Monday, May 11, 2009

My first Photo challenge... Challenge #16

This weeks Challenge: Man vs. Nature http://weeklyphotographychallenge.blogspot.com/

Rules:
1.Submit 3-5 photos by Friday or Saturday this week
2.They may be "tweeked"
3.Can be color, b/w, sepia- anything you feel makes your photographs more dynamic
4.and, finally, have fun!

This little tree keeps coming back year after year after year in our window well... this is my struggle with the little tree.








this photo is the bottom of the small tree trunk and the roots, that bugger had a lot of fit in it. The rocks came out a lot clearer then the trunk and roots... still trying to figure out how to get my camera to focus on what I want not what it thinks I should focus on.

EDIT: Just a quick introduction since I am new to the photo challenges. I never took any photography classes during my art major days at college and never really had a camera besides disposables. The camera I am using is just a very basic compact Sony Cyber Shot Digital camera, 12.1 mega pixel, 4x optical zoom, about 4 years old (the new ones are even smaller then we have, but similar). Someday I would like a better camera but house projects come first... anyway I am just trying to shake up my boring straight on pictures I take and learn how to use my camera more creatively. I also want an art fix and since I usually have my camera with me the photo challenge is "easier" then pulling out or finding my paints and canvas ever time.

Any input you have would be great, I have found out that with a basic camera it is hard to make something in focus while other things are out of focus (like photo #4) so any advise on how to get different things in focus with a limited zoom would be much appreciated. I also can not tweek beyond cropping, not sure if I can do that with any basic program I have, so my photos are the originals (no tweeking).

Thanks ladies for all input and advice!

5 comments:

  1. Hey Katie, great to see you joining the challenge - hope you find it helpful and enjoyable!

    Overall, I'm getting a weeding vibe from this - good concept! Something like "When nature gets annoying" :D

    As for the first photo - I like the angle but the leaves on the left being out of focus is distracting.

    The second one compliments the first one and out of the two, I like this better. There are big chunks of nature things, man made things, nature things, man made things in a sort of vertical direction.

    The third one is my favorite - I like the lighting and the human element of the gloved hand, and again there are nice lines from the brick and the wood.

    The 4th one - It goes well with the 3rd photo, however, I would like it better if the leaves were in focus rather than the hand.

    The 5th one - what is that funky looking black blobby thing in the bottom right corner?

    The 6th one - a good way to end the series - the out of focus fence bit in the bottom of the photo is a bit distracting but above that I like angle of the other fence bit and the way the leaves lay on top of the pile. There's a sense of "containment" in this photo.

    I think I got the general idea of these pics but would like to hear more from you on what your idea was behind these photos and what challenges you may have faced with the photo taking. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Welcome! I enjoy the story of your entry!The first and third are my favorites. I like the angles on the first one. This is a wannabe tree, right? I like that something that could've been so large and powerful was defeated by you. I like the angles and action of the third one, but I wonder what it would've looked like with just a bare hand. Maybe more human. Although the last one is the victory shot of your home without the intruding tree, it is my least favorite. I miss the green.

    Great series! I look forward to your future pictures.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey, Katie!
    I kind of hinted on Saturday how I felt about this series- I love that you told a story here- and I felt almost saddened by it- this poor little tree was just rying to make it- he just tried to grow in the wrong spot- and he was defeated by a human.
    I do enjoy the second photo because of the angle you took it at- I am glad to see you experimenting with the angles to take pictures at already- it creates more visual interest with the lines that are created when you do this.
    Thanks for joining in this week- nice series

    ReplyDelete
  4. I like the story being told here--nice idea! The fact that the one plant is the only green in the photos makes it really stand out. And I like the various angles you used too. I think you did a good job :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Welcome Katie! I think your concept is great for this weeks challenge. I agree with liking the simplicity of the only color showing up really being the green of the tree! I applaud you for trying to many angles and trying to make it interesting for us as viewers. I do however think it might have been a stronger execution by choosing three of the strongest photos instead of including all three. Can't wait to see what you produce next! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete