Mark Metternich Offline Upload & Sell: On
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Thanks everyone for the excellent feedback! I appreciate it.
LSExplorer wrote:
Hey Mark,
Great capture: composition, cloud pattern, sunstar, and gooseneck-river foreground. Have been enjoying viewing your image.
I do have two comments for this image.
1. The lower left lit bank seems to be distractive to me from the eye focus point - sunstar. Don't know if darken it a bit would help.
2 The image was taken at dusk/dawn. The clouds seem to be quite neutral color-wise (mostly white colored). Was this what you witnessed?
Thanks.
Thank you for the feedback here. I appreciate it.
I had a feeling some might think the bottom left corner might be a little distracting. I can certainly see the rationale as to why. But having said that, I like the light hitting there, so was ok with leaving it not burned down unnaturally low. Not arguing with anyone here about that. It might be better burned. So I'll put up a version here with that a bit more tame. But I think I am preferring the original...
Yes, the sky was pretty much as seen here. But I am not a literalist so I don't mind shifting things to look better. And I do see the sky goes from warm (yellow) on the horizon line to a slight shift toward a hint of Magenta as it reaches what is nearly straight up with the 11mm. So I could definitely see rendering the sky at the top of the frame a bit more toward warm (yellow) for consistency's sake. Attached is a revision that evens out the color balance there a little bit more.
Good eye and thank you for the feedback!
przero wrote:
Where in CNP? Needles or Island in the Sky?
For better or worse (hopefully better) it is my general policy to not give out location information on forums or social media out of concern for conserving these places as much as possible (within the framework of being a full time photographer...). On the other hand, if you message me personally I can give you some logistics if you want... Thank you for your understanding.
Dave Dillemuth wrote:
Hey Mark,
This is superb. Love the perspective the 11mm is giving here. Not a big issue but I agree with LS on trying to burn down/de-sat the LLC.
Sounds like you had a good reminder. S*** happens - need to maintain a healthy respect in the backcountry. especially when traveling solo...
Thanks very much Dave. I appreciate your feedback. And yes, I mentioned my stupid mistake because I want others to not make the same one! I was very ill and it scared me a bit (and rightly so). I barely made it out of there. I was in a rush and forgot one of the most basic and most important desert rules...
BRING ELECTROLYTES!!!
Or a supplement like this (firefighters swear by this):Endurolytes
And if one does not know what that means please inquire! At least bring Gatorade! Also, a Satellite phone would have been a great idea too, just in case! The desert is not something to mess with! And as I said above, I'll never make that mistake again! I hope others don't to begin with.
JimFox wrote:
Hey Mark,
A lot of potential here, but it is not working for me. A couple reasons.
1. The ground layer is too dark, it would have been brighter. The gooseneck is the main point of the image and it's hard to see.
2. The lower left being lit up is real distracting. Perhaps if there had been some brush there or something, that would work. But not just some plain old dirt. This really pulls the eye away.
3. The sunstar does not look real, it is too perfect and ends up looking fake.
I think you need to spend a bit more time on this one.
Jim...Show more →
Thank you Jim, I always appreciate your honesty and feedback. Always one to give it straight. It is helpful.
My thoughts:
On my monitor the ground layer seems in check, luminance wise. I am on a Mac 27 inch Thunderbolt calibrated to 130CD (brightness) and a Macbook Pro at the same luminance, which is pretty much the accepted industry standard today for luminance and I feel if it was any brighter below, it would look unnatural and kind of HDR to me. So, I am cool with where it is. But I'll boost up the land on the revision here by 10pts for those who would like it brighter...
I do completely get you on why some would/will take issue with the lower left corner. I had the feeling some would feel that way. I, on the other hand, like how the yellow light is hitting the rocks far down in the canyon. So, I agree with your feedback (and the others) in that I see a solid argument for burning it down there more, but that is simply a taste thing for me.
As far as the sun star looking too perfect or fake. It is real. I'm not sure what I could do to it to make it look more "real." Maybe shot it at a different time when the sun was not cutting though... I also would say it is not my favorite sunstar I have ever shot... In fact I have never been a big sunstar fan anyways... So, I get you there. I knew this image would very likely bring up some issues with people (I am surprised no one has mentioned how 50/50 it is, yet - or that the sky could be slightly sharper, or how the sunstar is not entirely clean from a touch of dust on my lens) but for some reason, I just like the image and thought it worth sharing even with its various imperfections.
Below is a revised version with the sky color balance equalized more, the sky a hair more sharp, lower left corner burned down a bit, land up 10pts in the darks and the light end of levels adjusted slightly brighter (10 pts).
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