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Hi all,

I've been pretty much away from this forum for the past month or so. I came back from Thailand last month but was extremely busy with work, family stuff and most importantly post processing. I hit my D70's shutter button over 2,300 times during the trip. Here are a first couple of photos. Would love to see your comments. Thank you

Alex

Great colour rendition Alex and I think you have done an excellent job of selecting the right shutter speed/aperture combo to create these Thai naturescapes with attractive composition There does seem to be a little DOF issue(softness) in #1 background, meaning probably either the use of tripod (you haven't mentioned in combination with shutter release used for slower shutter speeds in these sort of settings a sturdy tripod and remote release are essential to produce the overall sharpness needed. Keep posting.
cheers and Happy New Year
marco

G'day mate,
Good to see you posting again, but you're making me very jealous of your trip to Thialand...

#1, magic setting, just would have liked to include the bottom of the fall on the left and had a smidge for room on the right side of the fall on the right (as in not against the border, if you know what I mean)... Highlights look a smidge hot too, great setting. Hmmm, wondering about one step to the left?

#2, Love this one mate! Like the curves of the water's edge taking me to the little fall, also like all the earthy tones and the gnarled tree trunk/roots on the right...

Hooley dooley, 2,300 shots... Hope you've got a nice quick workflow matey, otherwise you'll be a smidge busy for a while yet...

Cheers.

Nice work Alex, I'm sure you'll have plenty more to share, but these two are very relaxing and peaceful, look forward to more shots from you.

I agree with Marco the first looks a little soft, maybe it was the shooting conditions or maybe you intentionally softened it ?

Alex, welcome back and great pics. I agree with others but still very nice pics, that 2nd pic almost looks like a croc laying there from the right of frame, part of the wall but yeh has that look, dont know if anyone else noticed it or is it my warped imagination???
Still look forward to seeing more.
Cheers
john
BBJ

A great start to your challenge of post processing so many images. I hope the rest are as good as these.

Beautiful images Alex. I would liked to have seen an extra element in the first image...a human figure or a brightly coloured bird etc. The second shot is just purrrfect!

Nice shots, Alex. I really like the 2nd one.

Great shots Alex, number 2 my favourite. I am yet to do the water/slow shutter speed thing, these are inspiring.

Hi guys, Thanks for giving me such a quick response and useful comments.

Marco:

The exifs are as follows: shot1: 18-70 mm (kit lens) at 33 mm. 6 sec at f22, tripod, CPL. Timer shutter release, ISO 200
Shot2: as shot 1, but 38 mm, f 25

I see what you mean by lack of DOF. I think I need a more expensive tripod. I used Manfrotto 141R, 190 PRO and it had to be positioned on soft ground too.

Andrew:

Thanks. I probably cropped it too much, I thought the stuff around it looked distracting. I agree, the highlights are blown in some places.

Yes, 2300 shots, but it's all behind me now. That's why I disappeared for a while. Mind you, rejection rate was huge, but chosing the keepers also takes damn long time. My work flow is pretty poor, as I am not that good at PPing, but getting better with the right books and advice from here. The other problem is an outdated computer... very outdated

Alpha:

Thanks, See reply to Marco.

John: Good imagination. I see what you mean by a croc's head Thanks

Steve: Thanks, mate. These were probably the better ones . The weather was not very good most of the trip, but I did my best.

Matt: Thanks for the comments. Re 1st shot: I knew I should have pushed my wife into the water!!

Kerry and Greg: Thank you. Greg, this was my first try at waterfalls. It's very easy, I think CPL helped bring out colours a bit. I have one or two similar shots, but these were the better ones in my opinion.

I'll feed more of my trip shots in a very near future.

Cheers
Alex

Alex, I like both these shots but the 2nd one especially is a cracker. The combination of the colours and the absolutely creaminess of the white water. The angle across/down the flow adds an extra element of interest as well.

Cheers, John

Thanks for the comments, John.

Cheers
Alex

Thanks for all your comments and suggestions, you've been very helpful. I must watch highlights with water.

Cheers
Alex

I would love to take photos like that and with the kit lens too!!!!.I think i need a lesson in timer shutter release....anyone??

Thanks, Stephen. I simply used in-built shutter release timer for these shots.

Alex