Michele Borgarelli  


Castiglione Falletto, Piedmont, Italy by Michele Borgarelli

September 2023 - Castiglione Falletto, Piedmont, Italy

September 2023 - Michele Borgarelli

Original

About the Image(s)


Background: Castiglione Falletto is one of the many little villages of the Langhe in Piedmont, Italy. This geographical area is famous for the wine (Barolo and Barbaresco among the most famous) and the birth of the “slow food” movement. The geographical area is characterized by hills and vineyards. At the top of almost each of this hill you can find a medieval village and Castiglione Falletto is one of those.

Taking the image: I took one day to drive slowly in the area that I know well because we have a house close by and we spent a lot of time there before moving to US. The image was taken around 3 pm. This is an hour of the day when landscape photography is discouraged because the light is too hard. However, in this case there were some clouds because of an approaching storm, I thought I had to catch this scenery that is so representative of the area.
Nikon Z-7ii, with Nikkor Z 24-120mm f/4s at 66 mm, f/11, 1/80 sec, ISO 64 with a circular polarizer. The scenery was difficult to capture considering the time of the day. As usual I have exposed for the highlight since with the Z series shadows can be recovered easy up to 4-5 stops and there is no need to take HDR series.

Post processing: as usual I post process all my images with Capture one. After cropping the image 16:9 I have decreased the highlights and the white to increase contrast in the sky and open shadows and blacks. I also have slightly increase contrast, clarity and dehaze. I have added some structure for the details. I then applied a selective layer for the sky and adjust the white balance and add some more contrast. Finally, I took the liberty to clone out the house on the left of the image since it created some distraction to my eyes. I understand this can be considered unacceptable for many, but to me this does not take away anything from the image and still provide an accurate representation of the landscape.


13 comments posted




Tom Buckard   Tom Buckard
Beautiful image Michele. Went on Google Earth and found very close to where I think you shot this image. Yours is rich in color and the one one google earth is parched and dry, possibly a different time of the year. Your image has perfect tonality and the lighting definitely accentuates the mood of wine country. Would love to know what the tower is on high ground.   Posted: 09/04/2023 18:14:38
Michele Borgarelli   Michele Borgarelli
Thank you Tom, for you kind words on my photo. Spring is definitively a good time to visit the area. The tower is part of castle. Each of these villages were owned by landlords fighting often each others or facing invasion (e.g. the French), so all these villages had their own defense system.

Best wishes

Michele   Posted: 09/06/2023 12:06:44
Tom Buckard   Tom Buckard
Very interesting! Would love to explore if it was allowed. Imagine the history.   Posted: 09/06/2023 12:44:19



Nigel Dalton   Nigel Dalton
Lovely part of the world Michele. The clouds with the purple/grey toning in look very menacing. I think I would have lost the treetops in the foreground, they don't add much to the image, but the 16:9 crop suits the subject matter very well. I like the way the light shines off the land directly below the village.   Posted: 09/06/2023 09:08:45
Michele Borgarelli   Michele Borgarelli
Nigel,

thank you for sharing your thoughts on this photo. I see your point regarding the treetops on the foreground. I have tried to crop the image in a different way (see the attachment), however, in this version in my opinion there is too much sky and the image becomes almost split 50/50 and not sure this is better.

best

Michele   Posted: 09/06/2023 12:14:28
Comment Image



Ted Newman   Ted Newman
beautiful and powerful image.   Posted: 09/06/2023 11:28:55
Michele Borgarelli   Michele Borgarelli
Thank you Ted

best wishes

Michele   Posted: 09/06/2023 12:14:44



Theresa Rice   Theresa Rice
I definitely prefer the version with less sky and I agree with your decision to remove the other house. In my opinion the only time there's anything wrong with removing a distraction is when the photo is being submitted to a contest (like the travel division in PSA's interclub competition) that doesn't allow it.
I like your composition and way you processed it.   Posted: 09/06/2023 15:48:13
Michele Borgarelli   Michele Borgarelli
Hi Theresa, thank you for commenting on my photo and your kind words. Regarding removing the house I think this is allowed in the the digital section. It would not be permitted in the nature and travel section.

best wishes

Michele   Posted: 09/07/2023 04:48:41



John Zhu   John Zhu
I like your presented composition but with the original image sky color. It's a very power scenery.   Posted: 09/07/2023 18:27:14
Michele Borgarelli   Michele Borgarelli
Thank you John for taking the time to comment on my image and sharing your thoughts. I understand your preference for a cooler color of the sky.

best

Michele   Posted: 09/08/2023 05:00:19



Mike Patterson   Mike Patterson
I'm late to this rodeo, but agree with the other comments. Well done!   Posted: 09/11/2023 14:50:04
Michele Borgarelli   Michele Borgarelli
Thank you Mike!

Best

Michele   Posted: 09/16/2023 23:50:10



 

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