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Had a great picnic day at Bobbin Head on 22 Jan. Have uploaded my pics for comments and criticism (I REALLLLLLY need the help to improve).

Sample below. A larger version and the whole gallery can be found here

stubbsy
I've just gone throught your pics....and offer the following comments. The pic in the post of the boats....I always see this scene and I always photograph it and it always comes out only so so. Why? Too much detail and no central theme. This kind of scene is something I think digital doesn't do very well. It probably fails because of the composition...there's nowhere interesting for the eye to go and discover new things. By the way I took an identical scene at Bobbin Head because it looked so serene and beautiful..knowing it would probably fail to make it as a great shot. And it failed as expected. I can think of no way to improve the shot except perhaps by radically changing the point of view...IE Go up in an aircraft and shoot down. I thought the bird in the pine, (2/9) was a good shot of something delightful and well worth the shot. The twisted tree was also well spotted and photographed. I think this is an image that could benefit from some radical PP. Push the contrast up and maybe convert to B&W and sepia tone.
The cruiser, (7/9) was also worth the shot and well spotted. The seagull was a nice technical shot and you nailed it beautifully. Your technique is sound and your camera skills are well honed. When we get to that stage then the secret to getting great shots is to find something very interesting that is hapening and to to find it happening in beautiful soft light.
Thanks for posting.

Matt.

Thanks as usual for the quality and detail of your comments.

Matt. K wrote:The pic in the post of the boats....I always see this scene and I always photograph it and it always comes out only so so.

Now you've mentioned it I see exactly what you mean. (Now if only that middle one was on fire - that would be a great shot!)

Matt. K wrote:The twisted tree was also well spotted and photographed. I think this is an image that could benefit from some radical PP...

I actually did this in B & W and wasn't completely satisfied with the result. Small version below, bigger version added to the gallery:



In closing, your comments are a great example of the type of critique we ALL need to help us improve our skills. From my perspective as a rank amateur they're absolutely indispensible.

I can't thank you enough

stubbsy
Take that B&W back into PS and make it much darker...then pump the contrast up real high. Just might work.

Thanks Matt I'll try that tomorrow

Matt. K & others

Mk II of my B & W efforts below:



Larger version is in my Bobbin Head gallery here

Stubbsy
I think I like it more than the colour shot. Looks like you got some Photoshop skills!!