Les, I think more dramatic lighting might give these a bit more interest. They are just not grabbing me. They look like interesting places though. Where can I find these scenes?
Posted by Stan Rose on January 6, 2008 at 12:10 AM
I can help you out, Erik, you know how good my navigational skills are
Posted by Les Barstow on January 6, 2008 at 12:25 AM
Erik, you should know these by heart...
The first is Bear Lake looking toward Longs. The second is Moraine Park from near the bridge to the park housing area.
I think I'm missing something in technique to bring out the drama in some of this; I was practically drooling over the possibilities when I took that that second image, but can't seem to recover what I felt from the images I took.
Les, I was actually teasing about the locations. I do know how you feel though. Sometimes a scene is extremely beautiful but just doesn't translate well in camera.
Posted by Rick Dunn on January 6, 2008 at 11:40 AM
Hi Les,
the technicals may have something to do with it, but I think the scenes themselves weren't offering much to work with in terms of light. The scenery is pretty nice, but I'm with Erik in that the light just isn't enough to allow it it work, regardless of technicals.
With regards to light, the first one has more potential than the second, imo. Although I'll say that anytime I find this much of the scene in deep shade, I'm skeptical about my ability to make it work well. Overall that one feels too dark and the warm light too washed out. Perhaps a graduated ND would have given the warm light more oomph, and also brightened up the foreground and trees. The sculpted snow on the lake is interesting, but not interesting enough to have it fill 1/2 the frame. If there had been clouds reflecting some warm light back onto Bear Lake, I'd think there'd be something to work with down there.
The second one has more foreground interest, imo, but like the first, is mostly in deep shade. I see what made the scene attractive to you, but I don't know how I would've gone about getting this scene to work for me with such little good light. When I look at the histogram on this shot, the vast majority of data is in the darker half with a lot in the darker 1/4; that doesn't necessarily mean it won't work - it's obviously scene-dependent - but in my experience it's a reliable indicator of how challenging it will be to make the image impactful.
Regarding the technicals, if you don't use grads, I'd suggest looking into getting a couple. Again, I'm not sure that they would've helped here, but in general they're immensely helpful. You can also blend in PS, but I like being able to immediately "see" what I'm dealing with. They also save card space when I can get by with one exposure instead of taking 2 or 3 for subsequent blending.
Posted by Mike McNeill on January 6, 2008 at 1:24 PM
Les and Rick, ND Grads definitely would of helped. So many times the dynamic range in a scene excedes the limits of film, and/or the sensor, which I believe is 5 stops. In order to get the detail needed in the shadows , ND Grads darken the bright sky. Landscape photographers shouldn't be without ND Grads. Shadow/hilights in PS will help these images some. Give it a shot.
Discussion
7 repliesLet me know what you think. I'm trying to hit the snow - really.
The first is Bear Lake looking toward Longs. The second is Moraine Park from near the bridge to the park housing area.
I think I'm missing something in technique to bring out the drama in some of this; I was practically drooling over the possibilities when I took that that second image, but can't seem to recover what I felt from the images I took.
the technicals may have something to do with it, but I think the scenes themselves weren't offering much to work with in terms of light. The scenery is pretty nice, but I'm with Erik in that the light just isn't enough to allow it it work, regardless of technicals.
With regards to light, the first one has more potential than the second, imo. Although I'll say that anytime I find this much of the scene in deep shade, I'm skeptical about my ability to make it work well. Overall that one feels too dark and the warm light too washed out. Perhaps a graduated ND would have given the warm light more oomph, and also brightened up the foreground and trees. The sculpted snow on the lake is interesting, but not interesting enough to have it fill 1/2 the frame. If there had been clouds reflecting some warm light back onto Bear Lake, I'd think there'd be something to work with down there.
The second one has more foreground interest, imo, but like the first, is mostly in deep shade. I see what made the scene attractive to you, but I don't know how I would've gone about getting this scene to work for me with such little good light. When I look at the histogram on this shot, the vast majority of data is in the darker half with a lot in the darker 1/4; that doesn't necessarily mean it won't work - it's obviously scene-dependent - but in my experience it's a reliable indicator of how challenging it will be to make the image impactful.
Regarding the technicals, if you don't use grads, I'd suggest looking into getting a couple. Again, I'm not sure that they would've helped here, but in general they're immensely helpful. You can also blend in PS, but I like being able to immediately "see" what I'm dealing with. They also save card space when I can get by with one exposure instead of taking 2 or 3 for subsequent blending.