This is another cloudy sunset image from Glacier national park. That evening was spectacular so I have no objectivity about how well the image works for someone else. The As Shot white balance was very warm with a slight greenish tint. I moved the colors towards magenta which is the way I remember it. I might have overdone it, but every time I try warmer more yellowish colors, I seem to prefer the magenta. Let me know if that seems too much and of course if there are any other changes that would improve the image.
Hi Jim. Love the scene, and the colors work ok for me. The extreme dark lower left and to a lesser degree upper left nags me a bit to think about a crop.
Beyond the white balance, about all I did to this image was to use the burn tool to darken the bottom and top and very slightly on the sides to provide a vignette or border. It seems like my "enhancement" is the part that does not work for you.
Camperjim wrote:
Beyond the white balance, about all I did to this image was to use the burn tool to darken the bottom and top and very slightly on the sides to provide a vignette or border. It seems like my "enhancement" is the part that does not work for you.
As you say, a matter of taste. I am not a fan of vignette I work to eliminate it in the taking and never add it.
Ben, we are just a couple of old fashioned dinosaurs. I know your goal is through-the-picture-window clarity and realism. I rarely do much except very basic processing. I just looked at the current edition of Outdoor Photographer magazine. They presented the winners and mentions for the 2012 landscape competition. The winning image was actually a fairly natural looking landscape of the tetons with great spring flowers in the foreground. Almost all the other images were highly processed with colors that would only be realistic on another planet in the solar system or beyond. I don't think I aspire to reach that level of pumped up processing, but I do want to learn how to bring back the impact that I remember when viewing the scene. I think I will reprocess this image and see if I even have the skills to add a bit more pop.
Jo, I don't think I sharpened this at all. In any case there is considerable potential to bring more attention to the mountains. I was actually thinking of going the other direction; i.e., darkening the mountains and placing more emphasis on the clouds.
I am posting another version of this image. I remember an impressive scene with clouds swirling around the mountain top and sunset colors. Hopefully this second version has a bit more pop and comes closer to what I remember.
More pop which I like, and now I dont like the vignette in the LLC. I agree many landscapes these days, especially on the landscape forum, gravitate towards super-saturation.
Like Jo, I think you need to do some sharpening of the mountain. Especially since it is dead center and the eye is brought there, framed beautifully by the soft clouds and gentle colors.
Scott
Jim, I felt just like you when reading the last issue of OP. I submitted two images to that Competition, I knew I had no chance, seeing the winner confirmed why. Too much processing.
I like your second version better, but might consider cropping some of the top and some of the bottom and going to a more panoramic aspect. The clouds at the top have nice color, but not much texture, especially on the the left side. But that is just my take on it.
