Merv's Photography

[mervyn797]

Hi there! I decided to open up my photography gallery as well. Maybe Abnegation's new announcement did the trick. XD I never took photography seriously until a few weeks ago. I mostly prefer taking snaps of nature over man-made objects, you would notice that. Thereby, I present my photography gallery. Don't get your expectations too high, this isn't professional work out here. :( And it looks like I kinda messed up with the quality while scaling the pictures. ._.;

#1

I just love how the clouds looked, and that is the purpose with which I took this snap.

#2

A similar one, this one to show the distant hills.

#3

I'm not that religious, :P but this church looked spectacular.

#4

This one was taken on a hill station, so it is all misty.

#5

My favourite of all!

#6

#7

#8

Look at all those dragonflies!

#9

The beach! This one is known for strong waves, beware~!

#10

An old monument located inside a fort. This one is located close to the sea.

#11

A random flower! Didn't quite go the way I wanted the snap... lol

#12

A small little stream located close to my grandfather's house.

#13

Paddy fields with some coconut trees in the distance.

#14

A little closeup of the coconut trees!

#15

Another picture of paddy fields. :P

That's all from me for now~! I hope I'll get some more pictures soon enough!

 

[Ho-Oh]

Going to give a little C+C. :x This is just my opinion, so yeah.

1. I like this, seems to be positioned well, though after seeing the other images, the brightness makes it a little blurry for me, but however, good framing and good colour, works well.

2. I'm not too sure about the positioning here. Due to the camera type, I can see why the clouds didn't show up that well and overall it gives it a dark feel, which is complimented by the road. However, I think for that to have worked better, not including the street post and wires would've been nicer, as well as standing back a little, facing forward into the mountain area, probably from where you were, then capturing the road too, so you get the road complimenting the clouds, while the grass is in the middle, to make each stand out. Maybe to improve it, add on some filters, in my opinion.

3. Loving the colouring and it stands out well, looks fine to me, nothing else really to say.

4. I get your intent and as a concept, it looks fine, but I'm not sure the tree stands out enough (due to the other foreground trees fading into the background), which gives it only that as a focal point in the foreground. To improve it, maybe contrast it a little, making the trees at the front stand out, which causes the background to look mistier in a way, I'm not really sure how, but the concept itself is good.

5. This is really nice, though the foreground ruins it a little (were you perhaps moving when taking it?) I think if you cut out what was in the foreground (or took the shot again without the front being so blurry - and not the good blurry), it would look much nicer. As for the background, I like it. It could be improved with a different camera that picks up clouds better, but the shadows, colours and the mountain top especially is really good (it also stands out on the right, with the purple/red, which makes it look like it's from a movie or something).

6. Oh Mervyn, in my opinion, six is perfect. The green stands out well against the background (even the grass blades) and the lighter green shrubs stand out too. The background looks amazing, due to the mist on the hill, while that one sole tree gives it life and looks really good. I don't think this could have been shot another way, but how it was positioned looks really good. Only thing I could suggest is making the shadows behind the mist stand out more, but I don't know if that's possible without ruining the whole image, overall though, really nice.

7. Waaaay too dark for me. The foreground is dark, the background is dark... I dunno, I don't really like how that has turned out and I don't know what can be done about it.

8. This one is amazing. I love how the road seperates the vibrant grass and the edges of the brick (?), while in front, you have dragon flies, which have pretty good detail on them, contrasted against the sky, which makes them stand out. Overall though, I like this and the fact that there aren't too many dragon flies in the foreground, which would confuse the. As for the focal point... I think the brown brick stands out a little too much and if you moved away from that just slightly, the eye should be able to find its way to the dragon flies fine.

9. I really love this one. The white of the beach stands out great agains the blue sea (which is the perfect colour against the blue sky), while the green and the brown mix in well with the yellow of the land below. Even though this isn't appealing in the sense of looking neat and clean, the colours used, as well as the positioning of the photo (capturing all that needed to be in range, with the central ship thing standing out). One concern with the positioning is I'm not entirely sure of what you wanted to be the focal point. Was it the cliff, which stands out in the corner? Or was it the boats, which doesn't stand out as much. That's the only issue due to the cliff being such a stark contrast to the rest in terms of colour.

10. The colours of this are really nice. I love how the main fort thing is just off-centre, but stands out just enough to look nice. I think the greens and yellows combined with the two shades of brown look really good. I also like how there is something slightly in the distance to the right, yet you can't quit make it out, suggesting that there's more in the background, or in other words, more to the story. The clouds, which sadly cannot be helped, are boring, and don't really add to the photo. If it was a clear sky, then the blue might've stood out more and it could've looked so much more better, but as it is, it's nice. I'm also not sure what that brown or black dot is just in front of the hedges, which draws the viewers eyes to it, so if you were goinmg to edit it, I suggest removing it, since it draws attention away from the fort.

11. I like it. The background might be a little too blurry though, because the foreground is all clear (including the other green), so the comparison between that might be hard to adjust to. Overall though, great picture of the flower. It looks vibrant and stands out well (despite the blurring). Imo, the blurring would've worked better if the other part of the foreground was blurred too, or maybe not as close up, not really sure, but as a whole it's really nice.

12. Hmm, the light in the background stands out slightly too much, making my eyes (and maybe others), feel a little dizzy, but that's just how I see it. Overall though, the stream looks nice with the colours, as well as the green around it.

13. I like what you attemped to do - taking a lower shot, making the trees stand out more, but the white just seems to ruin it (maybe adjust whijte balance or something?), while on the left there's dark and on the right there's light - that, in itself, would look quote artistic if the white background of the clouds/sun wasn't in the way, which is quite sad, because it's a nice image as far as positioning and everything else goes.

14. This one is much better than the one before it. The trees stand out and look nice, but not too much. The only thing is the sky at the time wasn't exactly a colour that suited taking that kind of picture, but the positition of the leaves suggests that it's windy, which add to the overall effect, making it not that bad.

15. This one is really, really nice. I love the clouds, firstly, to the left, which give the impression of it being bright, while the darkness on the left completely suggests otherwise. As for the foreground, good detail on the grass, which is yellow and stands out well against the trees which look darker than they probably were in real life. Overall, though, I like the framing of this, since it looks really nice and there seems to be an even distance between the background focal points, while that one blade of grass (and a few others) is the foreground focal point... which basically stands out.

 

[mervyn797]

Going to give a little C+C. :x This is just my opinion, so yeah.

1. I like this, seems to be positioned well, though after seeing the other images, the brightness makes it a little blurry for me, but however, good framing and good colour, works well.

2. I'm not too sure about the positioning here. Due to the camera type, I can see why the clouds didn't show up that well and overall it gives it a dark feel, which is complimented by the road. However, I think for that to have worked better, not including the street post and wires would've been nicer, as well as standing back a little, facing forward into the mountain area, probably from where you were, then capturing the road too, so you get the road complimenting the clouds, while the grass is in the middle, to make each stand out. Maybe to improve it, add on some filters, in my opinion.

3. Loving the colouring and it stands out well, looks fine to me, nothing else really to say.

4. I get your intent and as a concept, it looks fine, but I'm not sure the tree stands out enough (due to the other foreground trees fading into the background), which gives it only that as a focal point in the foreground. To improve it, maybe contrast it a little, making the trees at the front stand out, which causes the background to look mistier in a way, I'm not really sure how, but the concept itself is good.

5. This is really nice, though the foreground ruins it a little (were you perhaps moving when taking it?) I think if you cut out what was in the foreground (or took the shot again without the front being so blurry - and not the good blurry), it would look much nicer. As for the background, I like it. It could be improved with a different camera that picks up clouds better, but the shadows, colours and the mountain top especially is really good (it also stands out on the right, with the purple/red, which makes it look like it's from a movie or something).

6. Oh Mervyn, in my opinion, six is perfect. The green stands out well against the background (even the grass blades) and the lighter green shrubs stand out too. The background looks amazing, due to the mist on the hill, while that one sole tree gives it life and looks really good. I don't think this could have been shot another way, but how it was positioned looks really good. Only thing I could suggest is making the shadows behind the mist stand out more, but I don't know if that's possible without ruining the whole image, overall though, really nice.

7. Waaaay too dark for me. The foreground is dark, the background is dark... I dunno, I don't really like how that has turned out and I don't know what can be done about it.

8. This one is amazing. I love how the road seperates the vibrant grass and the edges of the brick (?), while in front, you have dragon flies, which have pretty good detail on them, contrasted against the sky, which makes them stand out. Overall though, I like this and the fact that there aren't too many dragon flies in the foreground, which would confuse the. As for the focal point... I think the brown brick stands out a little too much and if you moved away from that just slightly, the eye should be able to find its way to the dragon flies fine.

9. I really love this one. The white of the beach stands out great agains the blue sea (which is the perfect colour against the blue sky), while the green and the brown mix in well with the yellow of the land below. Even though this isn't appealing in the sense of looking neat and clean, the colours used, as well as the positioning of the photo (capturing all that needed to be in range, with the central ship thing standing out). One concern with the positioning is I'm not entirely sure of what you wanted to be the focal point. Was it the cliff, which stands out in the corner? Or was it the boats, which doesn't stand out as much. That's the only issue due to the cliff being such a stark contrast to the rest in terms of colour.

10. The colours of this are really nice. I love how the main fort thing is just off-centre, but stands out just enough to look nice. I think the greens and yellows combined with the two shades of brown look really good. I also like how there is something slightly in the distance to the right, yet you can't quit make it out, suggesting that there's more in the background, or in other words, more to the story. The clouds, which sadly cannot be helped, are boring, and don't really add to the photo. If it was a clear sky, then the blue might've stood out more and it could've looked so much more better, but as it is, it's nice. I'm also not sure what that brown or black dot is just in front of the hedges, which draws the viewers eyes to it, so if you were goinmg to edit it, I suggest removing it, since it draws attention away from the fort.

11. I like it. The background might be a little too blurry though, because the foreground is all clear (including the other green), so the comparison between that might be hard to adjust to. Overall though, great picture of the flower. It looks vibrant and stands out well (despite the blurring). Imo, the blurring would've worked better if the other part of the foreground was blurred too, or maybe not as close up, not really sure, but as a whole it's really nice.

12. Hmm, the light in the background stands out slightly too much, making my eyes (and maybe others), feel a little dizzy, but that's just how I see it. Overall though, the stream looks nice with the colours, as well as the green around it.

13. I like what you attemped to do - taking a lower shot, making the trees stand out more, but the white just seems to ruin it (maybe adjust whijte balance or something?), while on the left there's dark and on the right there's light - that, in itself, would look quote artistic if the white background of the clouds/sun wasn't in the way, which is quite sad, because it's a nice image as far as positioning and everything else goes.

14. This one is much better than the one before it. The trees stand out and look nice, but not too much. The only thing is the sky at the time wasn't exactly a colour that suited taking that kind of picture, but the positition of the leaves suggests that it's windy, which add to the overall effect, making it not that bad.

15. This one is really, really nice. I love the clouds, firstly, to the left, which give the impression of it being bright, while the darkness on the left completely suggests otherwise. As for the foreground, good detail on the grass, which is yellow and stands out well against the trees which look darker than they probably were in real life. Overall, though, I like the framing of this, since it looks really nice and there seems to be an even distance between the background focal points, while that one blade of grass (and a few others) is the foreground focal point... which basically stands out.

First of all, thank you for taking your time to comment on my pictures! I surely appreciate it. ^_^

Hmm.. I accept that the second picture wasn't well taken. As for the fillers.. only if I was better at Photoshop... :'( Still, I might try that as well.

Regarding the fourth one, I can understand what exactly you meant, I'll go try it later. Stupid essays.

No, I wasn't moving when I took the fifth one, it was raining heavily. ._.;

As for the sixth I wasn't really planning it that way.. :P I'm glad that it was good.

Seventh, o.o; Eek, that ain't good? That means that there were flaws in my elimination process.

Eighth... acknowledged. XD;

As for the ninth one... central ship? I see no ship. ^^; I was trying to capture the scenery as a whole and I guess I didn't make any serious attempt to capture any of the focal points. ^^;

I guess I'll have to cut it out for the tenth one.

I did no blurring for that one.. ._.; I wonder how that happened. But I understood what you meant.

I took note of what you said for the rest of the images.

Once again, thanks a lot Nica! Love you! :>

 

[tigerfangred91]

Nice, really enjoyed these particularly the hill station one. Reminds me of a place I've been but I can't exactly remember lol

 

[Silver]

Wooo, C&C time from me. =)
Anyways on to the comments.
#1: The potential for this shot is awesome. If you had framed it either a bit more to the left it would've been awesome. It's slightly boring right now because the roads in the center of the photo, but you could create such more movement within the photo if you had it framed so that the road trailed off into the left hand border imo.

#2: Also a good concept and I can see what you were getting at, you just have a tad bit to much of the foreground. If you right up along the edge of what I think is a cliff you would've gotten the power lines out of the shot, which I find distracting from what you're trying to convey, cause the lines tend to draw my eye along them, rather than the hills you want to show.

#3: Beautiful shot. Can't say anything bad about the composition, maybe bump the saturation and contrast up a bit to bring out the blacks and the colors in the windows. All in all a wonderful shot. By far my favorite of yours.

#4: Also good composition in my opinion. Little underexposed and could a bit of fine tuning.

#5: Again good composition, underexposed, though can't tell if that's your fault or if it's the mist messing with me. Good rule of thirds.

#6: I'm stumping, I can't figure out what you were going for here.

#7: Again, underexposed and I'm not sure if you wanted the focus to be on the mountains in the back or the shrubbery along the front.

#8: This photo really doesn't even need the dragonflies, the composition is quite awesome in my opinion without the dragonflies. The way the brick road leads your eyes across the photo with the softness of the sea in the background. Well done. You've got a knack for photos with lines. =)

#9: Hmm. Good contrast and colors in this one, but I just don't feel anything. =/

#10: Interesting subject matter, good in the technical sense as well. Not much more to say, this one speaks for itself.

#11: This could've been really really really beautiful, not to say it isn't already, but if you had stopped the aperture down a bunch you would've gotten a sweet shallow depth of field and lots of lovely lovely bokeh.

#12: Nice subject matter, well lit and taken. Only thing is the stream being in the middle doesn't move me as much as if it was coming in from the side.

#13: Not sure what your focus in this one is on. I'm assuming it's the coconut trees but their a bit far back, I'd actually almost like it more if they weren't there. =/

#14: Very nice. Could've exposed it about a 1/2 stop up and bumped the saturation up a bit to get those lovely greens from the coconut trees. But the composition is there. Mainly just technical issues with this one. =)

#15: This sorta what I thought #13 should've looked like, sorta. Not much going on composition wise, but very nice in the technical aspect.

Now a question for you? What're shooting with?

 

[mervyn797]

Wooo, C&C time from me. =)
Anyways on to the comments.
#1: The potential for this shot is awesome. If you had framed it either a bit more to the left it would've been awesome. It's slightly boring right now because the roads in the center of the photo, but you could create such more movement within the photo if you had it framed so that the road trailed off into the left hand border imo.

#2: Also a good concept and I can see what you were getting at, you just have a tad bit to much of the foreground. If you right up along the edge of what I think is a cliff you would've gotten the power lines out of the shot, which I find distracting from what you're trying to convey, cause the lines tend to draw my eye along them, rather than the hills you want to show.

#3: Beautiful shot. Can't say anything bad about the composition, maybe bump the saturation and contrast up a bit to bring out the blacks and the colors in the windows. All in all a wonderful shot. By far my favorite of yours.

#4: Also good composition in my opinion. Little underexposed and could a bit of fine tuning.

#5: Again good composition, underexposed, though can't tell if that's your fault or if it's the mist messing with me. Good rule of thirds.

#6: I'm stumping, I can't figure out what you were going for here.

#7: Again, underexposed and I'm not sure if you wanted the focus to be on the mountains in the back or the shrubbery along the front.

#8: This photo really doesn't even need the dragonflies, the composition is quite awesome in my opinion without the dragonflies. The way the brick road leads your eyes across the photo with the softness of the sea in the background. Well done. You've got a knack for photos with lines. =)

#9: Hmm. Good contrast and colors in this one, but I just don't feel anything. =/

#10: Interesting subject matter, good in the technical sense as well. Not much more to say, this one speaks for itself.

#11: This could've been really really really beautiful, not to say it isn't already, but if you had stopped the aperture down a bunch you would've gotten a sweet shallow depth of field and lots of lovely lovely bokeh.

#12: Nice subject matter, well lit and taken. Only thing is the stream being in the middle doesn't move me as much as if it was coming in from the side.

#13: Not sure what your focus in this one is on. I'm assuming it's the coconut trees but their a bit far back, I'd actually almost like it more if they weren't there. =/

#14: Very nice. Could've exposed it about a 1/2 stop up and bumped the saturation up a bit to get those lovely greens from the coconut trees. But the composition is there. Mainly just technical issues with this one. =)

#15: This sorta what I thought #13 should've looked like, sorta. Not much going on composition wise, but very nice in the technical aspect.

Thanks for all the C&C, first of all. I have taken note what the both of you replied, I'm just going to keep in mind while taking photographs again. :)

Now a question for you? What're shooting with?

Boo.. I so badly wanted to avoid this question. At the moment I do not have any good camera, so I'm using the camera of my Nokia N97. I know, this sucks. I do plan on buying a new one soon enough. :P

 

[Silver]

Boo.. I so badly wanted to avoid this question. At the moment I do not have any good camera, so I'm using the camera of my Nokia N97. I know, this sucks. I do plan on buying a new one soon enough. :P

Ay, not bad photo's what you're shooting with. If you ever get a camera the lets you have full control over the aperture and shutter. I can see you doing some sweet stuff, you've got the composition, for the most part, it's really just gear that's limiting you.

BTW - You can find Canon EOS Digital Rebel T1i with a kit 18-55mm lens for around ~$400 new. Otherwise you can find T2i's which are much better for around ~$800, plus there's always looking in the used market for good deals.

 

[Captain Fabio]

As I said, I would critique your work, so here I am.

#1
Ok, lets start things off. This picture isn't bad. If you changed some of the settings on the camera, manually focus it, because to me, it looks a little out of focus, then it would look cool. If I am picking at the picture, I would have positioned the road to be dead center and start at each of the corners. If you look in the bottom left and right corner, the tarmac is cut short and over runs. If you were to have the tarmac start in each of the corners and then go off into the distance as it does, it would add more to the picture.

#2
I am afraid, I don't like this picture too much, from a photography prospectus. It just looks plain and as if it was taken quickly. The phone lines seem like they were in the way of the shot. If you could do some cool angles which include them then it would add a depth to the foreground and the background does the work itself.

#3
First off, beautiful building. Ok, it seems to me that the camera is taking in too much light, which is why the sky is so bright and over powering. It is making the building look pale and blurred on the towers. Reducing the ISO or increasing the shutter speed would change this. Other than that, nice.

#4
Depth of field is perfect. The tree is crystal clear and against a rather dark and dingy background, but it works wonders. Well done.

#5
Beautiful setting. The red tint in the clouds adds an extra, feeling to the picture. Only problem with it, is it seems a little out of focus in the background.

#6
Nice. Two little problems with it for me. The grass/plant on the left hand side seems completely out of place and ruins it a bit for me. And the tree on the left hand side could have done with coming in a little bit more. Just my opinion.

#7
Right hand side of the picture is too dark for me. Ruins it for me. But I can see what you are trying to do, good effort, just change that ISO.

#8
Lovely. Can't really fault it. Possible pictures for after are trying to capture some dragon flys closer.

#9
Lovely setting again. Could do with maybe positioning the camera better. As in, framing what is around you better. The object on the far left hand side looks a little out of place for me.

#10
Nice picture, but for me, nothing to it. There isn't a focal point, as such. But still nice.

#11
Ahhh, the flower close ups. Haha. For me, these are hard to get right. It seems like the focal point is the back of the flower and the front petals are blurred ever so slightly, in my eyes. Nice to see the background blurred, can see you are adding a depth of field, but it is worth playing around with the different settings and getting it a little more blurred. You will know what I mean when you do it.

#12
This is how the road picture should have been in regards to framing, except starting at the bottom of the picture. The on BIG problem I have with this is the huge glare in the top of the picture. Angling the camera down, adding a filer to the front of the lens, or simply increasing the shutter speed will counter this.

#13
I like how the picture makes everything seem huger than it should be. Interesting angle. The tower in the background ruins it though =[

#14
Nice. I do like photos like this because they are a little unusual. Might be worth increasing the ISO next time, so the tree is a little more defined.

#15
The picture seems a little bland for me. Once again, playing with the camera settings will spruce up pictures like this.

Overall
Although it seems like I have just ripped you a new one, they are good pictures. I am just very critical, but I don't mean it in a negative way. What is the point of posting pictures if they aren't going to be honestly rated.

If you have any more questions about terms I have used, feel free to ask. Keep up the good work.

 

[mervyn797]

As I said, I would critique your work, so here I am.

#1
Ok, lets start things off. This picture isn't bad. If you changed some of the settings on the camera, manually focus it, because to me, it looks a little out of focus, then it would look cool. If I am picking at the picture, I would have positioned the road to be dead center and start at each of the corners. If you look in the bottom left and right corner, the tarmac is cut short and over runs. If you were to have the tarmac start in each of the corners and then go off into the distance as it does, it would add more to the picture.

#2
I am afraid, I don't like this picture too much, from a photography prospectus. It just looks plain and as if it was taken quickly. The phone lines seem like they were in the way of the shot. If you could do some cool angles which include them then it would add a depth to the foreground and the background does the work itself.

#3
First off, beautiful building. Ok, it seems to me that the camera is taking in too much light, which is why the sky is so bright and over powering. It is making the building look pale and blurred on the towers. Reducing the ISO or increasing the shutter speed would change this. Other than that, nice.

#4
Depth of field is perfect. The tree is crystal clear and against a rather dark and dingy background, but it works wonders. Well done.

#5
Beautiful setting. The red tint in the clouds adds an extra, feeling to the picture. Only problem with it, is it seems a little out of focus in the background.

#6
Nice. Two little problems with it for me. The grass/plant on the left hand side seems completely out of place and ruins it a bit for me. And the tree on the left hand side could have done with coming in a little bit more. Just my opinion.

#7
Right hand side of the picture is too dark for me. Ruins it for me. But I can see what you are trying to do, good effort, just change that ISO.

#8
Lovely. Can't really fault it. Possible pictures for after are trying to capture some dragon flys closer.

#9
Lovely setting again. Could do with maybe positioning the camera better. As in, framing what is around you better. The object on the far left hand side looks a little out of place for me.

#10
Nice picture, but for me, nothing to it. There isn't a focal point, as such. But still nice.

#11
Ahhh, the flower close ups. Haha. For me, these are hard to get right. It seems like the focal point is the back of the flower and the front petals are blurred ever so slightly, in my eyes. Nice to see the background blurred, can see you are adding a depth of field, but it is worth playing around with the different settings and getting it a little more blurred. You will know what I mean when you do it.

#12
This is how the road picture should have been in regards to framing, except starting at the bottom of the picture. The on BIG problem I have with this is the huge glare in the top of the picture. Angling the camera down, adding a filer to the front of the lens, or simply increasing the shutter speed will counter this.

#13
I like how the picture makes everything seem huger than it should be. Interesting angle. The tower in the background ruins it though =[

#14
Nice. I do like photos like this because they are a little unusual. Might be worth increasing the ISO next time, so the tree is a little more defined.

#15
The picture seems a little bland for me. Once again, playing with the camera settings will spruce up pictures like this.

Overall
Although it seems like I have just ripped you a new one, they are good pictures. I am just very critical, but I don't mean it in a negative way. What is the point of posting pictures if they aren't going to be honestly rated.

If you have any more questions about terms I have used, feel free to ask. Keep up the good work.

Thanks for the critique, Capt. Fabio! I got to know lots of stuff from you now. I agree that some of the pictures were taken in a hurry, the ones taken in the mountains, to be precise. Yup, I would try to avoid stuff like towers.. lol.