Gardens by the bay

[guosh]

1. in what area is critique to be sought?
Any area! Composition, exposure, lighting, color, etc. Anything that would help me improve

2. what one hopes to achieve with the piece of work?
Identifying with the lone tree as an expression of beauty with a dark side, being in nature and an artificial environment at the same time

3. under what circumstance is the picture taken? (physical conditions/emotions)
Taken around 10am in the morning.
Lumix GH1 with 20mm f/1.7 lens. ISO 100, Shutter speed 1600, F/1.7
Was thinking of the white tree of Gondor from Lord of the Rings when I took this.

4. what the critique seeker personally thinks of the picture
I like it, but it's probably because I'm new to photography. Just started to get out of auto-mode about a month ago, so I'm looking for any opportunities for improvement

 

[nitewalk]

There are several issues but i feel one issue which i must raise is that you have titled this as Garden by the Bay. Imagine you are a tourist and you would want to know more about Singapore's latest attraction Garden by the Bay, would you present this tree? Not forgetting one of the major landmark of this place other than the glass dome, is the artificial trees. I would find it strange to choose this as the main subject.

 

[guosh]

Hmm sorry about that. It's a first time posting and I figured I'd give it context via location rather than titling it 'alienation amidst glass walls'. Personally I tried to avoid taking the domes and artificial trees because I wanted to avoid milking something that's been overdone, and try to find things that people would miss out on. It's admittedly strange, but it's a personal choice to stay clear of landmarks. Thanks for the time though, and I'll remember to aptly title my work from here on end to avoid a mismatch of expectations.

 

[nitewalk]

Hmm sorry about that. It's a first time posting and I figured I'd give it context via location rather than titling it 'alienation amidst glass walls'. Personally I tried to avoid taking the domes and artificial trees because I wanted to avoid milking something that's been overdone, and try to find things that people would miss out on. It's admittedly strange, but it's a personal choice to stay clear of landmarks. Thanks for the time though, and I'll remember to aptly title my work from here on end to avoid a mismatch of expectations.

No need sorry, I'm sure you are trying and trying something new is credible. I also try new things from time to time and I do make a lot of mistakes myself.

I believe it boils down to a personal choice on what to capture what to portray. Something that is overdone may not be unpleasant to look at. You could have a different perspective from the others. The same area you shoot at, could have different perspectives. High or low angle, what to include and exclude in the frame and timing of the day and year could make a lot of difference. Many landmarks are shot to death, why do people still shoot it? Even so, if you key in some famous landmarks into Google, you would see different presentations of the same old landmarks.

In this case, I am wondering if someone who didn't watch LOTR, would know what you are thinking, and even if he or she had watched it, would this person also have the same thought? Then again, to someone who hadn't watched LOTR, this would just be any tree he or she sees in Singapore (we are full of trees everywhere anyway). From your perspective, I guess you like this not just because you see a meaning that is beyond what most of us could see, the exposure is rather even out and looks rather decent.

 

[guosh]

Thanks for the kind words and taking the time to critique my photo, I'll definitely keep it in mind.

I'm still very new to photography, especially the technical side of things. It's my first outing in full manual (even focus!) so it was a bit daunting. I think I've learnt a rather important lesson from what you've mentioned, that I should make my photography more accessible to others rather than finding little references in my head. Either that, or I should learn to express myself better through the photos I take. It's something which I conveniently forgot, so thanks for pointing it out!

I'll keep a more open mind towards taking landmarks, but I figure it'll only come later when I'm more confident in what I do and possess the skills and knowledge to take the pictures.

Is there anything else I could work on? I'm sure there are lots of issues, and I really appreciate you taking the time to help me improve!

 

[tecnica]

The composition is a tad messy. The said tree did not stand out from the photo.

 

[eggie87]

Too clustered..and the tree from lodr is bald...colors are nice..i would change to a different angle..and shoot lower

 

[Octarine]

It's a nice scenery, but it does not reflect the Gardens by the Bay. It's not even strong enough for the contrast between nature and the man-made structure in the background. I like the light, nice atmosphere. For a landscape picture I'm wondering why you use f/1.7 and shutter of 1/1000s - close down to f/8, shutter speed is still enough for hand-holding. Otherwise, get a tripod for landscape shooting.

 

[guosh]

Thanks for the replies!
I'll work on composition and create a stronger subject reflective of the title.

I'm still figuring out landscape photography, and been doing a bit of reading over the weekend about it too. Will attempt again with better settings and a tripod the next time I'm out shooting. Was actually trying to put the advice from the book 'chasing the light' when I went down to Gardens by the bay, but after doing a little more reading, I have to get the fundamentals down right before anything. Thanks for taking the time to critique, I'll put the advice to good use!