Sunday, October 2, 2011

Magnificent Monday - Spring and Autumn Collections

It's definitely Autumn here in the Pacific Northwest, USA. We're having a gorgeous Indian Summer with some rainy days thrown in. The maples are fiery shades of red, yellow and orange.  Here are my Autumn selections:


I added a soft textured layer to this.





Photography Tips:
If you are taking photos using your camera's Automatic setting - Don't. You will be disappointed in your images. The automatic setting can easily misread exposure settings and other important setting information. Don't panic - keep reading.

Here are some tips using the photos above as examples: (the tips work for Point&Shoot and dSLRs)

For Photo 1:
Set your camera to manual mode if you are comfortable shooting manual. If not, use your landscape mode. The landscape mode will bring out all the bright, glorious colors of nature. It's one of your camera's semi-automatic settings. I also took a couple of shots with the semi-automatic mode set to action mode. That way, if the horses moved I'd have caught the action without blur. Digital is free - I always take extra shots.

For Photo 2:
Manual or Landscape mode are perfect.

Photo 3:
Macro mode or a macro lens is ideal. Notice the nice soft background which puts all the attention on the leaf.

Suggestion: Take a series of photos with your camera set to Automatic. At the same time, use your semi-automatic settings to take the same series. Compare the photos and I bet you will see a distinct difference.

Check out how to set the various semi-automatic settings in your camera's manual.

Be sure and leave a link to your site in your comment box below. Also, be sure and visit Holes In My Soles and leave a comment and your link in the Mr. Linky tool.


Happy clicking!






32 comments:

Jenni said...

Lovely. I just love fall colors. Unfortunately, with fall comes colder climate and inevitable winter and snow right after that. Thanks for the tip I will shut off my cell phone camera's automatic setting. 

jan said...

Stunning as always, thanks for the tips too. I keep saving them all to study later. SomedayI will actually get a chance to do that. thank you for sharing this.

Sharon said...

Great blog, I'm just learning photography on an OU course, will share your blog with the other students :)

24x7Clicks said...

Thank you for the tips Mari, I love the last photograph the most...
Cheers
Chin

Janaki Nagaraj said...

Wonderful Pictures.

Savy1920 said...

I love the subtle hues that Autumn has to offer..

Red Nomad Oz said...

Love the first shot!  And thanx for the tips - I'm only just phasing out my film camera (yes, I'm a dinosaur!!), so appreciate the 'how to's'!  While it's great to take as many pix as I want and immediately delete the duds, it's frustrating when the camera's auto settings 'decide' how the shot turns out.  Have a great day!!

Jpbrandanophoto said...

Great tips as usual!  I really really love the first image. The texture is wonderful!!! Great job on it!!!
I stumbled it , tweeted  and gave it a plus!


http://jpweddingphotograpy.blogspot.com/2011/10/photographing-love-in-spring-time-and.html

SyedAlfandiSyedMansor said...

beautiful colors of fall..I miss my college days in New Hamshire..

Mary Hudak-Collins said...

Your photos are beautiful.  A wonderful display of the season.

teamgsquare said...

Gorgeous ,bright , colorful are three words to describe these photos.

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

winter snow - ugh! At least we don't get much of that here. Let me know what you think of your cell phone camera's settings. Some cell phone's only have one setting, some have more :D

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

Glad you enjoyed the post.

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

Glad you enjoyed the post. Thank you for sharing.

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

Re the last photo of the leaf - I had my camera in hand, walked around the corner of my house and there the leaf was stuck in the hedge. A lucky chance at a neat shot. :D

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

Glad you enjoyed the post.

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

A photographers paradise! 

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

I loved shooting film! Miss the dark room and smell of chemicals! Shooting manual is always best but lots of my readers are beginners and not at that point yet. They are slowly getting there :D

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

Thank you for the stumble, tweet and plus! :D

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

Syed - didn't know you went to school in NH - I grew up in Connecticut. Love New England - it's gorgeous, but don't miss the snow. 

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

Thank you, Mary.

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

Glad you enjoyed them :D

Tat said...

Thanks for the tips. I love the first photo, the soft layer goes so well with the autumn colours. I'll have to try it out!

Pamela Rossow said...

Great tips! Beautiful pics!

Mari Sterling Wilbur said...

I love textured layers and digital art. Glad you enjoyed this and hope you do try it. Post an image in a comment box here on my blog for we can all enjoy your work. 

Nelieta Mishchenko said...

The autumn colours are so beatiful! I love the fisrt photo!
http://nelietatravellingadventures.blogspot.com/2011/10/spring.html

katrina said...

Beautiful colours, looks so alive, it sort of transport us to that very spot!

I love potrait photography, sometimes my kids wonder why I scrutinize each photos.. "just a face.. why must you take so long to look at a photographof a face?" haha

TQ for sharing and the tips..

Thepinaysolobackpacker said...

lovely spring photos! we dont have spring here but I dream of finally getting to experience it someday. thanks for sharing.

cookingvarieties said...

hi mari, your esteem photos, capturing the soft hues of autumn, makes me wish we have four seasons too , I can stll remember your winter collections as well .

Noted with a big thank you for the great tips which I find very useful. The third photo is a big challenge and a great drive for me to practice to near perfection

cookingvarieties said...

i am not sure whether the earlier comment got done, i said-

hi mari, your esteem photos, capturing the soft hues of autumn, makes me wish we have four seasons too , I can stll remember your winter collections as well .
Noted with a big thank you for the great tips which I find very useful.
The third photo is a big challenge and a great drive for me to practice to near perfection

Jewell said...

I will definitely be sure to check out Syed's work.  I'm always looking for new eye candy!  =)

Thanks for adding my badge to your page!  I really appreciate it!  =)

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