Bteween Storms

vinlow · 7th December 2007

Hi all,
I'm new and this is my fist posting for advice on how to improve my skill. I toke the family to the Zoo yesterday only to be caught in between two storms. This picture was taken shortly after 2 hours of rain only to witness another storm building up. Hope to have feedback on composition and photography techniques. I composed the picture this way show the calm before storm but also to have the feel of helplessness before the storm.

I have resized and adjust the brightness level down a little but no cropping of the picture. Picture was taken with 300D, 50mm f1.8 lens, aperture f8, shutter 1/800, ISO800, WB auto.
Like to have advice on what should be the setting and how to process it to bring out the picture better. Thanks.

zac08 · 7th December 2007

Try increasing the contrast and make it look more menacing...

as it is, there's nothing special to it. Just a dark tree and some dark skies.

vinlow · 7th December 2007

Thanks Zac08. It does look kind of boring after you mentioned it. Will practise and shoot more to improve.

waileong · 7th December 2007

I don't see a storm building up.

nigel84 · 7th December 2007

had i were you, i would decrease the ISO setting. And following wat you said abt storms come rolling in soon. The timing would be perfect to capture some powerful shots.

Anti-Social · 8th December 2007

Zoom in more, get rid of the trees, very distracting! More to the sky and the storm.

southundeep · 9th December 2007

This is my 3rd look at the picture. My first impression of the picture was that I could not see a storm brewing. My 3rd look is pretty much the same. I could not detect any sense of the building up of a storm. Sorry....

You said you wanted to "composed the picture this way show the calm before storm but also to have the feel of helplessness before the storm."

My question is---how to portray 'calm before a storm' or 'impending helplessness'. I have attempted something like that before but not succeeded. I think it is a very difficult subject/theme.

But do not give up. Problem is not with picture, but with how do one convey a sense of the storm in a visual image. Some have done it successfully with close-up images of palm leaves lashing in the rain, or trees swaying to breaking point.

7th December 2007	#1
vinlow New Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 21	Bteween Storms Hi all, I'm new and this is my fist posting for advice on how to improve my skill. I toke the family to the Zoo yesterday only to be caught in between two storms. This picture was taken shortly after 2 hours of rain only to witness another storm building up. Hope to have feedback on composition and photography techniques. I composed the picture this way show the calm before storm but also to have the feel of helplessness before the storm. I have resized and adjust the brightness level down a little but no cropping of the picture. Picture was taken with 300D, 50mm f1.8 lens, aperture f8, shutter 1/800, ISO800, WB auto. Like to have advice on what should be the setting and how to process it to bring out the picture better. Thanks.

7th December 2007	#2
zac08 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: East Posts: 10,963	Re: Bteween Storms Try increasing the contrast and make it look more menacing... as it is, there's nothing special to it. Just a dark tree and some dark skies. __________________ Michael Lim My Flickr Site APAD 2009

7th December 2007	#3
vinlow New Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 21	Re: Bteween Storms Thanks Zac08. It does look kind of boring after you mentioned it. Will practise and shoot more to improve.

7th December 2007	#4
waileong Deregistered Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 2,597	Re: Bteween Storms I don't see a storm building up.

7th December 2007	#5
nigel84 Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 821	Re: Bteween Storms had i were you, i would decrease the ISO setting. And following wat you said abt storms come rolling in soon. The timing would be perfect to capture some powerful shots. __________________ My Humble Flickr --> The pavement of my thoughts

8th December 2007	#6
Anti-Social Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 278	Re: Bteween Storms Zoom in more, get rid of the trees, very distracting! More to the sky and the storm.

9th December 2007	#7
southundeep Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Hougang Posts: 68	Re: Bteween Storms This is my 3rd look at the picture. My first impression of the picture was that I could not see a storm brewing. My 3rd look is pretty much the same. I could not detect any sense of the building up of a storm. Sorry.... You said you wanted to "composed the picture this way show the calm before storm but also to have the feel of helplessness before the storm." My question is---how to portray 'calm before a storm' or 'impending helplessness'. I have attempted something like that before but not succeeded. I think it is a very difficult subject/theme. But do not give up. Problem is not with picture, but with how do one convey a sense of the storm in a visual image. Some have done it successfully with close-up images of palm leaves lashing in the rain, or trees swaying to breaking point.