Mountain sunset

[EOSThree]

Grabbed this on the way home from Talkeetna a couple of weeks ago.

[xystren]

I really like the composition and the subject matter, but I do find the colors to be a bit on the flat/washed out.

I think a bit of a level adjustment of the would really help bring out some of the colors, make the peaks pop and bring out some of the detail within the water.

Regardless, I really like the subject. It reminds me how much I miss the mountains and wilderness.

[mjs1973]

EOS,

I too think this is a great scene, but it looks a little flat to me. I played around with this with the Photomatix Tone Mapping filter in PS and then added a curves layer to the image and it really brought out some nice colors and textures in the trees and mountains. If you would like to see it let me know if it's OK to post it.

[LeeIs]

Hey beautiful scene, i agree though that it lacks contrast ( i.e flat)

[EOSThree]

EOS,

I too think this is a great scene, but it looks a little flat to me. I played around with this with the Photomatix Tone Mapping filter in PS and then added a curves layer to the image and it really brought out some nice colors and textures in the trees and mountains. If you would like to see it let me know if it's OK to post it.

Yeah let me see it!

[nonfeel]

Really good

[EOSThree]

I made a small contrast adjustment, maybe my monitor needs calibrating again. It seems to lose a little something here from what it looks like on Lightroom. When I view it on LR it almost looks clownish to me. Now that it's posted, it looks very similar to the original.

[xystren]

Yeah let me see it!

Is it ok if I have a go at it also?

[EOSThree]

Is it ok if I have a go at it also?

sure, but you have to tell me what you did....

[xystren]

sure, but you have to tell me what you did....

I have two school of thoughts on this one..

In the attachments, the first image is the original levels histogram, followed by the adjusted image with the level adjustments I made (just a mid-tone adjustment to .90)

For the other thought (my personal preference but others often disagree) is a bit darker and contrasty. I just adjusted the black, white, and mid-tones as shown by the last levels picture. This one I find tend to be significantly less washed out, shows a lot more of the shadow details and I find the summit pops a bit more than before. After looking at it after the upload, it might be a bit too contrasty so one might want to back off a bit on the black adjustment.

So those would be the couple adjustments I would make.

[caleb]

what a difference!

[mjs1973]

Yeah let me see it!

OK, here is what I came up with. I did this a couple days ago so here is what I remember doing.

I started out creating a duplicate background layer. On that duplicate layer I ran the Photomatix Tone Mapping filter. This filter is a plug in I used through Photoshop, not the stand alone Photomatix program. I believe the settings shown in the screen shot are the same as what I used. This made the sky very gray so I added a layer mask to the tone mapped layer and used a gradient fill to bring the blue from your original back into the photo. My next step was to add a curves adjustment layer. I used 'auto' and liked the way it added a little more blue to the sky so I left it. It also added a bit of a blue cast to the entire image and made the peaks a little blown out so I used another gradient fill and masked out everything except the sky.

This may have a little bit too much yellow in it but I think it adds to an early morning feel. I'm sure it could easily be taken out with a simple adjustment layer.

[GB1]

This is the type of sharpness and detail I strive for EOS. The detail on the trees is very good. I would sharpen just a little more since it is all there. I agree that it's ever-so-slightly flat, but it's hard to say that the other edits are exactly 'right' either. I actually like Mike's image in the "Tone Mapping 1.2" window the best

The composition is OK, but the asymmetry of the lake seems a little out of place with the rest. I tried a crop and think it looks totally different w/o the water (not really better, just different).

-G

[EOSThree]

This is the type of sharpness and detail I strive for EOS. The detail on the trees is very good. I would sharpen just a little more since it is all there. I agree that it's ever-so-slightly flat, but it's hard to say that the other edits are exactly 'right' either. I actually like Mike's image in the "Tone Mapping 1.2" window the best

The composition is OK, but the asymmetry of the lake seems a little out of place with the rest. I tried a crop and think it looks totally different w/o the water (not really better, just different).

-G

I find Mike's version to be a little(maybe a lot)on the clownish side, that is not at all what the real scene looked like in my minds eye. I find the sky to be too blue, and too light for the time of day. I find the trees too yellow, and maybe a little too much color and contrast in the mountains. I think my version is a little on the flat side though too, but I am always afraid of over cooking it. I have seen a lot of photos that are just outside of what anything in nature looks like.

Marc Adamus is the artist I would like to emulate, but I don't have nearly the time to capture what he does, nor the patience or skill to process the way he does. I am usually looking for the quick fix and I am fortunate to have a decent eye and the ability to afford really nice equipment.

I actually shoot very little. I think I took less than 50 photographs all day on this particular day. That is usually my mode. I won't take a photo unless I think it will be "worth" taking. I think some of this may come from me starting in film. I was also corrupted early on by a lab when that processed some pros film. I asked him if there were a lot of throw aways on the pros roll and he told me that I'd be surprised at how many keepers there were there.

I know better now, I think, but I can't shake the philosophy of being very efficient with my camera. This was actually a grab shot as I was driving back home and the sky finally cleared enough for some good light. This is not a lake but the Chulitina river, the sun was providing some awesome light and when I crossed the Chulitna I looked upriver and saw this scene. I stopped and popped off about 6 frames. I started the day trying to get Denali over the Susitna river in Talkeetna, but the big mountain never came out until after 1 am. Well after I was on my way home and well after most of the light was gone. I did have an awesome cheeseburger at the West Rib restaurant in Talkeetna though.

[EOSThree]

Here's my overcooked version. It certainly has a bit of a wow factor, but it feels like too much to me.