Stormy Afternoon +Alt

Gallery: LandscapePosted March 10, 20188,725 views14 comments

Yesterday afternoon this ominous cloud cover hovered over Columbia. This view is looking est from my backyard. I looked at doing this in B&W, but ultimately thought the color version had more punch. I would have liked more of the foreground hillside, but nearby trees were too distracting.

Nikon D-7100
Nikkor 70-200 @ 82mm
f-11 @1/200, ISO 100
TK's masks
Cropped a bunch from the top.

Please see the large version. Thanks!

Your thoughts are always appreciated. cool

--P

Comments

14 comments

Comment posted by Reno DiTullio on March 10, 2018 at 5:56 PM

Great clouds, Preston, and love the splash of color in the trees, better color than bw for me, well done.

Registered on November 14, 2003, 130 Posts, 1644 Comments

Comment posted by Dave Dillemuth on March 10, 2018 at 6:51 PM

Great clouds, adding a lot of depth and drama. Pleasing colors and processing looks good but I could see playing with a bit more brightness/contrast in the spotlit trees.

Registered on December 10, 2015, 104 Posts, 1112 Comments

Comment posted by Harley Goldman on March 11, 2018 at 7:16 AM

This is really nice, Preston. Excellent layering and depth and the spotlighting works well. I agree with Dave about experimenting with the contrast in the spotlit trees. Good one.

Registered on November 19, 2003, 586 Posts, 11271 Comments

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on March 11, 2018 at 3:01 PM

I like the layers from the clouds to the foreground. Compositionally it's not working for me with the foreground feeling too truncated. Tonally it feels too warm/yellow overall.

Registered on September 27, 2006, 636 Posts, 10682 Comments

Comment posted by Ed Lowe on March 11, 2018 at 3:43 PM

Looks like a great view from the backyard to me, Preston. The clouds are great as is the layering in this one. My only suggestion would be the already mentioned adding a little punch to the trees. Beautiful image.

Ed

Registered on February 7, 2004, 414 Posts, 7115 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Chambers on March 11, 2018 at 4:34 PM

Loving this Preston. I like the ominous nature of the clouds juxtaposed against the "hopeful" patch of sunlight in the FG. My only suggestion would be to increase the contrast in the colorful FG, and perhaps even boost the saturation there just a bit. A beautiful scene, and what a great view from your yard!!!

Registered on April 10, 2005, 753 Posts, 21216 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Schrayer on March 11, 2018 at 5:29 PM

The dappled light in the trees enhances the landscape and contrasts nicely with the ominous clouds. Taken figuratively this suggests a hopeful theme of the light penetrating the darkness.

Registered on May 28, 2004, 114 Posts, 2890 Comments

Comment posted by Preston Birdwell on March 11, 2018 at 5:56 PM

Thanks for your suggestions, everyone!

@Kah-Kit: I hear you on the truncated foreground. As I mentioned in my OP, there were very distracting trees in the immediate foreground. I would have needed a very tall ladder to get above them.

I increased the brightness and contrast in the foreground and mountains, and bumped the yellow saturation a bit.

Any additional thoughts or suggestions are welcomed.
--P

Registered on November 1, 2003, 471 Posts, 5188 Comments

Comment posted by Ed McGuirk on March 11, 2018 at 6:01 PM

Preston, nice backyard you have....

I love the way you have processed the clouds, they look wonderful. I agree with the other comments about adding a little more contrast to the spotlit area in the near ridge line. I think one way to help in this regard is to darken the second shadowed ridge line and make the spotlit area stand out more.

Registered on November 29, 2017, 19 Posts, 260 Comments

Comment posted by Igor Doncov on March 11, 2018 at 7:24 PM

The repost works for me. I was going to make the same suggestions. It may not look how it was but it emphasizes a point.

Registered on November 22, 2014, 189 Posts, 2733 Comments

Comment posted by Harley Goldman on March 11, 2018 at 10:33 PM

Nice job on the repost. A definite improvement.

Registered on November 19, 2003, 586 Posts, 11271 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on March 13, 2018 at 11:36 AM

For an ominous cloud, this is a very inviting image, Preston. It does a great job of capturing the drama of these clouds. The bit of sunshine on the foreground adds some fine drama. A lovely backyard view, that captures the reality of daily life very well. The repost certainly adds pop, but I think it's a bit too much, maybe something in between.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Dave Dillemuth on March 13, 2018 at 2:25 PM

Repost looks great, Preston.

Registered on December 10, 2015, 104 Posts, 1112 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on March 17, 2018 at 5:54 PM

Preston, The repost really brought the color and highlights out in the trees and I like it like that. Thought I made a comment on this before but I guess not. Nick

Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments