Paddle Steamers

[Gray_T]

Hi All,
I got up early yesterday morning to get some good light .... I was greeted with clouds and the odd spot of rain
These where taken at the Port in Echuca when the sun did pop out for its teasing second or two.
All where taken with a Nikon D50 and an 18-200mm lense.
Please give me any ideas suggestions as I am definatly going back for another go!
Cheers

[gstark]

I was greeted with clouds and the odd spot of rain

Don't be scared of the weather, and in particular, clouds are your friends. While it may sound counter intuitive, a good cloud cover will provide you with nice even lighting; much better, and much easier for you to work with than bright sunlight with its harsh shadows.

With all of these images, you have, I think, too much of the water below the boats, and not enough headroom above them; they look unbalanced. I suspect that you may have been trying to capture the reflections, but without the headroom, I don't think it's worked.

In #s 3 and 4, you have a whole ton of space behind the vessels, and virtually nothing in front of them. This, too, tends to crowd the image and make it feel uncomfortable. Consider that the boats will be moving forward; in an image of the boats, it often looks more pleasing to the eye when you provide space in the image for the vessel (or car, person, whatever the moving subject might be) to move forward and into the image.

[Gray_T]

Hi Gary and thanks for the reply,

Yes I was trying to capture the reflections and agree that they do look a little unbalanced as well as not wide enough. The problem I had was above them was ugly sky (white clouds) as well as ugly building construction. What would you suggest in these situations... to get a better shot or tricks to get around backgrounds that are not comlimenarty to your main subject? As I said earlier I am planning to go back and have another go and if I can go with a better plan and more ideas hopfully it may work better.

Also as I mentioned I dont think they are wide enough. I found however that if I zoomed out the subject (boat) became to small and I lost what I was trying to capture.I am guessing I need to buy a lense for landscapes.... What would you recommend I have a look at getting ? (If you think that would help)

NB: I have a Nikon 50mm 1.8, Nikon 18-35mm 3.5 Tameron 18-200mm 3.5

Cheers

[CraigVTR]

Yes I was trying to capture the reflections and agree that they do look a little unbalanced as well as not wide enough. The problem I had was above them was ugly sky (white clouds) as well as ugly building construction. What would you suggest in these situations... to get a better shot or tricks to get around backgrounds that are not comlimenarty to your main subject? As I said earlier I am planning to go back and have another go and if I can go with a better plan and more ideas hopfully it may work better.

Hi Gray_T. The only way to solve the background problem is to remove it, by moving the suject or your point of view. In this instance, most likely, you could only change your point of view in relation to the subject. Some other people may be able to advise you on some pp solution but I am not very good with Photoshop. Alternatively you may be able to check out the times the boats sail and get some shots from up or down river with better backgrounds. If you are stuck with the same locations I would try a slightly wider view and crop to give a more balanced composition. Try what Gary has suggested with less reflections and more room in front of the boats. I love shot one, but try it with a little over half the reflections cropped out.

I have a Sigma 10 - 20 for landscapes, but I also use an 18-70, 50, and sometime a 70 - 300. It depends on what part of the landscape you want to capture.

Congrats on potw.

[ewm3]

I agree with Craig's comments. I would add that they are a bit 'busy' in that the background seems to blend with the foreground, leaving me wondering where to look. I like the reflections though.