Pics of DC (my first post in Photography Forum)

[sledgehammer]

Hey all,

Great group here! So many amazing pics and discussions. I enjoy photography and hope to learn from everyone here.

Here are some pics of DC I took last month. I go there regularly since I have family in the area. But this was the first time in almost a decade that I did the whole tourist thing.

Would appreciate any feedback. Thanks!


"Apotheosis of Washington" on the top of the Capitol's Rotunda:




Inside the Library of Congress:




Dome of the Capitol:




Statue of Justice Marshall in the Supreme Court:




Spiral staircase in the Supreme Court:




Back of the Capitol building, from where Obama gave his Inauguration speech:




Signers of the Constitution (National Archives building):




Back of the White House:




Washington Monument:




WWII Memorial:




Random street in Old Town Virginia:

[Celebration]

1. I like that Virginia picture

It is rare to see a street with leaves on it like that. There must have just been some wind, and little traffic. It is a nice autumn picture.

I might need to look at that first picture with Dan Brown's new book in hand, and start counting the stars or something. I'm not that much of a fan of his, but it might be fun just to see what he is talking about. Your pictures make it look like a fun trip.

I am not much of a technical photographer, but I would say your choice of subjects is good. Somehow with this many pictures from DC, leaving out the Lincoln Memorial is noticeable--LOL. I, like you, love the kind of pictures you can get with few people around. There is a bit of starkness. I will say this though, since you asked for feedback. Many of the pics are lighting challenged. This probably has to do with both your camera and its settings, and the low light conditions. Also, I would say, continue to take pictures like this, but experiment with some different angles-- the same subjects but in a quirkier way. A lot of these will fail, of course, but with digital, there is no cost to taking a bad picture. Also, look for the smaller things--a blackbird on a fencepost, with a flag in the background--something that shakes up the scene just a bit, and makes it more as if you captured a particular moment. Your last picture does that, which is why it is my fave.

Welcome to the group.

[Celebration]

2. Photo Editing

Also, when you can't help shooting on a gloomy day, some photo editing can help brighten things a bit. I tried it on one of your pictures. I just added a bit of adaptive lighting, contrast, and saturated the color a bit more so the flag would pop out a bit more. I think I like the edited version a bit better. See if you agree. I might try it with one of your indoor pictures too.



Do you use photo editing software?

Anyway :hi: Glad you joined us.

[sledgehammer]

4. Thanks Celebration!

Appreciate the advice.

Definitely this edited pic looks a lot better than the original.

I don't use any photo editing software at all. For some reason, I'm a bit old school on this. Once the shutter is pressed, I don't touch the photo. Just a slight quirkiness with me.

Lighting is an area I need to work on. Definitely messing around a lot more with ISO, etc these days. Also have an external flash now, which makes a huge difference in family/indoor shots. Haven't really tried it for outdoor shots. If you have any tips/tutorials/etc that you can send my way, I'd appreciate it!

Thanks so much for the feedback. Will try to post more pics and solicit more feedback.

[Celebration]

3. Library of Congress

It's such a beautiful building. Here is the photo editing I did on it. Others here could probably do more, but this is my attempt. I was trying to get that middle picture to show up better.

[Adsos Letter]

5. I very much like the muted colors in the White House shot...

and I admit to liking the "Back of the Capitol Building" shot as is; it resonates for me with the national experience we are going through.

I am going to try something with the "Apotheosis of washington" and "Capital Dome" shots; if I don't think they work, I won't post 'em. :D

And welcome to the DU Photo Group! :hi:

[sledgehammer]

6. Thanks for the feedback! And here's another pic I forgot to include...

It's a reflection of the Capitol Dome in the pools out front. The cloudy day made it possible.

Was planning to submit it for the November competition under the title "Hollow Reflection" (per Google, there is a song with than name!), but never got around to it. Maybe in a future competition then.

[alfredo]

8. "Apotheosis of Washington" needs very little, maybe a bit

of contrast and/or saturation. It's a good shot as is.

Use a light touch while editing.

work with a copy.

Play.

[Adsos Letter]

9. I agree; these are very good shots, and there is no profit to be gained by

any manipulation I could do on "Apotheosis of Washington". I would most likely only succeed in making it appear contrived, even working with a copy.

As it is, I suspect sledgehammer will be providing the Photo Group with some quite wonderful shots judging from what I've seen in this thread.

I look forward to more!

EDIT: added photo title.

[alfredo]

10. That was the the best lesson I learned here was not

to over process.

[Adsos Letter]

11. Yep; time for me to learn how to bring 'em out of the camera

needing very little work. A "light touch" as you say.

[alfredo]

12. It appears you need little learning. Your work is beautiful.

[Adsos Letter]

13. I need a LOT of learning alfredo

While I appreciate the compliment, my technical knowledge is very poor. It wasn't always so; back in the 70's I had an early Yashica Electro 35, a Minolta SLR in the early 80's, and was learning about how cameras work. I even have some pretty nice film shots I keep meaning to scan into the computer, sitting on the desk next to me.

However; over the intervening years a combination of a pretty massive case of clinical Depression/OCD/Anxiety Disorder (the complete trifecta!), complete abandonment of photography, and recently (within the last 3 years) picking it up again with a digital point-and-shoot, I have forgotten just about everything I ever knew about what works on manual settings; I rarely use them, and the quality that can often come from the auto functions on a point-and-shoot, using a tripod, and shooting under proper conditions, has delayed me from applying myself to re-learning. I will admit to shying away from auto settings for many outdoor shots as long as I have a tripod.

In fact, thanks to your influence, I now have a telescoping monopod with an adjustable tilt-head (quick release) and I LOVE the thing. And it does, indeed, do well as a walking stick. :) And in a very stylish graphite black, but I digress... :D

I believe that the Canon PowerShot SX200 IS is probably quite capable of delivering some very satisfactory photos, without the need for a bunch of processing, if I would just discipline myself to attach myself to a shock collar every time I am tempted to use an auto format, and force myself to try for the shot on manual settings. Setting aside the issue of processing, I am bound to start getting better shots as things become more second-nature, as WJMS suggested to me.

Anyway...Thanks for your compliments, critiques, and general allround support on the threads! There are just a bunch of exceptional photographers here (an excellent thing for all of us), and I am becoming more and more inspired to improve.

Now...turning wants into accomplishments...always the fly in my ointment. :hi:

[alfredo]

14. I was into photography in the sixties, but dropped out

of society when I returned to the US. I lived light and moved around a lot. I stopped taking pictures. I didn't get back into it until the late 90's. Until a few months ago I had a 5 mp point and shoot. I sprung for a G10. It's a world of difference.

I've been playing with the accent mode. Oh.... so much fun. Could be used to show patterns.

[Adsos Letter]

15. After looking at both the G10 and the G11 I wish I had purchased either one

rather than the SX200 IS. We were leaving for Switzerland the following day, and I had just discovered that my 6mp Sony DSC-H2 had not done particularly well when my daughter took it to Micronesia during the Monsoon season earlier this year. I jammed over to Costco and purchased the SX200 IS out of desperation, since the Sony refused to fire up (and was beyond repair, as I have since learned).

I am sure it is very capable; I just need to stop using the auto functions.

[alfredo]

16. It is a well rated camera so I would use it until it turns belly up.

In a few years the price of cameras with the features of the G10-G11 will be in the same price range as the SX200 IS.

[Adsos Letter]

17. I agree. Some users have experienced problems with the lens not wanting to retract

and it is a heavy barrel for the size of the camera. Hopefully, I won't have that problem. So far, so good.

[alfredo]

18. On the G10 the lens cover is fragile. There's always an issue.

[sledgehammer]

19. Thanks Adsos Letter!

That's a very kind and encouraging thing to say! I really appreciate it.

[JeffR]

7. I like the spiral staircase and the last one a lot.

Welcome to the Photo Group!

[sledgehammer]

20. Thanks JeffR! n/t