Hang ON.............

Low tide, knee deep in water, a big smile on my face - Hoping salt water will not get on/in my camera.  This was shot from a tripod with a Nikon D200 - Metadata= 18-200mm lens, 2.2 second exposure (yea for the tripod) (and slow moving star fish) @f/16, exposure compensation of +.67, ISO 100,  lens at 95 mm focal length, camera set on adobe RGB, Depth 8 and White balance set at auto.  Oh! and the finished file is 28.81 MB.   Digital is cool.  We are fortunate to have the tools we have.  Auto focus, vibration reduction, NIK software, and many other tools for the digital photographer.  The photo above was shot on an overcast day.  The star fish and other critters are more under the rock than on the side.  It was pretty dark.  The tripod in my opinion is in the top three most important tools for a photographer.  We are preached this all the time.  How many times have you seen a photographer hand holding a shot with a tripod close by?  OFTEN for me.  With all the neat, cool, and expensive tools we may acquire it still comes down to our own interpretation of the photograph.  Yes there is the rule of thirds and other basic ideas of how to compose a photograph.  Take the time to see what the light is doing on your subject.  Which direction is the light coming from?  Is it harsh or soft, warm or cold.  My time trying to learn all this is spent by studying the great photographers.  The best know their equipment (tools) well enough that their only thoughts are on the subject, light and composition.  Not necessarily in that order.  Take the time to make your self an assignment.  Like shoot a subject that is backlit with a lot of contrast between the subject and what is behind the subject.  Or use depth of field to focus on the subject.  Try a silhouette.   I am and will tomorrow.