At the Salt Flats in Death Valley one morning last week. There was a short spell of golden light before the clouds obscured it. I caught the place in many moods over three days. Films are being scanned. This is a 1DsIII image.
Posted by Derek Sedillo on December 14, 2008 at 11:46 PM
Jeffrey,
I must admit I have never really been into salt bed shots. But I do like the light and color you caught over the mtns in this image. Thanks for posting.
Derek
Posted by Eric Good on December 15, 2008 at 2:29 AM
Nice, this makes me want to get out there soon. I like the arrangement of the salt lines and the sense of depth captured here. I might favor brightening the top or darkening the bottom just a little. Other than that this works for me.
By the way, are those thin bands of clouds on the left edge near the peak tops?
Jeffrey, I really like the composition here, but I'm also hoping you took some film shots at the same time. I would like to compare the looks overall.
I guess what is throwing me off is what I see on my monitor. It appears to have a brown cast or look to the scene. Again, hard to tell as digital has it's own way of handling exposures and colors in general. I assume a grad was used with the much darker BG to the FG, but that is not what I'm seeing here. I'm use to what grads do, it just has a different look to me anyway.
Posted by Steve Sieren on December 15, 2008 at 12:45 PM
Jeffrey, Love the comp on this one. The light is perfect on the top.
Posted by Mat Malone on December 15, 2008 at 12:46 PM
Hi Jeffrey,
That is some great light on Telescope Peak. I like how you made it very prominent in the frame, the contrast between it and the salt flats is great. But I think the white-balance is a bit off: the FG looks odd because it's in the shade yet the color feels very warm. (Disclaimer: I'm at work and this monitor isn't calibrated.) And I would also pull back the FG salt because it looks brighter than the mountains. A few simple tweaks in PS and you've got a really sweet photo here, IMHO.
The light there was weird. There was a brilliant slice of direct light on the peaks, while the ambient light (not shade) was bathing the salt, which is mostly white, but has a brown tint from the earth underneath which mixes in with the crust as it forms. A combination of color temps and brightness levels. When I opened the file the first time, I wondered what the heck I was going to do with all this, and I tried to stay true to the morning, with a little contrast enhancement. I actually toned down the peaks and the foreground, to answer a few of the questions posed. Such light foreground always reflects a bit of the dominant colors in it's surroundings. Other days it looked blue, or pink, as the sky may have been.
Posted by Greg Cope on December 15, 2008 at 11:36 PM
That foreground is a beautiful lead in to that backdrop. A sweet comp balanced by some sweet light. My one critique might be the background mountains seem a teeny (and I stress teeny) bit soft.
Posted by Bryan Pezman on December 16, 2008 at 4:07 AM
I love it Jefferey! The foreground leads me very well into the background mountains and I love the interesting color and clouds in the background. Well done!
Discussion
9 repliesI must admit I have never really been into salt bed shots. But I do like the light and color you caught over the mtns in this image. Thanks for posting.
Derek
By the way, are those thin bands of clouds on the left edge near the peak tops?
~Eric
I guess what is throwing me off is what I see on my monitor. It appears to have a brown cast or look to the scene. Again, hard to tell as digital has it's own way of handling exposures and colors in general. I assume a grad was used with the much darker BG to the FG, but that is not what I'm seeing here. I'm use to what grads do, it just has a different look to me anyway.
That is some great light on Telescope Peak. I like how you made it very prominent in the frame, the contrast between it and the salt flats is great. But I think the white-balance is a bit off: the FG looks odd because it's in the shade yet the color feels very warm. (Disclaimer: I'm at work and this monitor isn't calibrated.) And I would also pull back the FG salt because it looks brighter than the mountains. A few simple tweaks in PS and you've got a really sweet photo here, IMHO.
-Mat
The light there was weird. There was a brilliant slice of direct light on the peaks, while the ambient light (not shade) was bathing the salt, which is mostly white, but has a brown tint from the earth underneath which mixes in with the crust as it forms. A combination of color temps and brightness levels. When I opened the file the first time, I wondered what the heck I was going to do with all this, and I tried to stay true to the morning, with a little contrast enhancement. I actually toned down the peaks and the foreground, to answer a few of the questions posed. Such light foreground always reflects a bit of the dominant colors in it's surroundings. Other days it looked blue, or pink, as the sky may have been.