Bart Carrig wrote:
Geoffrey: Great job, looks like you took everything into consideration and came up with a real beauty, all in a very short time. Your persistence paid off. And whether or not the "other guy" got another shot on his way down, my guess is he would still be happy that you did so well. We've all been on every end of that equation: enduring the wait and the bugs; getting "skunked", leaving and missing something great; staying and getting nothing; staying and getting a reward like this. Sounds to me as though you were appropriate in every respect, and you had the skill to pull out his beauty in challenging conditions and with little time to spare.
This is a case where an image blend of different exposures might have worked better than using a grad. Grads are a commitment. The two stands of trees, left and right are vastly different looking because the left group was caught in the grad. This is a classic and instantly recognizable problem, where the grad transition is straight but the image skyline is not. Can probably still be corrected with dual processing and image blending of the same original frame.
Meadow flowers, a lake, and snow capped Mts, add to that a sunset, what could one ask for more.. You did this beautiful Vista justice. Exacuted superbly !!!
This is a case where an image blend of different exposures might have worked better than using a grad. Grads are a commitment. The two stands of trees, left and right are vastly different looking because the left group was caught in the grad. This is a classic and instantly recognizable problem, where the grad transition is straight but the image skyline is not. Can probably still be corrected with dual processing and image blending of the same original frame.
Thanks, Jeffrey. But actually, the left trees are dark because that area was simply darker/shaded more, grad or not.
Perhaps so, I wasn't there. But the difference between the two groups is startling. A tad more local contrast on the right group would help this fine image.
Agreed. I noticed the same on my first go-round at processing this image, and did some work in that area, but I'm sure I could do more. Flare on the right side helped to wash out a lot of contrast there.
I went back to the drawing board. Critique I received (and I'm thankful for that!) was that the left side of this photograph was not in balance with the right in terms of exposure values. The trees on the left were in deep shadow with no detail, mostly due to the fact they were just dark and in shadow, partly to the effects of the edge of a grad filter. So, I went against what nature provided and attempted to even out the exposure in post. Never been good at this when there is a huge dark/light edge contrast, I often introduce haloes or a general "foggy" appearance that I usually hate. That said, by bringing in a lighter exposure and blending for the darks on the left, and adding more contrast on the right, I may have helped it, or I might have made it far worse.
