Please critique!!! :)

So I would love to get you honest opinion on this image. I take nothing personal, so please you can be as harsh as you want. :)

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, it hasn't been because I don't have photos but because I just can't seem to find the time to post. Even now I should actually be doing something else.

So the above two images are the same just one is in color and one is in black and white. I generally don't like posting the same image more than once but I just couldn't decide which one I liked better. What do you think about them?

So please let me know what you think of the photos and what you may have done differently. 

I do have an abundant amount of photos to post just I need to find the time. I will try to post at least once a week. 

Rain + Puddle + Off Camera Flash = This Shot!!

Yea so Photography Class has started back up and I am so stoked about it. Anyway we got to photograph anything we wanted for our first assignment.

Well one of those days it rained and there was a puddle in out front flower bed (which doesn't have any flowers, so would it be a weed bed or dirt bed? Hmm must look into that.). There was also a kind of steady stream of water flowing down from out gutters into that puddle. So I figured what a great time to experiment with off camera flash.

So a little about the setup.

I had my SB-900 about 6 feet to my left and about 5 feet from the subject, no diffuser, with the little white  bounce card pulled out, and last but not least I had the flash head angled at 90 degrees. Now I was about 4 to 5 feet away from the subject, and my camera was pretty much on the ground.

Let me know what you think!!

Inks Lake

Alright!!! I know this post has been a long time coming. Anyway these pics are from our trip to Inks Lake up near Austin, Texas. It is a beautiful place. 

So this was our first night at the state park and the view from out camping spot. These first 3 photos are long exposures, 20 to 30 seconds. 

So the second day we woke up and did our morning devotions and then I tried to get a reflection photo of a camp site across the water from us. I wish the water was more calm but it is what it is. :)

Mom doing her devotions.

Then later that day we went over to the Devil's Waterhole and jumped of the cliff! It was a ton of fun!!!

This is the cliff that we jumped off of. 

Then we went to one of the fishing piers so I could take some pictures.

Day 3 consisted of staying around camp for awhile then we went into Austin to se the Capitol! 

This was just 2 guys walking up the stairs and the light was crazy cool with the old looking stair rail. I really like this one.

The view from the front steps of the capitol.

Then the next day we went back to the Devil's Waterhole and I did some hiking.

The our las day came and after we got all packed up and hit the road we stopped at a scenic spot near the top of a hill and I snapped even more pictures. :) 

Now for some fun random pictures of our trip.
I know the quality of this video is not the greatest but that happened through the upload process and I can't fix it.... :(((

Also check back soon because I have a new post coming. We went to the Houston Fire Fest at the Firefighter Academy in Houston and I got some really cool picture. I will be posting them sometime Thursday. :)

Day 2 in Oklahoma -- The OSU campus

So day 2 of our Oklahoma adventure was going to OSU, where my older sister goes to school. It was really cool, but we went at like noon so lighting wise it wasn't the greatest. What better way to get use to a new camera, heh?

Now before we went to the campus my sister took us to her favorite little nicknack shop. It was weird to be walking through there at the end of summer and seeing the nativity scene setup. Being my bored self in shops like this I decided to take some photos of the scene.

Alright so after the nicknack shop we went to the campus. Now the coolest building on the grounds that I saw was the 5 story library. It has that old building feel to it, well actually it is old. It still has wooden widow frames, and the doors are super heavy. 

The Library

I think the one above and below are my favorite pictures of the library. What do you think?

The lighting inside the library is TERRIBLE so there wasn't a lot I could do but I did get one shot of some really old books.

So those are the library photos.  What do ya think? Which ones are your favorite? Is there anything I should of tried to do differently?

I don't know what this building is for now, but it use to be the old fire station. It was being remodeled on the inside so we couldn't go inside. :(

Then there was the fountain. Of course we got there at like 2 o'clock and the light was super bright. There were a few times that my eyes were watering from seeing the bright light through the camera. Ugh! Well a couple of days ago I kind of thought the slanted angle was cool, but now that I am looking at it again I am not so sure. It kind of looks like an accident. What do you think?

Next stop the OSU Basketball court! Man that's a lot of orange!! The steps to get up to the top a definitely some calf killers. They are super steep and small, but as a photographer I will make sacrifice for the shot. ;P

Now last but not least I will end with the OSU mascot. Pistol Pete!

So that was day 2 in Oklahoma. What do you think about my photos? 

The Frio River

Soft Water

All of these have a 30 second exposure and were taken around or after dark.

Following the River

When I was looking around for a real editing software I came across a free download for Adobe Lightroom 3 Beta. This is my first picture to edit in that program and I am totally wanting the real version when it comes out in April!!!!

This shot was taken at Brazos Bend State Park!

Little Bitty Leaves

I took this the other day when it was raining and there is a spot in the backyard that kind of floods, it also collect what ever these little leaf things are. I loved how the leaves in the water kind of add another dimension to the photo.

Water Droplets

Waterfall

These were EXTREMELY hard to take, in order to get the "soft" looking water you have to slow the shutter speed down. Which is hard to use when your shooting free hand.