Newbie looking for some brutal honesty!!

[NewbieAmy1979]

Hi everyone,

I`m a newbie to photography and thought I`d get your opinions on one of my photos. I look forward
to seeing what you all think and any suggestions you may have.

Thanks,
Amy

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[quangdog]

Quick gut responses:
1) I wish the sun was not so blown out. The best way to do this is to get a very strong ND filter on your lens, and take 2 exposures - one with the sun exposed such that you can see at least some detail in it, the other without the ND filter exposed as you have done. Then composite the 2 in post.
2) Even though there is no real horizon in this shot, the bottom edge of the clouds form an artificial horizon. I like that you have followed the rule of thirds and placed this about 1/3 from the bottom of the frame, but it does not feel straight. Perhaps some straightening?
3) Either my monitor is dirty or there is a little bird or something very near the lower left edge of the shot. I'd clone it out - it's just distracting.

In my experience, clouds are VERY hard to capture really well. There can be such a huge dynamic range in them that it almost always requires an HDR approach to get it anywhere close to what your eye sees. However, I really do like this shot. The clouds are dramatic and the color is great! Given the recent astronomical goings-on, I'd wonder if this shot was actually taken from the surface of Mars.

Nice job.

[NewbieAmy1979]

Thanks for your feedback!! I appreciate it. I didn't even notice the bird in the bottom of the frame. I'll be sure to watch out for things like that in the future.

Thanks again,
Amy

[pixmedic]

the bird is so far to the left, it might be easier to just crop it out. otherwise, clone it out with Photoshop since its so small. I agree with the rule of thirds here, the sun is very well placed.

[Critric]

Its a very good photos.

Anytime you're shooting directly at the sun, set your f stop to at least f22 so you'll get the star effect around the sun and also not blow the highlights in and around the sun.