I captured this photo in Palo Duro Canyon two weeks ago. When I got off from work on a Friday evening conditions looked favorable for a good sunset as a low-pressure storm was moving out of the region. The western horizon was clear but there was a good layer of low clouds overhead. The conditions held up until about 45 minutes before sunset when in typical west Texas fashion the clouds parted along with my hopes for a vibrant sunset. So I started looking for other options and this is one of the shots that I came away with. I would like honest feedback on everything from composition to processing.
D700
100 mm
f11 / 1/15 sec
ISO 200
Processing:
1. Curves adjustment for global contrast using normal blending mode
2. Tony Kuyper's Vibrance and Saturation masks (with a second layer to desaturate the greens using the color selection tool).
3. Curves adjustment layer using Tony Kuyper's luminosity masks for wide-mid tones to further tweak mid-tone contrast using the luminosity blending mode only
4. Tony Kuyper's Smart Glow action at 45% opacity
5. This has been cropped significantly from full frame and to 4X5 aspect ratio which I felt focused more on the subject - I should have cropped with my feet but I captured this more to experiment with it so I wasn't too concerned about composition at the time.
The color in this image is certainly real although the processing brought out some more of the subtle color definition that was not quite so visible to the naked eye - particularly in the more purple tones in the layer toward the center of the frame (but this effect is subtle).
I hope I'm not violating the posting guidelines since I posted a question earlier today but considering that there is not much activity on the forum I assume it is ok.
Posted by Darren Huski on June 24, 2012 at 6:02 PM
Great colors here. You salvaged the evening nicely.
Posted by Wayne Rhodus on June 25, 2012 at 10:14 PM
Some very nice detail and some wonderful color in this intimate extraction Brian. I generally hesitate to comment on color because of monitor/browser inconsistencies but on my monitor it looks like there is a bit too much cyan in the green tones. Perhaps pull that back a notch or two? Thanks for sharing.
Nice work, Brian, but I tend to agree with Wayne's comment about the cyan adjustment. Looks like lots of possibilities at Palo Duro. Hope to see more...
Discussion
3 repliesD700
100 mm
f11 / 1/15 sec
ISO 200
Processing:
1. Curves adjustment for global contrast using normal blending mode
2. Tony Kuyper's Vibrance and Saturation masks (with a second layer to desaturate the greens using the color selection tool).
3. Curves adjustment layer using Tony Kuyper's luminosity masks for wide-mid tones to further tweak mid-tone contrast using the luminosity blending mode only
4. Tony Kuyper's Smart Glow action at 45% opacity
5. This has been cropped significantly from full frame and to 4X5 aspect ratio which I felt focused more on the subject - I should have cropped with my feet but I captured this more to experiment with it so I wasn't too concerned about composition at the time.
The color in this image is certainly real although the processing brought out some more of the subtle color definition that was not quite so visible to the naked eye - particularly in the more purple tones in the layer toward the center of the frame (but this effect is subtle).
I hope I'm not violating the posting guidelines since I posted a question earlier today but considering that there is not much activity on the forum I assume it is ok.