The Self Critic Shutterbug

Floral Windows

Tv: 1/100; Av: F/3.5; f: 13.5mm(35mm-equiv: 86mm)

This photo was taken at the Salzburg Castle. It was on a sunny winter morning. I just loved the “cheerful” mood of the flower pots arranged right at the window. I also think the reflection of the scenery in the open windows adds a nice touch. The “bubble” like object that you see in the window at your right hand side completes the picture. I don’t even know what it is – probably a lantern similar to the skylamps that we use for Diwali.

There are certain things I learned while editing this photo. The foremost is how cropping can be used to negate “crookedness” of some photos. The original snap is much larger and covers quite a bit of the roof and the ground. However, it is a bit slanted. I first thought I’d straighten the snap using tools like GIMP/Picasa. I finally decided to crop the photo instead.

I think the border that I added around this snap could have been better. Particularly, the color I chose for the border should have been something other than the boring black.

Tags: Europe09, floral, Salzburg, scenery, windows, winter

Av:F/3.5; Tv:1/400s; f:72mm(35mm-equiv:454mm)

I took this snap on 1st Jan this year, which was widely touted as a real “once-in-a-blue-moon” day. This photo was taken from my terrace, with me lying flat on my back. My camera was stretched to the full 12X zoom, and yet I’m not happy with the clarity. Of course, what you see is a cropped version; but even the original was a bit fuzzy. I did some editing (sharpening and stuff), but it could’ve been better.

How do you photograph the moon? Apart from zoom, how do you work the exposure and most importantly, how do you get it sharp?

Tags: moon, Night, skyscape