Posted by Lance Warley on July 29, 2007 at 12:33 PM
I live in south Florida, elevation 9 inches. Last week was my first trip to the San Juans. Rich Durnan (Rich's site) did a terrific job of guiding me to Yankee Boy and other incredible places. Thursday morning we arrived at Porphry Basin before dawn and found another 4x4 already there. Who the heck could it be...well, it was Bret Edge Now that's a nice way to meet someone for the first time.
Anyway, I'm a newbie, with an XTi since January and a passion to improve my photo skills. I think this is my favorite shot of the trip - the rock glacier at Mount Gilpin. I can't wait to make another visit.
It was great to meet you up there, Lance! I'm glad you had a great time. It's hard not to enjoy time spent in the San Juans.
I like the composition a lot, as there are lots of implied triangles. Sweet light, too. I agree w/ Jody that the sky is a little too dark. You could probably lighten up the entire image a stop or two and it would look better. Looking forward to seeing more of your work from the trip!
Posted by Kalin Wilson on July 29, 2007 at 6:10 PM
Lance,
The San Juans are hard to beat for mountain scenery. I bet you had a great time.
Bret and Jody already mentioned the over-polarized sky (easy to do in the high mountains), I also think the green shade on the left-most slope looks a little odd, kind of a weird color. But I like the comp and the subject is cool. Just a little tweaking needed. Cool shot!
First, my thanks to Lance for introducing me to this forum while he was here shooting with me in Colorado. Good to see your work on-line.
Second, how cool that we should meet Bret out in the field and that Lance would recognize his name from this forum. The power of the internet!
So Lance, here is my observation about your image. I will not comment on the nice composition or any of the other stuff already mentioned. We know it is a nice image.
When we reviewed this image on your lap top while you were here with me in CO however, I think it looked a bit different than we see it here. I agree with Kalin, it seems to have a green cast to the image that I do not remember. I think it is a bit more contrasty on line as well. The cause of this is probably due to the fact we saw it on your lap top screen which is not calibrated. I think you will often find your colors may be a bit off to others viewing your images. Their monitors will never look the same as yours and by not having a calibrated monitor you will never e sure how your images really look. As I mentioned in our week together a calibrated monitor is really important if you want consistancy.
To reference Kalin's post again, "Hurry Back!", there are more great shots awaiting you.
First, my thanks to Lance for introducing me to this forum while he was here shooting with me in Colorado. Good to see your work on-line.
Second, how cool that we should meet Bret out in the field and that Lance would recognize his name from this forum. The power of the internet!
So Lance, here is my observation about your image. I will not comment on the nice composition or any of the other stuff already mentioned. We know it is a nice image.
When we reviewed this image on your lap top while you were here with me in CO however, I think it looked a bit different than we see it here. I agree with Kalin, it seems to have a green cast to the image that I do not remember. I think it is a bit more contrasty on line as well. The cause of this is probably due to the fact we saw it on your lap top screen which is not calibrated. I think you will often find your colors may be a bit off to others viewing your images. Their monitors will never look the same as yours and by not having a calibrated monitor you will never e sure how your images really look. As I mentioned in our week together a calibrated monitor is really important if you want consistancy.
To reference Kalin's post again, "Hurry Back!", there are more great shots awaiting you.
Hey Lance - you certainly picked a great location for your first visit! I agree that this looks over-polarized. Especially up at higher elevations, the sky is so blue to begin with that a polarizer is rarely necessary for skies; if it's needed for water/reflections, then you have to keep an eye on what it's doing to the sky. Was this a blue/gold polarizer?
I think if you can lighten this up a little as Bret suggested, and work with the color balanced to address the green/yellow cast, it'd be worth the effort - it's a sweet view and composition.
Looking forward to seeing more!
Posted by Lance Warley on July 31, 2007 at 1:54 PM
Thanks so much, everyone, for the great suggestions. I calibrated, lightened, balanced, and tweaked...what a difference!
Rick, it was a GND, not a polarizer, actually.
Here's the rest of my San Juans harvest: San Juans last week Comments very much appreciated.
I certainly hope I get back there again soon...maybe for the bald eagles in the Fall.
Pretty good stuff for a newbie! I like your Red Mountain image too.
Since you asked for comments, I'll suggest backing off the Shadow/Highlight treatment to your images. (Although what I'm seeing could just be JPEG artifacts.) It seems to be producing edge halos - along the peaks ridges. I see this in your Porphyry Basin shots. This tool can also wreak havoc on a realistic presentation of colors and contrast. Just a suggestion to keep in mind.
Posted by Lance Warley on July 31, 2007 at 5:32 PM
Thanks, Jesse. Great point.How do you achieve the same effect in Photoshop without using Shad/Hi?
You're right, I use it alot, and every time I think I've eliminated the halos, I end up finding another one.
Discussion
10 repliesAnyway, I'm a newbie, with an XTi since January and a passion to improve my photo skills. I think this is my favorite shot of the trip - the rock glacier at Mount Gilpin. I can't wait to make another visit.
XTi 17-85mm focused at 17, F22, 1/80 second.
Comments deeply appreciated.
I like the composition a lot, as there are lots of implied triangles. Sweet light, too. I agree w/ Jody that the sky is a little too dark. You could probably lighten up the entire image a stop or two and it would look better. Looking forward to seeing more of your work from the trip!
The San Juans are hard to beat for mountain scenery. I bet you had a great time.
Bret and Jody already mentioned the over-polarized sky (easy to do in the high mountains), I also think the green shade on the left-most slope looks a little odd, kind of a weird color. But I like the comp and the subject is cool. Just a little tweaking needed. Cool shot!
Hurry back!
Second, how cool that we should meet Bret out in the field and that Lance would recognize his name from this forum. The power of the internet!
So Lance, here is my observation about your image. I will not comment on the nice composition or any of the other stuff already mentioned. We know it is a nice image.
When we reviewed this image on your lap top while you were here with me in CO however, I think it looked a bit different than we see it here. I agree with Kalin, it seems to have a green cast to the image that I do not remember. I think it is a bit more contrasty on line as well. The cause of this is probably due to the fact we saw it on your lap top screen which is not calibrated. I think you will often find your colors may be a bit off to others viewing your images. Their monitors will never look the same as yours and by not having a calibrated monitor you will never e sure how your images really look. As I mentioned in our week together a calibrated monitor is really important if you want consistancy.
To reference Kalin's post again, "Hurry Back!", there are more great shots awaiting you.
Second, how cool that we should meet Bret out in the field and that Lance would recognize his name from this forum. The power of the internet!
So Lance, here is my observation about your image. I will not comment on the nice composition or any of the other stuff already mentioned. We know it is a nice image.
When we reviewed this image on your lap top while you were here with me in CO however, I think it looked a bit different than we see it here. I agree with Kalin, it seems to have a green cast to the image that I do not remember. I think it is a bit more contrasty on line as well. The cause of this is probably due to the fact we saw it on your lap top screen which is not calibrated. I think you will often find your colors may be a bit off to others viewing your images. Their monitors will never look the same as yours and by not having a calibrated monitor you will never e sure how your images really look. As I mentioned in our week together a calibrated monitor is really important if you want consistancy.
To reference Kalin's post again, "Hurry Back!", there are more great shots awaiting you.
I think if you can lighten this up a little as Bret suggested, and work with the color balanced to address the green/yellow cast, it'd be worth the effort - it's a sweet view and composition.
Looking forward to seeing more!
Rick, it was a GND, not a polarizer, actually.
Here's the rest of my San Juans harvest: San Juans last week Comments very much appreciated.
I certainly hope I get back there again soon...maybe for the bald eagles in the Fall.
Since you asked for comments, I'll suggest backing off the Shadow/Highlight treatment to your images. (Although what I'm seeing could just be JPEG artifacts.) It seems to be producing edge halos - along the peaks ridges. I see this in your Porphyry Basin shots. This tool can also wreak havoc on a realistic presentation of colors and contrast. Just a suggestion to keep in mind.
You're right, I use it alot, and every time I think I've eliminated the halos, I end up finding another one.
btw, I have Elements 5, not CS.
http://www.goodlight.us/writing/luminositymasks/luminositymasks-1.html
I have no experience with Elements, so maybe someone who does will chime in with suggestions.
Photomatix "tone mapping" is a 3rd party solution that is somewhat similar.
http://www.hdrsoft.com/