Backyard Sunsets

[frankie]

Here are some shots of a few different sunsets from my backyard.

Thank you for viewing
frankie

[artsnimages]

Wow! What a backyard! Where about in VA are you located? Are you up west of Middleburg?

I like all three images but I still have the question of; "Why you are shooting in Tv mode?" (Shutter priority)
I can almost understand this on the last image with the Geese and the sunset, which by the way is my favorite of these three.

I see that your postprocessing with Aperture 3.2.1 and wonder how far you are going with your images with the software. The last two images are pretty much sunsets with silo's for your subjects of the surroundings.

I took the third into Lightroom and then Photoshop to demonstrate the information that was "hiding" within the image that Aperture, like Lightroom would have been able to process to futher enhace the image by tweaking adaptive exposure

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u115/dizzyduck69/frankie1.jpg



Jim

[950]

WOW, that's a heck of a backyard! Great shots and I'd echo what Jim said. There's a lot more room for exposure in the foreground before you'd lose the sky. Anyway, great job, and nice yard! (Hate to mow it though)

[jckegley]

I would love to have the view from your backyard!

One of the first things I thought of when looking at your images was ... wildflowers in the spring. Have you explored the wooded areas in early spring for wildflowers? I think you said you just recently moved, so maybe not. It might be worth doing some hikes in the woods during late March and early April.

What a great place to live.

From a critique standpoint, I believe I like the last two with the dramatic lighting in the sky the best. If I had to choose a favorite between those two, I think I would pick the second. I like the mood of that one.

[frankie]

I moved in September, so I have not had too much time to explore. I did see a bear in those woods though... so looking forward to seeing him again with my camera. We have a nesting pair of Bald Eagles and an Osprey who like to fish the lake. I rent a guest house on a horse ranch, so most of the land you are seeing is pasture. And for a few months my landlord lets a farmer keep his cows in those pastures to help thin them out. But I do look forward to the spring with the wildflowers and the butterflies. I didn't have many butterflies in the city and even in September, I was amazed at the numbers there were out here! I'm actually south west of Middleburg, but in the same county. And those would be the Shenandoah mountains in the background.

With the first photo... I was trying to get the effect of the setting sun on the mountains in the background. It's one of those things when you see it, it makes sense, but doesn't translate well in a photo.

Now for the shutter speed issue :-)... Thank you for bringing it up. I'm on here to learn and I appreciate all comments/suggestions because that's the only way I will learn. And I realize I have a long way to go. I had been doing a lot of sports/action shots along with birds in flight... so had the camera on TV for that. The sport was extreme kayaking and was playing around with the shutter speed to see the different effects I could get with the water. And in my blonde head... wanting to get a fast shutter speed translated into going shutter priority. And then I'd have other blonde moments where I would grab the camera to capture something and forget to check the settings. But you have now given me more tools to play with and hopefully I can learn more.

Thank you again. I have learned more during my short time on here than I have in other forums and the quality of the photos and the talent on here far surpasses the others as well.

Thank you again.
frankie

[artsnimages]

Frankie, I'm darn near 60 years old and I live on "Blonde" moments!:p

As far as help, we are here for exactly that and all of us will share pointers with you! A lot of us have differing opinions but that's what makes it interesting since we are all out to accomplish the same thing and that is share the love of photography.....

So, ask lots of questions and pick our brains.We're here for you! I'm not too far from you and I'm just above the PA line near Gettysburg. Your part of Virginia is one of my favorite locations and the scenery is wonderful.

Jim

[NCBobD]

Frankie, that first shot is "killer" with Jim's tweaks. Wow! What a great backyard. I'm not sure that my camera has ever been in TV mode. ;) I shoot AV or manual, though it doesn't really matter as long as you understand the relationship between shutter speed, aperature and ISO. With a solid grounding in the basics of exposure you can get what you want out of virtually any exposure mode (obvious exception being program modes).

[SkipP]

What a backyard! Very cool. All three are nice and I look forward to seeing more from this area. At least it isn't flat like here along the coast!