Death Valey hillside

This picture seems to have potential but I can't help the feeling that it's all out of whack. Maybe it's the tilting of the hill in contrast to the horizontal background and sky?

Thanks in advance for your comments.

GB

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Originally Posted by GB1

This picture seems to have potential but I can't help the feeling that it's all out of whack. Maybe it's the tilting of the hill in contrast to the horizontal background and sky?

Thanks in advance for your comments.

GB

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I think you nailed it on the head with the hill/sky issue. Though not only the slant issue, but also the vast change of colors and having no definte middleground adds for a weird perspective. I think ideally, you'd try to get ride of the mountain, or use it to fill more of the frame. It's right on the half and half stage right now!

Lovely area though,
Jared

GB:
I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of trying my hand at some editing in PS to help this. I really like the mood and colors, and I thought there might be a great shot in there.

I agree with Jared that the very dark middle ground is a problem. And overall, contrast was just too high, IMHO. So, with a little tweaking with Levels and Curves, I was able to reduce the contrast and lighten the photo throughout. This significantly increased the details across the scene and ties it all together better. I also used Selective Color to adjust the colors to try to bring back that late afternoon (or early morning) light that you captured.

Then I cropped slightly trying to lead the viewer more along the side of the hill rather than confuse him/her with that dark, far off mountain to the left. I also eliminated the very top of the sky and much of the very dark, lower right corner, both of which really didn't add anything to the composition.

I apologize in advance for editing your photo. I like it when folks do to my stuff, but I have never felt comfortable doing it to someone else's work. It's just that I saw so much potential that can be easily brought out in your photo. Anyway, I hope this gives you some ideas to play with, as I'm sure my attempts can be improved upon a great deal.

Paul

My first reaction for this photo was that I loved the clouds, but there was just so much other stuff drawing my attention away from them, and not leading to anything. Does that make any sense at all? I love the clouds, but there is just too much dark, empty space in the photo to keep my attention. I my second thought was that the large dard area in the middle needs some detail, and I think Paul's version helped opent the photo up, and gives the viewer much more to enjoy, than just the sky.

Paul, don't worry about editing the photos.. anyone that posts here should realize its a workbench, not a gallery.

Thanks for the excellant observations! I knew something was funny but didn't know how to express it -- the middle ground is almost black. Looks a little spooky, but even when corrected as in Paul's edit, it still leaves me wondering what the heck's going on (I guess the lack of a subject doesn't help). The clouds look interesting, and threatening.... I think this is the trip where a massive storm blew in and sent people's tents skipping down the road (not mine, luckily..), rain in DV, and clouds, is an unusual occurance btw.

Next time I'll bring a subject with me. Maybe a model, if I can convince one to ride out there. I was there once when three RVs were at this observation area (Zabriskie Point) doing a fashion shoot with this stuff as a background. Maybe I should have asked one of the models on break to pose?

Btw, here's a sneak peak of that model shoot

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GB1

This picture seems to have potential but I can't help the feeling that it's all out of whack. Maybe it's the tilting of the hill in contrast to the horizontal background and sky?

Thanks in advance for your comments.

GB

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I like it. I sorta feel like it needs a foreground object, but I struggle with landscapes.