Ideas for #9

[eoren1]

Had an idea for dusk involving a baseball field near the house. I was disappointed to find the lights off (I think for the foreseeable future) but managed one decent shot.

1
http://eoren1.smugmug.com/photos/379034963_A5ij3-L.jpg

Went home and noticed the light on the water and couldn't pass up one more idea.

2
http://eoren1.smugmug.com/photos/379035306_BaFJQ-L.jpg

3
http://eoren1.smugmug.com/photos/379035527_nrxKp-L.jpg

These shots are as 'pure' as can be. Just used the Canon 350D with an 18-55 lens (the one with IS). No filters or even a tripod! Only settings I adjusted in camera with a +1 for sharpness and contrast. I don't have any fancy 'picture modes'. All were shot in RAW+Jpeg mode with the files downloaded to the Mac and uploaded without any PP whatsoever. These shots reminded me of how much I dislike my camera's white balance and how dependent I am on the straightening tool - I'm convinced my viewfinder is off by 1-2 degrees.
Anyway, comments and critiques are greatly appreciated.
E

[Llywellyn]

#3 for me. I love those ripples in the foreground and the placement of the boat silhouette in the background. :thumb

[pyroPrints.com]

2 & 3 are nice. Grab a tripod next time and try to up the aperture maybe?

[dlplumer]

#3 for me. I love those ripples in the foreground and the placement of the boat silhouette in the background. :thumb

+1 :thumb

[Mike LeBlanc]

I like #3 as well. :thumb

[Swartzy]

E....so far go for #3....use a tripod and watch for the "perfect" skies. Use landscape picture mode (experiment some shots) in Jpeg and see if you like it. AWB in Canon I've found to be really good..even on the XTI. Just a thought. I think you're on the right track.

[eoren1]

Thanks everyone and welcome back Swartzy!
I threw #3 into the entry thread for the once-in-a-lifetime chance of being the first posted entry :barb
Kidding aside, that spot is about 200 feet from the house so I'll play with lots of dusk and dawn shots down there for the next two weeks and see if I can improve on this one.
As for in-camera settings, I actually have the Rebel XT which predates all picture modes. I can basically adjust WB and contrast/sharpness/saturation/color tone all with the nebulous -2 to +2 range ?!?!?! I agree about the auto WB when outdoors - it usually does the trick. However, it was giving me somewhat flat light in this setting so I switched to cloudy - which probably pushed things too far.
It's funny because my PP is really limited on 90% of shots to white balance, straightening, cropping, contrast adjustments and sharpening all done on the RAW file in LR. I'm now playing a bit more with local adjustments in LR2. The JPGs feel limiting to me because of that but I'm definately up for the 'challenge'. No pun intended.
Can't wait to see some more entries.
E

[idiom]

You live on that lake? I'm so jealous and don't have a chance that this challenge!!! hahaha. :)

[eoren1]

It's actually not a lake but rather the Salem harbor in Massachusetts.


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[eoren1]

Ducked out after dinner to see what tonight's dusk had to offer. Was disappointed to not see many boats in the foreground as in the current entry. Found some nice tied up boats to shoot though. I did manage to bring the tripod this time...
So do any of these beat the current entry?
Thanks for looking,
E

1.
http://eoren1.smugmug.com/photos/379706048_2AxJh-L.jpg

2.
http://eoren1.smugmug.com/photos/379706213_5MxGg-L.jpg

3.
http://eoren1.smugmug.com/photos/379706422_bRjgG-L.jpg

And the current entry:
http://eoren1.smugmug.com/photos/379035527_nrxKp-L.jpg

[richtersl]

I love #3 with the boat. First off, your exposure looks spot-on! :thumb The peachy hues on the calm water are lovely and I love the way that rope is draped over the boardwalk.

[ic4u]

I really like #3 as well. I love the angle of the boat, the presence of the rope and the faint mountains in the distance...all around a great image!

[eoren1]

Any thoughts on how these new ones stack up against the others in the thread? At this point, I'm not crazy about the current entry and can/will keep shooting til I can get something that competes with the great entries posted thus far.
Thanks in advance,
E

Dusk/sunset
http://eoren1.smugmug.com/photos/384498471_VN92M-L.jpg

Dawn
http://eoren1.smugmug.com/photos/384498728_FJxWw-L.jpg

Dawn (2)
http://eoren1.smugmug.com/photos/384499058_QwHq5-L.jpg

[AaronNelson]

great colors imo
http://eoren1.smugmug.com/photos/384498471_VN92M-L.jpg

[richtersl]

I don't think you'll go wrong with either this one:

http://eoren1.smugmug.com/photos/379706422_bRjgG-L.jpg


or this one:

http://eoren1.smugmug.com/photos/384498471_VN92M-M.jpg

[billtaichi]

I would go with this one myself. Something about the colors and the feelings it evokes, makes me feel like I just came back from a day on the lake.

http://eoren1.smugmug.com/photos/379706422_bRjgG-S.jpg

[eoren1]

Thank you Aaron, Linda and Bill!
Sorry, hadn't been able to log on in a bit. Glad to see that boat was well received and still is a top choice. I'll go ahead and adjust my entry and see what the next few days have in store as far as weather and boats docked.
Thanks again,
E