Morning Light

[CLKunst]

Comments and Critiques Welcomed - Suggestions cheerfully explored.

My photo of the day from this morning. I wanted it to be dark but not a total silhouette, how does it look to you?

[daq7]

Not a bad shot. The colors are nice. For me this shot is begging for some sort of tone mapping treatment. But the exposure is pretty good the way it is. Maybe one stop brighter...

[Herriot]

I think you have a good result and can see why you wanted to keep this dark but wish that the foreground was either a bit lighter or much darker, the hint of detail that I can make out (allbeit on a bad screen at the moment) doesn't help as it is in my opinion. The cloud cutting the scene into almost perfect thirds couldn't be better!

[gahspidy]

I agree, this looks good dark and mysterious,. i like the softness and smoothness of the gradients in the subtle colors and tones. The light is very nice. My only nit would be wanting the steeple moved away from the edge of the frame just a bit. A little too close, but not a deal breaker.

[Shebang]

This is a really cool shot with a great story. Warning! Religion is off limits, so If you are offended by religion - stop reading...........


It is a church, so obviously that sets the stage for the story sparked for me by this photo. The mountaintop with the sunrays in the distance breaking through the clouds inspire hope. The three gutters in the dark foreground tell the tale of misery and woe. The steeple (or "church") is on a plane between the two. So, Is this church one of those where real hope is found? Or is it just another "gutter" all dressed up and yet waiting to drain you of the last bit of hope you have?

My technical nitpick would be the top is a little crowded and I would like just a tiny, tiny bit more gradiated light on the bottom third.

For me, it's a very powerful photo! Another great job, CLK!!

[EOSThree]

This one bothers me in the same way that GB1's lighthouse photo does. The foreground is black, and the subject is dark. I want more detail and I'm straining to see it. I know you were going for a mood here, and dark early morning is a great subject. I have struggled with this same thing, and have yet to capture what my mind is envisioning.

[CLKunst]

Not a bad shot. The colors are nice. For me this shot is begging for some sort of tone mapping treatment. But the exposure is pretty good the way it is. Maybe one stop brighter...

Hi Daq thanks for your comment. I'll be honest and admit I have never even looked into tone mapping at any level so I know very little about it. What I've seen is interesting but to me feels a bit like walking around with X-ray vision and I don't always want to see underneath those shadows. Does that make sense?

[CLKunst]

I think you have a good result and can see why you wanted to keep this dark but wish that the foreground was either a bit lighter or much darker, the hint of detail that I can make out (allbeit on a bad screen at the moment) doesn't help as it is in my opinion. The cloud cutting the scene into almost perfect thirds couldn't be better!

This is the fence I'm sitting on, do the details add? Thank you Herriot you helped me make up my mind. The almost black silhouette of the steeple and the contrasting light on the ridge are what I like most about this image.

[CLKunst]

I agree, this looks good dark and mysterious,. i like the softness and smoothness of the gradients in the subtle colors and tones. The light is very nice. My only nit would be wanting the steeple moved away from the edge of the frame just a bit. A little too close, but not a deal breaker.

I wondered about that too. I'm always pushing the edges of the frame, I guess I just like to play it close. This was actually my second shot. Here are the only 3 I did that morning unedited except for logo, straight out of the camera (apologies for the dust, I need to clean my lens):

It is a church, so obviously that sets the stage for the story sparked for me by this photo. The mountaintop with the sunrays in the distance breaking through the clouds inspire hope. The three gutters in the dark foreground tell the tale of misery and woe. The steeple (or "church") is on a plane between the two. So, Is this church one of those where real hope is found? Or is it just another "gutter" all dressed up and yet waiting to drain you of the last bit of hope you have?

Wow Paula! You must have had your x-ray goggles to see the gutters! I have to put my nose practically to the screen to see the third one. :thumbsup: This is the church across the street from my house and we walk past it every morning on the way to school. The middle plane of this picture is usually very cluttered; there's a trailer park, lots of antennas, so many distractions that take away from all that pretty light on the mountain. I felt the steeple made a nice balance to the shot and gave the light more story impact so I 'm glad you see one there. I'm always curious to hear what sparks in someone else's head from looking at a picture I made.

This one bothers me in the same way that GB1's lighthouse photo does. The foreground is black, and the subject is dark. I want more detail and I'm straining to see it. I know you were going for a mood here, and dark early morning is a great subject. I have struggled with this same thing, and have yet to capture what my mind is envisioning.

I know how you feel EOS it's definitely a tightrope but in this case the shadows are doing a good job at hiding the junk. If it were clean green rolling hills between the church and the mountain I'd do it but the silhouette is doing it's job here, being a frame for the light. As for the pro who said no to black in the foreground, I think he's missing out on half the cool pictures in the world but that's just my opinion.

[Shebang]

Must be the difference in our monitors? I'm not having any trouble seeing all three - not too bright - but plenty visible.

[MarcusK]

Wow... ok... to add to what's been said...

1- I do prefer your crop to the original, but a little, a tad a smidgen more breathing room would do good.

2- While more detail on the steeple is welcome, the detail in the gutter does get you straining to see something that is of no consequence. So away with the bottom detail...

3- The image (first one posted) has a slight tilt to the left... slight but there...

Otherwise, the mood is there, and I pretty much love the composition and overall theme...

Nice shot!!

[CLKunst]

Thanks for the great input Marcus!

Paula, It's true I haven't calibrated my monitor for a while, I'll have to check it.
Those gutters weren't supposed to be that apparent.

Here's a final edit:

[armando_m]

I like the first shot, and this last one too, it is certainly better
with more room to the right, higher contrast and more color saturation

[Shebang]

Ahh, last one is it - very dramatic!!