Threatening Clouds Over

Hi Frank

Welcome to NPN your composition here is very nice with a pleasing lead in curtesy of the river and a fine mix of autumnal colours lining the river mixed in with greens. Unfortunately the HDR processing for me at least, does absolutely nothing for what is potentially a great shot. There is an urge these days to see deep into every shadow but on this occasion it just lacks any subtlety and has become photo unrealistic. Sorry to be a little negative but I suspect others might feel the same. I would try a much more delicate approach to your processing work as it would be great to see a much less processed version of this same scene.

Frank, I love this image. HDR can be used to portray the image as originally seen or can be used to make the image more dramatic like this one.
This image has lots of personality. Great Job!

I like the scene Frank. It definitely has the HDR look as Ian mentioned. If you were going for a "painterly" feel then I think you nailed it. The composition and details are excellent. I would like to see a larger version of this.

BTW, welcome. This is an awesome place for nature photogs.

Frank, welcome to NPN. Hope you don't mind the critique, as it's well-intentioned and that's what a lot of us are here for. For me, personally, this looks tilted at least 5 degrees CW. Also, the HDR isn't working to my eye. I'd much rather see a rendition where you were in control of any blending, as the HDR is as obvious as it can be. Some quick observations and things I could see working on would be the neutral grey clouds (a usual product of automated HDR), the exaggerated luminosity of some trees and not others, the dark river when it might have been brighter and served as a strong leading line, etc. There's a lot of immediately recognized HDR effect here that's compromising what could otherwise be a strong rendition of this classic of classics IMO.

Welcome, Frank. This certainly is a dramatic image, and I can appreciate the richness of color and contrast in this scene. I would agree with the others, however, that it is very "HDRish" and lacks the subtlety that can be accomplished through a careful manual blend. It looks like you captured plenty of detail and the angry sky is great - I think it would be worth experimenting with a hand blend.

This is a bit over the top for me too Frank and I use HDR processing, very occasionally in a more subtle manner. The comp works here but the processing does not. BTW - welcome to NPN.

Hi Frank and welcome to NPN and the ESS gallery. A classic scene. The Nik HDR Efex Pro did not do it justice in this case. I have never used that software as I do my own blending when I need to, but it looks like you have relinquished all processing control to the software. If you could control it I would try and repost it as a comment below so we could see the results. The clouds look too unnatural for the conditions. And the river looks a bit dark given the overcast sky that would be reflecting in it. I hope this helps. I give honest critiques and suggestions, as I would like to be given those as well so that I can always be working on improving my art.

I agree with Ian and most of the others and hdr is not my thing for my photography. I do know that people like that look and as far as that goes it looks good, a classic scene of Zion under nice conditions. This version I think belongs in the photo art category as is, and not the ESS gallery.

This is a gorgeous scene but the HDR gives it an unnatural look,especially the clouds. I was never happy with HDR results(i don't know how to controll it) so when I discovered blending exposures things started coming together.

As I'm sure you've gathered by now Frank using hdr software is not the preferred method of processing for many in this forum. But while I do agree that this particular image is overdone I do not believe that hdr processing is by rote inferior to other methods. I have tried virtually all hdr programs yet released and one common problem that they all share is that the default values will produce results that most here at least will consider to be unnatural and overly dramatic. My personal method when I use hdr (usually Photomatix) to composite an image is to reduce the primary edge-enhancement components (in this case strength and light-smoothing) to a much more subtle level and to reduce the default saturation as well which is almost always too high. The resulting file that I export from the program looks very flat and dull but now has all the ingredients necessary for producing a true to life image through development in Lightroom or Photoshop with much more control over the final outcome. Having said all this though I still basically like the image you've posted here. If perfect fidelity to nature was the highest goal of photography just about everyone's work could be taken to task and found wanting.
In any case welcome to NPN. I'm a newcomer here myself but I can tell you that the people here are unfailingly kind and helpful even with their criticisms.

The composition and scenario seems great to me, i just don't like the strong HDR feeling and i agree with Ian "it would be great to see a much less processed version of this same scene".

Hi Frank,

I really love what you've done with the sky here. Personally I think that regardless of whether or not you use an HDR tool or manual blending you have certainly used the sky to add significant drama to this scene. You may want to manually blend the upper right corner a bit - the blend here is a little rough. And I agree with the comments on lightening up the river to draw your eye into this image.

I applaud your different path on a scene that has IMHO been done to death. Nice concept and vision throughout!

Hey Frank, Welcome to NPN. I must say I have to agree with the others, I have never been a fan of the full blown HDR "effect", it's just to unrealistic to me. I would try manual blending your exposures for a more natural look. This image looks to have great potential with those brooding clouds and all, but as presented there isn't enough contrast throughout the scene and the fall colors seem to have a washed out look to them. Hope this helps.

Hi Frank,

Welcome to NPN. Not much to cover here that hasn't already been said, although I will say that I generally don't have as unfavorable opinion on the HDR processing here as others on the forum. The biggest items of note are the Virgin River and the Watchman. These features are lacking contrast, but I have no problems with the sky or foliage. There are some small blending issues around the horizion that have already been addressed as well. One more suggestion is to try a B & W conversion for this image. I personally think the sky is absolutely killer. Please post more in the future.

Michael

Welcome to NPN, Frank. As you've probably already noticed, this forum doesn't exactly support the HDR look. I find this somewhat troubling as it's a perfectly valid way to interpret a photograph. We're all for using Photoshop and digital techniques to enhance our images to our personal taste, but if it crosses over to an "HDR look" it looks too digital. Just as we now praise our collective ability to Photoshop images, hopefully in the post-acceptance era we'll also be more open to interpretive manipulation. My only thought on this is that it feels like it has a bit of CW tilt. Otherwise, it's a very dramatic image.

Hi all:

First I want to thank everybody for your invaluable and thoughtful comments, and welcomes to the forum. It is a pleasure to be part of this phenomenal community of great photographers. I am looking forward to more posts and comments as time rolls on.

I kind of knew that the overly-HDR-ed image wouldn't find a great reception here, but I thought I would see on my first outing. I am taking all your comments and feedback very seriously. I went back to the drawing boards on the original post, but couldn't quite get it right blending it in CS5. So I found another similar image and blended in manually using channels, blurs and dodging and burning. That is the one posted here. While still not what I would like, I wanted to not only post something before the holidays began in earnest, but also to send my sincere thanks for your help, both now and in the future. I only hope I can reciprocate half as well.

Happy holidays to all.

Frank