Posted by Marc Adamus on March 25, 2009 at 4:12 PM
Ok, maybe not the ideal image for a Pacific Northwest forum, but here it goes anyway. This one is from a remote section of dunes in death valley I backpacked out to. It's a spur-of-the-moment shot I caught as quickly as possible when I saw this lone cloud and was taken by its texture and position over the dunes. It was shot a mid-day, in almost-direct light, thus the conversion.
I must say I have been inspired by the B&W processing work/techniques in dune images I've seen by some NW photographers here, and Rick Lundh in particular. I'm trying to present my own version of this high-contrast, high-texture style here with this image, so let me know if it looks good to you or what you might do differently.
Thanks.
1Ds III, 24-105 at 24mm, f/13, 1/100 second, polarizer.
Posted by Ned Fenimore on March 25, 2009 at 4:20 PM
I'd say contrast is about perfect for this - it has a very good feel to it!
Posted by Cliff Dodge on March 25, 2009 at 5:00 PM
Nice leading line to the cloud you sought out. Ditto what Ned said also.
Hey Marc! Just popping on during a little break at work and noticed this post. I have to say thanks for your comments on my dune B/W processing. as for my processing on em... I usually work em in their color state first. Then during the black and white conversion, I'll adjust the individual color channels to work the areas needing the contrast boost. Once I've adjusted em in the conversion, then I'll do a little dodging highlights and burning shadows with swipes of 6% brushes until I get the desired result.
Your comp here is great. The clouds really makes this work... I think the lit specs of sand will be icing on the cake if they are made to shine a little more. Is there any chance you could send me a small color jpeg that I can try my technique on?
Wow Mark, this is really nice, I love that cloud and the whole comp. Again, YOU were in the right place at just the right time, congrats!
Posted by Mark Windom on March 25, 2009 at 7:11 PM
Excellent comp as usual. I agree with Rick re: making the grains of sand a little more apparent. I also would like to see a little more contrast in the dune, seems too flat compared to that in the sky.
Congrats on the new addition to your family. My daughter turns 16 in about a month; seems like yesterday that she arrived on the scene.
Posted by Marc Adamus on March 25, 2009 at 7:14 PM
It seems like my little boy doubles in size every time I'm away for a few days!
Rick's probably going to do something with this when he gets off work, as I gave him a color file to work on.
Posted by Jack Graham on March 25, 2009 at 8:07 PM
Great job.. as usual Marc... have tyouplayed around with SIlver Efex Pro yet?
JG
Posted by Marc Adamus on March 25, 2009 at 8:27 PM
No, I haven't Jack. I'm not exactly cutting-edge over here when it comes to new toys. I've certainly heard about it and seen some results though. Have you used tried it out yet? btw, I just tried giving you a call.
Thats a sweet cloud. I'd be inclined to add a hair more contrast in the sand, but its so hard to judge against the white BG of NPN. it drives me nuts sometimes. Looks good in all other areas though.
Very nice love the pattern in the Dune and the cloud really adds to the overall of the image.
Nik Silver Efex Pro is an awesome B&W conversion plug in. The high structure preset really gets some outstanding results for B&W.
Glad to her your son is doing well.
That cloud made a showing at the perfect time and place. No nits from me.
Posted by Mark Hudon on March 25, 2009 at 10:56 PM
I'd frame it and hang it.
Posted by Philip Kuglin on March 25, 2009 at 11:46 PM
I think the FG is too gray and needs more contrast. The sky is processed like its an IR shot which begs for more contrast in the FG and less compressed gray tones. Nice comp though and easy modification.
Posted by Austin Booth on March 26, 2009 at 1:31 AM
Great shot, i like the leading line. I love Death Valley, this is the time of year to visit too before the heat kicks in full blast. I bet it was still warm compared to Oregon though. I was there in late may one year and it was nearly 100 degrees at 10:00 at night.
Posted by Marc Dilley on March 26, 2009 at 10:59 AM
Interesting - on my monitor it appears the cloud has some slight blue toning, but nowhere else in the image. If the lack of crystal sparkle hadn't been mentioned, I would have said, "perfection!", now I'll reserve judgment for what Rick comes up with.
OK, had a busy night last night...but here's my working of it... I'm curious as to what people's reactions are to it...
Posted by Marc Adamus on March 26, 2009 at 6:07 PM
Well, I definitely have a softer style of processing than you do, Rick. There's some things I like about your version, but I'm not sure I'd go all the way on any of them. The texture in the sand is more pronounced (I might have too much noise problem in a large version with so much texture though) and the contrasts in the dune are more evident, especially up top. I might try to find some middleground in both cases, and more towards your version regarding the foreground brightness. I noticed you didn't burn the sky really at all, and I evened out the right side in my version. Sorry about sending you a dust-spotted file...
Posted by Chris Hodney on March 26, 2009 at 8:22 PM
Overall, I prefer the more subtle editing in Marc's, and the sky. I like the increase in contrast of the FG in Rick's, but I'd vote only to do it to bring out the ripples and ridge in the sand and not the tiny details like specs and grains.
I agree that the original post is just a bit flat in the MG to FG....but the sky is perfect.
Beautiful and well crafted image Marc. I like your processing because it shows just enough contrast while retaining some softness to compliment those wispy cirrus clouds. Bet this looks great large!
It's funny how we all have different tastes for B&W. I like both RIck's and your version, but maybe a blended one. I prefer your sky, & Rick's FG, at least on the right side of the dune. I think it would be relatvely easy to blend that into your file.
BTW, maybe this would be a good teaching session: if you'd allow the file (maybe a color jpeg for playing with) for the folks here to chew on and post what we think is our best PP and post the results -- possibly the steps, too -- I'm up for it! I definitely enjoy PP B&W images best.
Best of luck,
Kevin
Posted by Marc Dilley on March 27, 2009 at 9:43 AM
The dune is definitely more alive and sparkly with Rick's processing. It is a pleasure to view, even more so when I cover the sky with my hand. That said, his brighter dune takes too much away from the sky; they are not in balance and the dune predominates too much. Marc's subtler version just has a better feeling, even though the sand crystals display less sparkle, etc. I still prefer Rick's processing of the dune itself, but for the above reason, Marc's image is better.
I have to admit my sky could have had a bit more work done to it. I guess I focused too much on making the dune pop. A blend of the two as mentioned would be the ticket me thinks
Marc this is a beautiful shot! The clouds are positioned very well. I prefer your original over Ricks I think the sand seems more natural, IMO.
Posted by John Williams on March 28, 2009 at 12:33 PM
I'll echo. Great shot, and I too would vote for a blend of the dunes. The sparkle added in Rick's would work well if added in a bit. I really like the comp Marc, the line leading to the cloud is a textbook example of why it's a good idea to use the elements that way.
Posted by Darren White on March 28, 2009 at 10:33 PM
Marc's processing here works much better for me....
The sand in ricks image feels too grainy, no pun intended, and noisy...
Nice balance in your shot Marc. Its interesting to see the different processing styles. I see what Rick was saying about the "sparkle" in the fg sand and think that would make a nice effect, but I think in his version the sand came out too crunchy. Marc, I think you version could use a slight contrast boost on the bottom - just to bring up some of the lighter values in the sand.
Discussion
31 repliesI must say I have been inspired by the B&W processing work/techniques in dune images I've seen by some NW photographers here, and Rick Lundh in particular. I'm trying to present my own version of this high-contrast, high-texture style here with this image, so let me know if it looks good to you or what you might do differently.
Thanks.
1Ds III, 24-105 at 24mm, f/13, 1/100 second, polarizer.
Your comp here is great. The clouds really makes this work... I think the lit specs of sand will be icing on the cake if they are made to shine a little more. Is there any chance you could send me a small color jpeg that I can try my technique on?
Congrats on the new addition to your family. My daughter turns 16 in about a month; seems like yesterday that she arrived on the scene.
Rick's probably going to do something with this when he gets off work, as I gave him a color file to work on.
JG
Very nice love the pattern in the Dune and the cloud really adds to the overall of the image.
Nik Silver Efex Pro is an awesome B&W conversion plug in. The high structure preset really gets some outstanding results for B&W.
Glad to her your son is doing well.
Ray Still
I agree that the original post is just a bit flat in the MG to FG....but the sky is perfect.
It's funny how we all have different tastes for B&W. I like both RIck's and your version, but maybe a blended one. I prefer your sky, & Rick's FG, at least on the right side of the dune. I think it would be relatvely easy to blend that into your file.
BTW, maybe this would be a good teaching session: if you'd allow the file (maybe a color jpeg for playing with) for the folks here to chew on and post what we think is our best PP and post the results -- possibly the steps, too -- I'm up for it! I definitely enjoy PP B&W images best.
Best of luck,
Kevin
The sand in ricks image feels too grainy, no pun intended, and noisy...
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