Sunrise over the bayou

[crazydadguy]

Hey all,
I was able to sneak out this morning and take a few shots of the sunrise as it came up. I had to rush, as it had slipped my mind this morning while I was cruising the net. Its not much, just six pics that I actually uploaded, might post more later.
As most of you know, I am just starting to learn how the camera settings actually work. I took an initial reading from the camera, then switched to manual mode and played some with the settings. I would appreciate it if you guys would leave me some constructive criticism here, as I feel that is the best way to learn. Thanks and appreciate the help and comments!!

Here is a link to the pics in my photobucket if you want to look at them there and see the settings I used.

 

[DVC Jen]

very very pretty. thanks for sharing them.

 

[DebºoºS]

Really nice shots. Thanks for posting them.

 

[DizneyNutz]

And like you I am learning the aspects of taking photos. I like the mood of your photos, but most are a little underexposed because in most of the frames about 1/3 of the photo is blackness. It appears you are metering only off the light source (sunrise) and not the darker areas of the scene. Try reading off the darker areas and adjusting the exposure to encompass that. I know your eye did not just see black trees and leaves and an orange sun so we have lost some detail in the photo. If not cut out most of the dark foreground! Trying to be helpful not critical, because I am an amatuer by all means.

 

[crazydadguy]

Actually, that was what I was going for. I wanted the emphasis to be on the sun and sky and not the trees in the foreground. I definately see your point though, and will have to try that next time, it might change the whole view. Thanks for the good feedback!

Edit: I tried again this morning, using your suggestions. Unfortunately, it was mostly cloudy with almost no hint of sunrise to be seen.
I did take a few to experiment with the exposure set to show the detail of the trees. I will let you know how they turn out in a few.

 

[alan]

I really like these, and have no objection to the silhouettes in the trees. The only thing I might suggest is boosting the saturation a bit...

Well done!

regards,
/alan

 

[crazydadguy]

Anything like that I try do postprocessing. I have a decent camera, nothing grand, a kodak z740. Its good enough for some basic stuff, but there is no manual focus, and any lighting specific settings are kinda limited. I'm pretty sure the pics I posted are the unedited versions of what I took. I will boost the sat some and see what it looks like. Thanks!