Looming storm in the desert

[GB1]

Taken out in Tucson not too long ago. A storm was looming in the background (it passed will only a sprinkle).

Ektachrome VS 100 ?

I like the pic, but can't help to think that it's missing something!

[opus]

the foreground has hard shadows so it's obvious the sun was out, but the foreground doesn't look sunny!

Hope you don't mind, I modified it in Photoshop using curves to bring out the contrast a bit more. This has a slight S-curve applied:

[2kids2shoot]

I think kellybean has the right idea. The sky is fantastic but the foregrount lacks pop.

[opus]

actually, I don't think mine made much of a difference. Maybe you should play with contrast, GB.

[Nina]

I really like your composition here and this shot has great potential. I do have to agree with Kelly in that colors are lacking.

[Chunk]

I like the overall shot with a lot of interesting detail in the foreground and a lot of sky detail.

I agree with Kelly that the foreground does not appear as sunny as it must have been and that prevents the dark clouds form feeling as ominous as they could. I think there's an overall bluish tone to the shot (Ectachrome used to be notorious for being cool colored). In this example I did a color balance on half of your original sliding away from blue and cyan by 10 points in all three (midtone, shadow, and highlight) areas. While this may not be the exact colors you want I think it brings out the difference between the foreground and the sky better. This adjustment, along with Kelly's curves suggestion would perk the shot up quite a bit.

[Knight]

How about bumping the contrast up just a bit ? Hope you dont mind i gave it a try , i may be way off here i dont know but it seems to give what is laking in this photo.

[Bajan]

I like the picture more when it has been bumped up, otherwise it appeared a bit drab, I love the composition though!

[GB1]

First of all, thanks for the Comments. Kelley/2Kids2Shoot, there were so many patchy clouds that day and it's possible that the sun was shining through in the background but not in the foreground. While that can make for an interesting photo, it can also cause funny exposure differences. Your change was quite small actually.. I like what you did for the foreground (I think the orig sky was better though - more dramatic). Nina, I'm now starting to think what the problem might be is that all the colors are in the same tonal range, making is seem blah. Knight, your edit sure made it look different. Chunk, I need to invest in PS one day (they have a student version, but even that's $300 - Ouch).

Bajan -Thanks: while it is interesting, it's starting to seem that the photo might cross the line into being 'busy.' This is Saguaro Nat Park in Tucson (east park) and they have a loop you drive around that must be 3-5 miles and invites us photogs to stop every 100 yards and shoot. It's really nice, but my only complaint is that is seems fake somehow, like they planted a bunch of stuff too grouped together. It's a little like someone who tries to squeeze in half the Amazon forest into a small backyard - just looks crowded.

[Mr Yuck]

cough* Fireworks *cough*
http://www.sprysoft.com/shop/page/sh...ord/macromedia
sorry... :P

I really like that shot, the edits of it are great, as is the original, I actually like how the flattish colors give it a gloomy look...or something like that.