[dogdots]

I went back to the Water Tower and forgot to do the 45 degree angle Rob . I can't believe I did that cuz I thought when you mentioned it that that would be a good picture. Dang!!! Just getting to old. Lucky for me I don't live to far from it and will be back there again. I even forgot my stool so I had to do some climbing up. I didn't have any blue sky. It was really cloudy when this shot was taken. Storm was rolling in. The metal bars didn't show up well with the clouds.

[TIM]

Cool shot, I really like it!

[Rob Barron]

You've done well to get this Dogs. How about trying one using close focus differential focusing. Focus closer so that all the foreground (closest metal structures to us) would be nice and sharp and then blurring off towards the distance. This would allow the BG to be less busy and the earlier metal bars would give sharp focus to the shot. I'd suggest about f5.6 should do it nicely. You will almost certainly need to do it with manual focus to stop the camera trying to go for its own focus point. If you have an FTM lens (full-time manual) that would let you over-rule the camera's choice.

Look forward to seeing the angled shot too :o)

Cheers,
Rob

[dogdots]

Rob...your asking alot for a person who has only been taking picture for a short time I am going there again tomorrow (hopefully) so I will see what I can do. Wish me luck? You are challenging me...which is good. I will remember my stool so I'm not hanging on with one hand and taking a picture with the other.

[Rob Barron]

Hi Dogs, you're doing just fine and most importantly you have an open mind and are looking to improve which is a surefire winning combination so you'll get bnetter and better!

Sorry if I made something simple sound too complicated, let me try again:

Use a wide aperture (f4 or 5.6 would be good here), focus on a point fairly close to you, not a long way up the tower, take the shot

By using a wider aperture, it will make the first part nice and sharp and will get more blurred as it disappears into the distance. This will have the effect of making the background less 'busy' and keep the viewers atrtention in the foreground area.

Have fun :o)

Cheers,
Rob

[dogdots]

Rob....I went back to the town with the watertower and took some picture inside an old school they are redoing. And....I forgot to get to the water tower I can't believe it. It must have been the heat I was in the building for over 2 hours with no air and the temp outside was in the 90's. I did get the name of the person who can unlock the water tower and let me up. Any ideas on shots if I don't chicken out and go up?

[Rob Barron]

LOL, temp in the 90s, you're just showing off

Seriously though, with this tower shot, as well as the thing I mentioned before about close focusing and letting the distance blur away, move around every part you can and remember that with abstract shots a couple of inches to the left/right or a few degrees different angle can make all the difference.

May I recommend one thing as well: turn off the Preview screen so you don't look at any of the shots. Just shoot away with abandon and wait until you get home to see the results. You'll enjoy it much more and get lots of surprises when you get home but more importantly you'll see each picture for what it is and not simply as a representation of what you are seeing at the time.

Good luck!

Cheers,
Rob

[dogdots]

Rob---I like your idea of turing off the preview screen and just shooting away. I will do that when I return to this water tower and I just may do it all the time. Unless I'm going for the picture of all pictures . Sorry I hadn't gotten back to your posting--I had an emergency surgery and I'm just now up and about. As for now, I'm just sticking my camera out my window and taking some pictures--it is kinda fun to see what my lens is getting and I'm not seeing. As for the temp in the 90's--that was outside---inside was brutal