please rate/score/comment only if you have photos posted here on

photo.net. Seeing your work helps me to understand where you are

coming from. Thanks for your time!

 

-- Mike Soliman

This is a traditional pilipino cultural dance with Muslim origins. This shot was taken at a show put on by the Pilipino Cultural Exchange at Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo. They didn't allow flash photography, so I had to just bump up to ISO 1600 and hope for the best. I had issues with image noise (can't really see here). Any suggestions on fast/efficient ways of getting rid of noise? Please rate/score/comment only if you have photos posted here on photo.net. Seeing your work helps me to understand where you are coming from. Thanks!

Good photographic sense + Good timing = Beautiful photo. Morro Bay is usually fogged over and cloudy. This was a one in a million shot. Great job! :)

 

The strong shadows and high contrast caught my eye immediately. At first, I thought the dark areas might have overpowered the overall feel of the picture, but upon more meditation, it feels just right. The balance works for me! Keep it up!

I agree. When I posted this shot, I felt compelled to write a story to explain the contrast. The next time I post a pic, if I feel that compulsion, I'll think twice before submitting it for review! :) Thanks for the feedback!

This was taken at during Christmas of 2003 at my parents' house in

the Bay Area. The two women in the picture are my aunt (left) and

my cousin (right). Both women have had their share of hardship, but

they have chosen polar opposite ways of handling that hardship. This

shot was originally in color, but I felt it would speak more as a

B&W, so I tried my hand at the Channel Mixer. Constructive

criticisms welcome! :)

As if you need to be told again, Nice Composition!

This is a photograph taken at the weekly Farmer's Market in beautiful

San Luis Obispo.