George R Phile
September 2020 - View From the Floor
Original
About the Image(s)
Nikon D300, 28-300mm lens f/3.5-5.6 at 48mm, 1/750sec, F/8, ISO 800
My wife joined me in Santa Fe after a 5 day photo shoot of mine. We stopped
for a few hours at Palo Duro Canyon State Park in Canyon Texas. Palo Duro
Canyon is one of those places that you could drive right by it and never see
it unless you knew it was there. The only sun we had for the time we were
there was midday sun and as you can see from the original image what came
out of the camera was quite bland and not what we really saw. The final image
represents what we really saw.
Editing was in Lightroom with:
Exposure: 0.5 Blacks: 20 Contrast: 37 Clarity: 40
This round’s discussion is now closed!
6 comments posted
The post processing has really improved the image. Shooting in the middle of the day is rarely a good recipe for a master shot, but sometimes it is the only option you have. May be you could use the gradient filter to to darken the top and the bottom or apply some vignette to give more attention to the mountain. Posted: 09/04/2020 00:40:32
A well-exposed and composed image for mid-day. Adding just a bit of foreground helps provide depth to the image, and not included much sky was a good choice. The saturation added to the image, but retained the natural look which for me is good. The mountain did look a little over sharpened to me, but it could be my screen. I would consider a subtle vignette too. Posted: 09/04/2020 11:25:52
Trying to capture a landscape in mid day light is generally does not yield a dramatic impactful image. The addition of the blank blue sky also limits impact. What you have is a solid image of the mountain.
Perhaps by selecting the sky and then darkening it and adding a darker GND filter across the bottom where the plants are visible would bring more attention to the mountain and also a bit of drama.
Michael also has a good idea in adding a bit of a vignette. The goal is to break up the vastness of the even light. Posted: 09/04/2020 14:48:19
Perhaps by selecting the sky and then darkening it and adding a darker GND filter across the bottom where the plants are visible would bring more attention to the mountain and also a bit of drama.
Michael also has a good idea in adding a bit of a vignette. The goal is to break up the vastness of the even light. Posted: 09/04/2020 14:48:19
I agree that shooting in midday is hard to produce a winning photo. You've done a nice job of bringing out the colors in both the sky and the main subject. Adding a little vignette is a good idea. Posted: 09/05/2020 17:17:56
Good result from a midday image. You might consider cropping out more of the sky, since it does not really hold a lot of interest, and the canyon wall is really the subject. Posted: 09/14/2020 23:08:59
Sometimes you just have to go with what you have to work with! Your processing has brightened it up and sharpened it. Maybe crop out some of the sky to bring the focus on the mountain. Posted: 09/21/2020 10:25:07