This was posted in ESS on the 25th. I have since done some more official editing on it. I would like to hear all honest critiques about the image. What works, what doesn't, etc...
I'm not sure if I remember completely correctly, but I think when I saw it first I thought some of the blacks were too deep.. they look great now. Nice job!
Posted by Greg Cope on February 6, 2009 at 10:21 AM
Ben, I remember the previous version (and actually went back and compared to two side by side - http://www.naturephotographers.net/imagecritique/ic.cgi?a=vp&pr=114143). This is so much improved! The processing seems to have received a healthy dose of 'umph'. The saturation seems a teeny bit strong, but just a personal pref and minor nit at that. Great work in processing! I am curious as to what you did to make this one pop so much
Floris: thanks for your comment
Greg: I agree the sat is a bit strong. During the conversion, the jpg file ended up being a bit more saturated than the larger file. My processing pretty much consisted of curves adjustments. I would apply a global curve, then invert it, and then 'paint' on the changes that I wanted. In the curves adjustment, I also changed the red,green, and blue channels to get the magenta cast. Just to give you an idea, here is a screen shot of my layers palette.
Benjamin, the composition, colors, and general terrain has a lot to offer in this scene. Excellent work overall in bringing the image to this level of detail too.
I'm coming in kind of late here and I did not pick up any comments you or others made toward the use of D&B in the scene at all. Was that done or were you against the use of that on this image?
If not used here at all, I would think the right side of the image that D&B might help it somewhat. I will admit, my own use of D&B can be with mixed results at times and I always do it under a new layer so it can be blown off at anytime, which I have done often until I get the results I like.
Posted by Dan Truong on February 7, 2009 at 5:22 PM
The photo looks a little artificial aka oversaturated, but stunningly beautiful. Very nice composition.
Modern photos/postcards/motivational posters etc. are all very saturated so this is in the trend. Personally I tend to push saturation too, a little past what I remember from the place to yield my impression.
The right side rocks are a tiny bit too dark still and I think you have a little vigneting going on which might be why I have this impression?
Posted by Eric Good on February 8, 2009 at 12:11 AM
I love the composition and mood you captured here. The only thing I liked about the original was the density of cloud bank on the right hand side wasn't as dark and therefore separated from the nearby darker rocks a little more. I liked that subtle separation. Other than that, this really feels good to my eyes. One other thing that might be worth experimenting with is to blend the original sky slightly with the sky in this version. Sometimes that can create an interesting look. I know I often feel like I've pushed things a tad too much in a rework and incorporating a slight amount from the previous version can be just touch I was looking for. Nice work start to finish!
Paul- I didn't use a D&B. To bring out the shadow detail a bit more, I used a curves adjustment, I then inverted it, and then painted on the areas that I wanted lightened. If you look at my layers palette above, the layer that I used to bring out the shadow detail was 'Curves 5'.
Dan-The saturation that is being seen is mainly a result from changing the RGB levels in curves. I only made a small global adjustment to the saturation. Also, when I converted from the psd to the jpg, an extra dose of saturation was added to compensate for the web conversion. The saturation on the psd file doesn't really bother me enough to change.
Posted by Richard Wong on February 8, 2009 at 10:47 PM
A bit heavy on contrast but I like how unique the foreground looks. Also if you could lighten up the right side that would help.
Discussion
8 repliesThanks.
Canon 30D
10-22mm, 2-image blend
Greg: I agree the sat is a bit strong. During the conversion, the jpg file ended up being a bit more saturated than the larger file. My processing pretty much consisted of curves adjustments. I would apply a global curve, then invert it, and then 'paint' on the changes that I wanted. In the curves adjustment, I also changed the red,green, and blue channels to get the magenta cast. Just to give you an idea, here is a screen shot of my layers palette.
I'm coming in kind of late here and I did not pick up any comments you or others made toward the use of D&B in the scene at all. Was that done or were you against the use of that on this image?
If not used here at all, I would think the right side of the image that D&B might help it somewhat. I will admit, my own use of D&B can be with mixed results at times and I always do it under a new layer so it can be blown off at anytime, which I have done often until I get the results I like.
Modern photos/postcards/motivational posters etc. are all very saturated so this is in the trend. Personally I tend to push saturation too, a little past what I remember from the place to yield my impression.
The right side rocks are a tiny bit too dark still and I think you have a little vigneting going on which might be why I have this impression?
Dan-The saturation that is being seen is mainly a result from changing the RGB levels in curves. I only made a small global adjustment to the saturation. Also, when I converted from the psd to the jpg, an extra dose of saturation was added to compensate for the web conversion. The saturation on the psd file doesn't really bother me enough to change.