I was surprised to see Chung Hu's photo pop up here lately of McWay falls. I recognized the sunset when I clicked on his thread. I was standing 50 feet to his right taking photos of one of the most spectacular sunsets I have ever witnessed. Foggy sunsets are something we don't see often up here in WA.
I realized my processing was way too bright after seeing his wonderful shot, so I decided to give mine another try. It's not often that you get such a perspective from other talented photographers. I'm often all alone for my pictures.
C&C welcome. I am still not very confident I have nailed this processing right or not. It's a very difficult scene to balance out.
Johan - the composition is lovely, and the second w/lower saturation is much improved. Now, if you could just fix the sun in the second to look like the first, it's too hot in the second one. Really love the ebb and flow of the water!
Johan - I agree with Jo. This image has a lot of potential, but not quite there yet. How about some highlight recovery for the sun, or something with a blend or HDR if you have an underexposed version. I'm a relative photoshop rookie, but I bet others here will help you get it where it deserves to be.
Dave
Thanks for the feedback, guys. I really appreciate it.
Would making the hot area too detailed and dark look fake? This is already more DR than my eyes could stand when I was there.
This photo has been tough because the sunset there was sooooo spectacular to witness in person. The smell and sound of the ocean. The heat and intensity of the setting Sun. The burn of poison oak rubbing your legs...
It is hard not to make the photograph too overdone when I have such a profound personal connection with the moment.
How cool that you were there too! That is one incredible sunset!!! Love the composition, but like the others it's that bottom layer of yellow along the horizon and the sun that seems too hot still and where detail is lost. Select the highlights in that area alone and pull back some detail and this puppy will be an award winner!
Johan, if you cut back on brightness and saturation, and leave some only on a horizon, grass and sunny spot on a rock near the fall, your landscape will turn into an eye candy. As of right now, it does not look realistic (at least, to me).
As about poison oak ... I prefer long pants for shooting among vegetation, but it's a matter of personal choice
alatoo60 wrote:
Johan, if you cut back on brightness and saturation, and leave some only on a horizon, grass and sunny spot on a rock near the fall, your landscape will turn into an eye candy. As of right now, it does not look realistic (at least, to me).
As about poison oak ... I prefer long pants for shooting among vegetation, but it's a matter of personal choice
I was joking about poison oak, although there was a branch 8 inches from me. Never did get it on me after a week of bush whacking way south of McWay Falls. That stuff really makes it hard or impossible to get some potentially epic shots.
I gave it another processing. I'll keep the levels and saturation where they are for now, as my primary concern is printing. My printing process loses light and saturation along the way, so I compensate for it.
While I enjoy the composition, the amazing foreground and the colors very much, the brightness of the sky takes me away from the shot. The area around the sun looks pretty fine but the upper part of the sky looks too bright for my taste.
Arnaud
May 18, 2012 at 04:10 PM
David Leask Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off
Great comp, love it. I would if it was mine bring down the brightness of the sky. I would then layer it and wipe the foreground and start over. Too many unnatural color there. This really has a lot of potential. Love to see it again after the work.
