Thread: Second try with the dSLR- hiking in Boulder

60 degrees and sunny today, so I took the dogs for a hike down in South Boulder on the Big Bluestem trail. I snapped these pictures (same place as my previous post), trying some different settings. Comments and/or critiques are appreciated.

Nice, 6 is prob. my favourite

For your second trip out, these are great. Main thing you want to do when you're taking a landscape photo is make sure you have a reason to take the picture you're taking. That way you avoid just having that "snapshot" feel.

#6 is your strongest photo. Good choice on the aperture.

#1 has that snapshot feel.

#3 and 4 are both good. Maybe a zoom out or take a few steps to the right on #3 though, as the tree kind of overpowers the image. The road in #4 is great as a leading line.

You have good exposure on all of these. If you really want these to pop though, head out there early to get some of that awesome morning light. The Flatirons are very photogenic in the AM.

^^^ Thanks for the suggestions. I did take a few "just because", since I was working on the focus/aperture/shutter speed and wanted to see how they would come out (like #1).

One of these days I'll wake up early and get out there- yesterday I had to wait for it to warm up a little bit.

Aww c'mon man, dress warm and get out there before sunrise. You'll get the best light in the "magic hour" right around sunrise and that will make a dramatic difference in your pictures.

Interesting pictures -- but since I'm no Colorado expert, is it really that snowless there away from the mountains right now?

It's usually not all that snowy on the Front Range. That's what makes it so great. I will say this year has been exceptional considering how much snow we've had in the mountains.

Yep- it was 60 degrees when I took these pics... and more 60's on the way this week. Its nice being able to mountian bike in the winter when the snow isn't all that good in the mountains.

Good stuff! Technique wise the only thing I'd think about would be stopping down #5 and 6 more to get the mountains sharper (while still keeping the fences sharp). #6 in particular I don't think the fence is a strong enough subject to warrant loosing the mountains in the background.

Also, what everyone else said. Keep getting out and look for good light. The things in the frame are just there to bounce it off of!