Posted by Bruce King on August 11, 2012 at 6:13 PM
A rework of an image I posted about a year ago. How does it stand as a piece of photo art? Should I lighten the shadows a little? It is meant to be dark and moody and it might not achieve that with less contrast. Thanks for looking.
Very nice shot. I'd leave it as is. It has an air of mystery while yet revealing good depth of color. Bravo!
Posted by Phil Knouf on August 12, 2012 at 1:42 PM
Bruce,
Can you tell us a little more about your image such as length of lens used, exposure, any special processing such as blending? I think you used some exposure blending due to the slight halo's around the trees where they touch the sky. Other than that slight nit I wish I could have been there to witness the splendor of the scene, light and the full moon! You really captured the serenity of the moment. If you are anywhere like me when presented with such beauty, you probably left with a great feeling of peacefulness.
Posted by Bruce King on August 12, 2012 at 4:13 PM
Thanks Phil. No blending, one exposure for the scene and another for the moon taken a few months later and composited into the image. As for processing I applied a low key filter in NIK Color Efex Pro 3, considerable dodging and burning, some noise reduction. Then placed the moon and its reflection. Based on suggestions from commentors in the Photo Art gallery I've since burned down the moon a little more and applied some motion blur to it. You can see the repost in in the PA gallery if so inclined. Here's the tech stuff.
Landscape:
27mm w/CP and 3 stop reverse grad
f/16 @ 1/6 sec
ISO 200
Hi, Bruce,
I love the landscape scene and think the level of shadow is just about right. OTOH, I never know what to do about compositing a moon into such settings... Getting the size of the moon within realistic expectations baffles me as does judging the amount of light the moon would be putting into the scene. So, to me, it looks like the moon is a little large and a little too white. This is truly a judgement call on my part, offered for thought, and not necessarily a nit. If you created this with intention of being photo art rather then realistic rendition, then it's really up to you how the moon looks and what artistic goal you are trying to achieve. Is this about the interaction of the sunset light and the moonlight? The moon, itself, as the primary feature of a night scence in the wilderness and how it capture's our imagination and our gaze? As is, the image feels like the intention is the latter. Thought-provoking. I like that!!
Discussion
6 repliesAndrew
Can you tell us a little more about your image such as length of lens used, exposure, any special processing such as blending? I think you used some exposure blending due to the slight halo's around the trees where they touch the sky. Other than that slight nit I wish I could have been there to witness the splendor of the scene, light and the full moon! You really captured the serenity of the moment. If you are anywhere like me when presented with such beauty, you probably left with a great feeling of peacefulness.
Landscape:
27mm w/CP and 3 stop reverse grad
f/16 @ 1/6 sec
ISO 200
Moon:
300mm
f/8 @ 1/1000
ISO 1000
I love the landscape scene and think the level of shadow is just about right. OTOH, I never know what to do about compositing a moon into such settings... Getting the size of the moon within realistic expectations baffles me as does judging the amount of light the moon would be putting into the scene. So, to me, it looks like the moon is a little large and a little too white. This is truly a judgement call on my part, offered for thought, and not necessarily a nit. If you created this with intention of being photo art rather then realistic rendition, then it's really up to you how the moon looks and what artistic goal you are trying to achieve. Is this about the interaction of the sunset light and the moonlight? The moon, itself, as the primary feature of a night scence in the wilderness and how it capture's our imagination and our gaze? As is, the image feels like the intention is the latter. Thought-provoking. I like that!!