tylerwind

Martijn--Thanks so much for your comments and thoughts. When you say "towards the front" what do you mean? Do you mean moving pointing the camera down more? Or, maybe lowering the perspective? This shot is tough because in order to shoot it I have to lay my camera down on a bed of oyster shells with one foot in the water (at low tide!) I could have more creativity if I had a shorter lens but I have to use my 100mm because it's f/2.8 and thus can blur the background better than my other lenses. Thanks for your thoughts...they are much appreciated!

Any thoughts or comments on this 1500 year old tree are greatly

appreciated! Please have a look at the ever expanding portfolio!

Still comment/critique-less...would love to hear your thoughts on this shot if you have some and I promise to return the favor. Thanks a lot!

Any thoughts or comments are greatly appreciated! Please have a look

at the ever expanding portfolio!

Isabella--I was browsing through top rated photos and I think this shot is very underappreciated. Your colors and saturation are outstanding but at the same time pretty realistic. Furthermore, the image tells a story. If you wanted this image to be ranked in the top couple for the day you've have to do 2 things (in my humble opinion)--1) crop off part of the sky or better yet, shift your composition down a bit. 2) Use ND grad filters or multiple exposures and blending to get some detail out of your foreground. If I see correctly, it looks like there are rocks in the foreground which would make this image outstanding. If you want to know what I mean (or what I have in mind) take a look at the PN page of David Clapp and go to his folder entitled "The Sea." You'll see some amazing sunset images with the horizon high in the shot and some great detail in foreground rocks. Overall though, this image is still underappreciated...very well done!

Thanks! I appreciate the kind compliment! This was my first time shooting this tree and it was honestly a horrible day for it. The sun was high above head on the western side and bright as ever. This tree gives great shade, but the shadows and highlights were disasterous to deal with! There was a professional photographer out there shooting with me and he had a light meter and said there were 7 stops difference because highlights and shadows side by side throughout the composition. I have widely bracketed exposures of about 30 compositions and I've been thinking about giving HDR a chance to see what it can do (just to increase my range a bit closer than 7 stops). Regardless, I thought this turned out decently. I'm waiting for an overcast day when the shadows may not be so harsh to go shoot again. There are endless compositions. My other struggle with this shot is post-processing. I know there is no way a photo is "supposed" to look, but I just stink at processing black and white. I can look at some shots that are way overexposed and think they look great and then take the same composition 4 stops underexposed and think that looks great as well. I really need some help finding the right balance. Any tips of pointers are greatly appreciated!

In case anyone is wondering, this tree is tucked away in the middle of nowhere just outside Charleston, SC, and is the oldest living thing in the Eastern half of the US and some people even say it is the oldest living thing in the world.

Any thoughts or comments are greatly appreciated on this 1400 year

old live oak tree! Please have a look at the ever expanding portfolio!

Another great shot, David! I like the composition and small bit of brightness near the top. As always, you have your trademark foggy water and foreground rocks. You always do an excellent job of having great detail in your foreground rocks. I'm still trying to find some rocks so I can steal your ideas for compositions. Unfortunately all I can find is sandy beaches so I'll have to just enjoy your rocky foregrounds for now. Keep up the great work!

Diane--you commented on one of my photos long ago and I apologize that I never came to visit your portfolio...I did not catch what you said and didn't realize until today that we're shooting many of the same spots. I'd be willing to bet this old dock is just a short ways down from the Piggly Wiggly. :) If you look at my "Life on the Docks" folder, you'll see that I've been there as well. As a matter of fact, I've spent a few sessions there in the last week trying to perfect one shot I'm working on. Out of curiosity, did you get permission from the Mr. Backman to shoot this dock? I asked one day if I could shoot the seafood dock (where the shrimp boat is) and this dock and he let me for a few minutes then came out all mad and told me to get out that I'd taken enough pictures. He's a little grumpy. :) Be careful here--there are some shall we say "not to classy people" in this area. I was out shooting at twilight the other night and some people walking down the street made me feel a bit uncomfortable. Anyway, I'm sure glad you found this terrific scene and were able to capture such a wonderful image--well done!

Thanks for this and all your other comments, Chris! They are much appreciated! I'm thrilled that you like this shot so much. How do you feel about the bridge being so low in the shot with so much sky? I put a cropped version that is more panoramic in my folder as well but I'd be interested in hearing what you (or others) think because I'll be using this composition again in the coming months as the sun moves North. Thanks again for the comments!

Thanks Cal...I appreciate your kind comment! This shot is getting beat up in the rankings a bit but I kind of expected that. It doesn't have anything in it that makes your jaw drop but I do think it is a very nice shot with interesting colors and lighting. I just snapped it quickly when going to shoot some pelicans and thought it turned out nicely. Thanks again!

Any thoughts or comments are greatly appreciated! Please have a look

at the ever expanding portfolio!

Just starting to branch out into portraits so any thoughts or

comments are appreciated. This is a shot of my girlfriend as she

attempts to avoid having her picture taken (a little camera

shy)...she thought she could look away and prevent it but I won. :)

Just started branching out into portraits...any thoughts or comments

are greatly appreciated! Please have a look at the ever expanding

portfolio!

Did you finally utilized the "Tyler Technique" for lighthouse shots?!?! I'd like to think that I had anything at all to do with you capturing this shot but regardless it is spectacular, as always. I'm so happy for all the success you are having...you are truly one of the best. Keep up the great work--I enjoy it so much and learn a tremendous amount from you!

JK--Very amusing....you are correct, this is NOT Charleston! I apologize--never meant to be misleading! I just have gotten used to posting everything as "Charleston" so didn't change it for this. I had not idea you lived in Ashville! I might have a new shooting location for you now that I know that because guess where this waterfall is REALLY located...ASHEVILLE! This is Looking Glass Falls (I think it was in the Brevard Forest). If you need/want directions let me know...it is honestly on the side of the road with no hike. It's great to hear from you buddy--sounds like there is a lot of exciting stuff going on in your life! I didn't realize you were working on that book for Clemson--please send me a link...I love barns and honestly would like to buy a copy. I was just up in VA for a week and went around shooting some barns up there...they make great subjects but I don't get to shoot very many of them here in Charleston (obviously!). What kind of job are you taking at UNC? Shoot me an email when you have a spare minute and give me some details. Let me know if you haven't found this waterfall yet--it's only a few minutes down the road from you so definitely shoot it before you leave Asheville!

Andrea and Dick--Thank you both for taking the time to leave some remarks on my picture. I really appreciate your comments! Both of you commented on the sharpness/focus. I can't say for sure, but I'm fairly certain this is a compression/JPEG issue. I admit I'm not an expert on focus so it's very possible that my focus is off. However, my lens is shut down pretty far here (f/18 or 20 I think) so I should have good DOF. On the flip side, I know absolutely nothing about post-processing. Here is what I did with this shot--I took the RAW file, did an automatic conversion to JPEG, reduced it to a small size and posted it...no sharpening, special compression compensations, etc. This is really just straight out of the camera shrunk down. I *think* that is the problem, although I must say that since I'm not a focus expert, there could be some problems with that as well. In the past I've had focus and sharpness critcism on many of my shots but when I've printed them various sizes up to 24x36 they have looked great. What do you guys think? Thanks again for the comments. Regardless of the problem here, you guys have inspired me to learn a little more about focus as well as compression of images.

Any thoughts or comments are greatly appreciated. Please check out

the every expanding portfolio!

Any thoughts or comments are greatly appreciated!

Any thoughts or comments are greatly appreciated!

Thank you both for the comments/compliments. I have learned not to put too much faith in the ratings around here but usually they are within reason and this shot is getting smacked around there so some compliments are nice to hear. As you can imagine, this exposure is extraordinarily difficult. I have to get a nice sunset with colors that will stay high up in the sky at least 20-30 minutes after the sun has dipped below the horizon. Then there is the struggle of constant changing light because as the sun fades, the foreground lights up and when I first start shooting the sky is too bright and when I finish the foreground is too bright. I've shot this scene 20 or 30 times and it's tough to find that little window where the exposures match (I've tried some grad filters which are somewhat helpful, but still challenging). Then there is the biggest obstacle--other boats! If one person comes down the creek it ruins the reflections for at least the next 10 minutes--even with the 20 or 30 second exposures on these shots you still need glassy water to get a really nice reflection of the boats and sky above. Anyway, thanks again for the comments--they are much appreciated and I'll certainly try to make it by to your respective portfolios and leave some comments when I have a second. Thanks!

You got it, John! I see you have a few Charleston shots as well--do you live in the area? This isn't my best Shem Creek attempt but I was hoping just to get something posted and get some general feedback for future shots. There are several other Shem Creek shots in the same folder and 90% of my portfolio is Charleston so take a peek when you have a minute. I enjoyed a stroll through your work--you definitely have a very unique "signature" with all your shots--they are alike but in a way that is pretty unique to you.

Any thoughts or comments are greatly appreciated!

Any thoughts or comments are greatly appreciated!