A flashback from Horseshoe Bay

[Seb]

I originally submitted this one uncropped, in color last autumn. Then, Steph_B suggested a panoramic crop in b&w which I found highly interesting. Months passed but I finally decided to do the post processing. Overlay seems to be the key to get the kind of sky I always tried to get unsuccessfully in the past.

Seb

[Knight]

Great shot Seb , i think the sky is the high point of this photo the way they kinda blend right into the mountains. Well captured moment

[almo]

I originally submitted this one uncropped, in color last autumn. Then, Steph_B suggested a panoramic crop in b&w which I found highly interesting. Months passed but I finally decided to do the post processing. Overlay seems to be the key to get the kind of sky I always tried to get unsuccessfully in the past.

Seb

Seb, this is breathtakingly beautiful. A great use of B&W for a landscape aswell. Actually I am a lil' surpriesd because I don't have a crit for this> I pretty well like it as is. Nice shot dude!

[2kids2shoot]

Seb - nice photo. I love the clouds and the balance of sky and water. Nice use of B&W. What may be missing is some interest in the middle of the photo?

What do you mean by overlay?

[DownByFive]

Nicely done Seb. I always have a hard time choosing when to use b&w...but you chose the perfect shot for it.

[FallingLeaves]

A lovely image that works well for me in b/w. I get a sense of flow from the water and the clouds.

[Roy Latham]

The panoramic crop works great, and the sky is rendered very well. I think it would have worked better in subtle color rather than B&W. That might add a little more interest without destroying the atmosphere. Great shot though.

[gahspidy]

Seb, nice mood in this one. You did well. As for the sky, overlay is good, but multiply rules.
Good work

[Bajan]

Love the pic, exhibition quality. I'm in a B&W mode right now and find this to be an excellent pic. Was it taken from land or a boat?

[Seb]

I originally submitted this one uncropped, in color last autumn. Then, Steph_B suggested a panoramic crop in b&w which I found highly interesting. Months passed but I finally decided to do the post processing. Overlay seems to be the key to get the kind of sky I always tried to get unsuccessfully in the past.

Seb

Hi all,

Thanks for the great comments!

2k2s: To answer to your question, I created a duplicate layer of the file which I have set to the "overlay" mode with an opacity of nearly 50% for the sky (I erased the layer over the water and the land). Now, this is something new for me but moreover, it amplify the darkers areas, depth and texture to give the clouds some more visual impact.

regards

Seb

edit: Good god Gary! The effect of a multiply duplicate layer is spectacular!!! This have to be one of the most valuable PS trick that I have learned in a long time. Thanks!

[2kids2shoot]

ooh you guys are talkin' PS beyond my comprehension. I'm with you on the overlay layer. So does 'multiply' work kind of like overlay except you can you apply a gain factor to multiply the overlay effect?

[Seb]

ooh you guys are talkin' PS beyond my comprehension. I'm with you on the overlay layer. So does 'multiply' work kind of like overlay except you can you apply a gain factor to multiply the overlay effect?

Actually, the duplicate layer is something I am totally new with. Gary or others members would certainly be more able to answer you here.

Nevertheless, to sum things up (as far as I know...) the duplicate layer may be set in various modes in order to achieve different effects. Each modes are independents and can be used alone or in various combination by superposing different duplicate layers set to different modes.

I couldn't exactly tell you the exact effect of the multiply mode. From what I have seen, it appears to accentuate the brigther and darkers areas of an image in a way of its own (different from anything I usually use in Photoshop).

Hope that it helps to some extends...

here is a (very) quick edit where I have applied a multiply layer over the sky. It may give you a better understanding of the actual effect.

Seb

[mattp]

Just wanted to to add my praise - lovely shot Seb

matt

[Steph_B]

I really like the work you did on the sky. It brings out so much of the atmosphere and moodiness of this place when bad weather hits. The clouds are well defined and the pic is tack sharp. I particularly like the treeline, as it breaks the overall smoothness of the other shapes.

For a time, I was considering suggesting you to remove the man-made construction which pops up in the middle of the frame (probably some type of beacon). However, the fact that it does not merge with the horizon line makes it less of a problem. It might even add an additional element which anchors the viewer's attention to the middle of the frame.

Good job. Definitely sticky-worthy!

Cheers,

Steph.

[2kids2shoot]

wow, that's dramatic!

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction on mulitply. I'll play with that some later...

[OldSchool]

Hi Seb,

I keep coming back to this one. I haven't commented because I really don't have much to add. I do, however, think its a very handsome image. I love the drama.
Tim

[jar_e]

Your sky in the bottom picture is amazing. Just perfect, wonderful in black and white and just stunning scenary. Some subject in the foreground would be nice, but this shot is great.

Nice shooting,

Jared

[Seb]

Thanks for the good words guys!

I am amazed to see what the duplicate layer can do. I have faced so many situations were I thought that the sky was hopeless but I was possibly wrong....

Seb

[MTBsSd]

dang, that's a really nice pic. Only thing about it is that I'm left wanting to see more on either side... almost like it's not complete

[Seb]

dang, that's a really nice pic. Only thing about it is that I'm left wanting to see more on either side... almost like it's not complete

Thanks for your comment MTBsSd!

It's always great to be able to count on various people opinion. Unfortunatelly, I have shot only one frame here (I was awfully low in memory card at that point....) so I don't have anything else to submit. I agree that seeing even more would be interesting.

Beside, I notice that you are new here so welcome aboard!

SEb