[feenster]

Hi folks,
As some/most of you may have seen from other threads, I got a 350D yesterday. Today I headed across to York to get my Sigma 18-125mm lens to go with it. The following is the result of the my trip. There were loads more pictures, but due to my DSLR n00bness, they are either out of focus, have very poor DOF or are blurred due to camera shake :S

Anyway, here goes:

(1) Geese outside Clifford's Tower:


(2) View from the top of Clifford's Tower looking towards the Castle Museum (was a thunderstorm at this point!). I got called "Tarzan" by a school kid who was there on a trip :S The green patch is where the previous photo was shot:


(3) The Minster shot through an arch in Clifford's Tower. This one didn't come out as well as i'd hoped, and with the scaffolding on the Minster, it isn't all that obvious:

[feenster]

(4) Some people having a conversation at the side of the road. Missed the ideal pose by a split second with them both looking at each other, and this is a very tight crop (about 75% in fact) from the original image. I wish i'd zoomed further in on them, but it would have looked a bit strange :


(5) Next, to the Minster gardens. I was trying out the Velvia action in Photoshop on this, and I think I went a bit overboard as its a bit saturated:


(6) Behind the Minster is a nice little sidestreet. Again, I just missed the ideal moment for taking it with this person a bit closer. No matter :

[feenster]

(7) Finally, after getting back I tried out the continuous shot and AI focus on my dog Henry (or "Hen-Dog" as he's affectionately known). Added a bit of brown toning to bring out the detail in his dark fur:


And thats it! I really enjoyed myself today. Using a DSLR is such a change from my P&S - i found myself spotting more opportunities (such as the people crossing the road) and considering the composition far more. The speed the 350D operates at is really nice too, and the Sigma lens is a nice companion for it - decent focal length, nice size, and only £160 I've found that i've not noticed the size of the 350D in a negative way either. However, my fingernails have started to make an indent next to the lens barrel as the grips a bit thin, and some of the menu options are tucked away.

Having said all that, i'm *really* chuffed, and my 1GB card's arrived too. Sorry for the long post BTW

Matt

[Steve]

Well looking at these shots it appears that you have got a good camera/lens combination. They all seem sharp, well focused with good colour and contrast.

For the geese shot I would have used a larger F stop to allow all of them to be in focus and this picture would have benefited from a touch of sharpening in the web size version.

The second shot doesn’t really do anything for me personally and the thin long crop confuses the subject. Are we supposed to be looking at the people or the buildings or the scale between the two? Sorry just not getting this one.

The third one I do like, the texture and shadows in the wall have been caught well and you can see the Minster in background without it being overexposed and blown out which is the usual complaint with this type of shot. The post production has worked well here also. Again maybe a larger depth of field would have been better though so that both the wall and the Minster could have been in focus.

The next shot of the people at the crossing - Don’t worry about looking strange when taking people shots, to get good shots of this type that stand out will require you to get over your fear of being discovered, in fact for the best results being brash and bold is the way to go.

The shot of the Minster with the Velvia action is also ok, for me it’s not that overdone. Horses for courses really.

Shot six, the street behind the Minster, you say “Again, I just missed the ideal moment for taking it with this person a bit closer. No matter :” I disagree. Having the person closer in the frame would have made a world of difference to this photograph and possibly made it the best of the day. In future be patient and if you just miss a shot of this type due to timing, hang around and use the next person to come up the street as an alternative focal point.

Shot seven (Hen-Dog) This is a good shot, benefiting from catch lights in both eyes and an attentive subject. Nice exposure of a difficult subject and good DOF. The one suggestion I have is to give it a tighter crop so that just the top of his head is in (no body and remove the small patch of white in the top right corner) and then lower down to about half way through the tennis ball and just past his right ear.

Overall for your first day with the new camera and lens you have done really well. Some of the shots are better than others and it will be a steep learning curve until you will be able to confidently use your camera and get your expected results. That’s the fun and enjoyment of this.

Keep it up and keep showing us your photos.

[feenster]

Steve,
Many thanks for such a detailed critique - it really helps to have such good feedback. You've made some good points, and i'll definately take them on board.

The second shot was aiming to show the scale - the fact that the people are so tiny. I wasn't particularly happy with it, and cropped it to remove a bunch of cars parked off to the right, and other associated stuff. I always find it difficult to emphasise a subject with shots like this. There wasn't enough scope to block things off, and leave a central focus.

The shot of the people at the crossing I particularly enjoyed. York seems to be a great place for taking pictures like this. I slightly scared to zoom in, as I was standing on the walls, alone, above a 4 way junction - I stood out like a sore thumb! I will try take more of this type of picture, and will try to be a bit bolder :-)

Thanks again for the feedback. The 350D is really nice (although has one or two obvious design flaws), and the Sigma lens matches it nicely. I still have a lot to learn - i'm finding a lot of shots are being taken at 1/50 or 1/60 of a second no matter what ISO i'm using. Need to re-read the manual and make sure I haven't locked the exposure or something daft :S All good fun though!

Matt