Classic Smokies (Repost)

Brian,

I think you've captured this beautifully, especially considering the time of day and shooting towards the sunrise sky. Given the cloudless sky, I like that you've included just enough, with just enough color to add to the landscape.  The foggy/hazy valleys still come through for that classic Smokies look.

As far as processing, the only thing I would suggest would be to possibly reduce the cyan - mostly near the left-center edge in and above the trees. Looks a little cyan in that band of fog; less so as you move to the right.  Minor nit though.  And since the autumn color in the trees isn't the main story here, you might consider a small crop from the bottom giving this a more pano look and more emphasis to the ridges, valleys and fog.

Well seen. I can just imagine being there.

Lon

Beautiful Smokies view. I would second Lon's crop suggestion. Processing looks good to my eye. 

Nice Smokies image, Brian.  I agree with Lon about the cyan in the fog layer. Other than that the processing looks good to me.

Excellent image as is but a little crop from the bottom would be nice also. Processing looks good to me.

Wonderful use of layers in this scene, Brian. My only suggestion as far as processing is just a bit of reduction in the cyan to make the fog a little more neutral. My only other suggestion would be a little crop from the bottom to help showcase all the other beautiful elements in the image. This may be a classic view, but there is a reason for that. Great work.

Ed

Brian, the larger view is a real treat, especially with all the details in the foreground trees.  I like the balance with the emphasis on the foreground with a fine transition into the distance peaks (that touch of fog is a great addition), topped of by a gently warm sky.

Nice "classic" image of the layers of hills and valleys that personifies the smokies, Bryan. I like the range of color topped by the band of yellow sky. The crop suggestion is worth considering but I'd hate to lose the red tree in the lrc. Personally, I would lighten the foreground trees, especially the one in the llc, if possible, to give the colors a little more punch. 

A classic Smokies, indeed. I agree regarding the cyan in the cloud bank. While the crop suggestion has merit, I think Scott's idea to bring up the foreground trees is a good one. The light is wonderful, and I like the layers.
--P

Great job Brian. This is excellent in the larger view. The yellow in the sky is sweet! I too would brighten those foreground, colorful, trees a bit, but not too much.

Thank you to everyone for all of your constructive comments.  I have re-processed this image starting from a RAW file with a warmer white balance.  This solved a few of the processing issues that I was having.  I also further lightened the foreground primarily by using luminosity painting to lighten the light tones in the brighter trees while leaving the deeper shadows for contrast. 

I experimented with a more panoramic crop as was suggested, but in the end I wanted to retain the red tree in the lower right hand side of the frame.  It was an important element to me in the original composition. 

Thank you all for your help and please feel free to comment after reviewing the updated version.

Hopefully the third time is a charm.  The re-worked image that I posted last night neutralized the color in the fog too much and seemed to take the emotion out of the image.  This is my effort to fall somewhere in the middle.  I brightened the foreground and minimized the cyan while still retaining some of the cool tones and the subtle glow in the clouds.