Dalton's Thread

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Dalton Lund
Posts: 176
Joined: March 26th, 2012, 11:33 am
Location: Hamblen County, TN

Dalton's Thread

Post by Dalton Lund »

I thought I'd make a thread for me (and anyone else who wants to) to use for critique, advice, etc. I've found myself wanting second opinions on photos and such, so instead of making tons of threads, I'll just use this one and update it periodically. If anyone else wishes to post anything, feel free :thumb:

I've got two things that I'd like to ask at the moment:

1st: Composition-wise, what do you like/dislike about this photo? Not herp related, but I like it.

Image
DSC_2506 by Dalton Lund, on Flickr

2nd: I'm back into seriously looking at flashes (I bounce around a lot) and have pretty much narrowed my search down to either a used sb-600, or sb-800. I'm leaning more towards the 600, due to lower cost and smaller size. I don't really need any of the extra features from the 800, but I may be missing something big here(?).

Any and all advice is appreciated, Thanks :D
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MHollanders
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Joined: June 7th, 2010, 2:32 pm
Location: Houston, TX

Re: Dalton's Thread

Post by MHollanders »

1. Firstly, I don't know if you like it that way, but I think the white balance needs to be adjusted. It looks way to warm/yellow. Secondly, although the composition isn't bad, I'm having trouble finding a subject/point to the picture. What were you trying to capture? Nothing is popping out at me. I think the railroad takes up too much of the picture even though it's a fairly bland subject.

2. For what do you want to use the flash? I was in the same boat as you a few months back and I went with a third party lens that is AWESOME. It's the Nissin Di866 Mark II. Seriously, look into it. Built better than an SB-800 and much more user friendly. The problem I had with the 600 is that the output isn't that high. One (sometimes tough) lesson to learn is that matching your camera equipment to one brand is silly, unnecessary, and close minded. I'm not sure if that's what you want to do, but it's good advice for everyone ;)
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Dalton Lund
Posts: 176
Joined: March 26th, 2012, 11:33 am
Location: Hamblen County, TN

Re: Dalton's Thread

Post by Dalton Lund »

Note taken on the warmth, and I was trying to capture the nostalgia/americana that is often associated with railroads, and I think the old hotel added to that. I didn't really have a focal point to the picture, which looking at it now I realize is a huge mistake. Thanks for the Nissin suggestion, researching them now. I'd like to focus mainly on herp photography, and the extra power of the nissin could definitely be handy when trying to light up a lizard. I need an all-around flash, until I can afford to get a setup for everything. I was looking at the Nikons specifically because of the ability to fire them wirelessly via Commander mode. Is the Nissin compatible?
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chrish
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Re: Dalton's Thread

Post by chrish »

It is an interesting scene and I like the way the tracks circle around the hotel, but I don't really "like" the photo because of the lighting. It is a bit flat due to it being overcast and there is too much shadow on the hotel balcony. It would be a cool place to come back to if you could get it with the light coming from off to the left.

Re the third party flash,..they are fine as long as they have the power and compatibility. Wireless flash is a great feature and I wouldn't get one without it (unless I had a Canon camera :lol: ;) ).
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