It looks like it was a wonderful trip, Dave. I can tell you which one's I find appealing based on composition and balance, #1 and #10. As for which one you should pick for an enlargement, only you can decide that. Which of those photographs evokes (for you) the same emotion as at the moment you took the photo. Are you wanting to display a memory, or simply a photograph at its technical best?
I do have a few suggestions for you that might make it easier for you to pick your top photo.
1. Do a little more post processing work and cropping to make the pictures pop a little more and not have the horizon bisecting the photo. Also experiment with the white balance. Some of them have a blue or greenish tint. Also the horizon is tilted in many of them.
2. After you've done #1, look at each one and see what appeals to you the most, emotionally and artistically. Part of being a good photographer is knowing which ones to toss and having the courage to do it.
3. If you've narrowed it down to 3-5 and still can't decide, hold each one up to a mirror and look at its reflection.
This is a fun project, so enjoy and good luck! Let us know what you pick!
Helene,
The trip was beyond my wildest dreams. I had heard that Guatemala was beautiful. We had hosted two wonderful young ladies in my home as exchange students and my school has hosted many students over the years so we knew the people were great. I had no idea how great this trip was going to be! Guatemala is basically one beautiful sight followed by another beautiful sight.
I will say that there is some frightening poverty in Guatemala, and the “banditos” in the city are very scary people. Most of the people there realize that education is the key to moving out of “3rd world status”, and the lead candidate for president has fighting crime and drugs as the main parts of his platform. My daughter (who is a junior in high school) will be leading a fundraising effort to buy an interactive white board for one of the better schools that serves poor people, and to buy computers for one of the poorest schools in the country. We are also going to be taking them basic supplies, like notebooks and pens/pencils.
During the trip I took 2700 pictures. I chose Lake Atitlan for my picture to hang because it was my favorite stop during my trip around Guatemala. I have not had time to process all the pictures, but I picked out these 20 because they were all pretty good.
I’m concerned about the tint. This is something new that my D7000 has started. It shows up on many of my pictures.
As for narrowing it down to 3-5 pictures, I have my favorites, but I really wanted the opinions of others. The interesting thing is that I posted them on my Facebook page and asked my friends to pick the one they like. So far I have about 45 opinions between Nikonites and Facebook and there is no significant leader, and every picture has had at least one vote.
My plan is to narrow it down to the final three by the end of the week and next Friday I will have a professional lab print those three. I will then put them against the wall in the room where the picture will hang and see how each looks with the furniture and wall coloring. The other two will go to my office at work.
Thanks for your suggestions and the time you spent on my behalf!
Dave
