Overcast Color

I headed to the Painted Hills this last weekend for my first outing there. The weather overall was not that wet except for a few rain drops, which was nice, but nothing too dramtic sky wise. It was great that there was basically no one around. Quite peaceful on the weekend prior Christmas with the hussel and bussel going on in the city. Anyway, there is a more dramtic image I took as the sky opened for sunset that is on ESS. Still not quite the justice to this location that Marc A did with it on his recent posts.

All comments are appreciated!

5D / 17-40L @ 38 / 1/8 sec and f/13 / ISO100
No Filters

I was thinking that back corner added depth but looks like I am wrong because I like this cropped version better. Thanks for the comment.

Adrien: I appreciate every photograph you guys post of this amazing place. Your shots are fantastic and make me want to get out there. Thanks for sharing this one.

Boy, I agree with Marc D. I really enjoy seeing all the photos from Painted Hills. I have yet to go there and really want to. This is a fine image, Adrian. I was going to suggest the same crop-- it sure makes a noticable and pleasing difference to an already great shot.

Nice color here Adrian, and I like the way you've isolated the flow of the valley. The battle, and I fought this at the Painted Hills too, is that when you crop the top you lose a lot of the nice color in the upper hills. If you could have moved a small bit to the left and pointed the camera more to the right?

I don't mind the ULC too much. Those background hills are important to the comp. IMO, so it's definitely a trade off. I've tried similar perspectives to this as well, usually prefering to go a little longer focal length into those hills with more of an abstract approach. The foreground adds a bit more depth to it.

The second image is the keeper in my mind. That upper left hand corner was a un-needed distraction in my marginally humble opinion. Nancy & I REALLY need to pay a visit to the painted hills....

Have you considered bumping up the vibrance on this a bit to give some more pop?

The comp is a classic, but it needs a little levels adjustment to make the colors zing more. Overall, the image looks pretty flat.

Yep, now that I have come back to look at the comments I do see how flat these are. I thought I gave it a bump but I see not enough. Here is a repost of the cropped version. I am torn on leaving the open corner as an outlet for the eye and sense of depth or closing it off.

Thanks everyone for the comments.

The color is spot on now, but I like the original comp with the open corner...

Whoa, it zings now! However, I prefer the original crop too. It added both some blue color contrast and a greater sense of depth.

I'm unsure about which crop I like better here. I do like the depth the open corner creates, but I feel like then there's just a bit too much going on. Maybe this could be controlled with some light edge burning, or strategic area burning to control the eye to where the detail is?
The color and contrast in the second is definitely better. What do you think about cloning out that dormant sage (I think) in the foreground? Seems a little weak for the comp given those beautiful swaying colors of the hills.

Ok, I went back to the uncropped one and did some work on it. I agree now this is the best of the bunch to give depth of the place. I kept that bunch grass on the hill purposely. It may be small but I think ads a sense of scale and small FG anchor. Thanks everyone for the help on this one!

I think your last one is definitely the best. As I was looking at the original, I was thinking that the problem wasn't the ULC itself, but the fact that your watermark was dominating that area. I'm glad to see you thought of moving it (and thus proving my point ).