Eiffel

Examining other people's photos is a good way to see how I can improve my photography. From this comparison, I have a long way to go.

Not my image. Image can be found in Daddu.

Image that I captured. Not the best angle. But I like the sunset in the background.

Techniques? What techniques?

Did you know that there were techniques to composing a good photograph? I didn't. Not until Jeff Ascough started his "Image of the week" series where he posts an image he took and explain why and how he took it; what composition techniques he would use to draw out or highlight a subject. Before this, I would happily point my camera to whatever I thought was interesting, having no idea what the grid lines on my camera were for. Then I'd wonder why my pictures were nothing like those taken by professional photographers. Hmm....

Recently, I was browsing through an issue of "What Digital Camera" magazine and came across an article about using lines in our photo composition. This was the first time I came across a written explanation of this technique. However, I've seen many examples of how people have used it. I'm definitely going to try using this technique more and to be more aware of my surroundings, putting more thought into my images. Here are a few attempts at using lines in images:

Love how many (all?) European countries have bicycles for rent in their cities. Excellent way to encourage people to cycle instead of drive.

London, UK 

Champs de Elysees, Paris. Love the trees running along the side of the road.

Seine River, Paris.

Can't say no to beautiful blooms!

Kew Gardens. (*happy sigh*) What can I say? The beauty of this place is indescribable! It is the perfect antidote to being surrounded by the growing amount of concrete jungles. Not that I dislike cities. They have their own charm. But NOTHING can beat nature

On the day Prince William and Catherine were married, my family and headed to the other side of London to the Kew Gardens to get away from the crowds. We figured that we'd see much more in the newspapers and magazines the next day compared with fighting with a million people for the best view. No regrets! The Kew Gardens is one of the most amazing gardens I've ever been to. And since it was spring, we were greeted with an explosion of color as all the flowers were in bloom.

Tulips!!!! Gorgeous tulips!! (We don't have these in Malaysia)

The original photo was a little too yellow and moody for me. It's not that I don't like it, but I prefer natural shades and tones. So I decided to tweak it a little using the Olympus Viewer 2 that came with the camera. I thought that it made the colors stand out more, made them pop. Which one do you prefer?

I have a soft spot for plant/macro photography

Poppy flowers = gorgeous color

I do love the colors that come straight out of the PL2. It usually gets it right, unless I've chosen the wrong settings. Oh well. Just going to have to keep practicing! Speaking of practicing, I just recently came across this website that lets you practice your shooting skills online. It's quite useful in helping people get used to things like adjusting the aperture, shutter speed and ISO settings depending on the shooting environment they're in.