FRamed by boulders

[Anette Mossbacher]

Used 1 D Mk III
no filter
sun just hitting the horizon

ISO 100
Lens 28mm
f/22 0.3sec

PS Levels, Saturation, Curves and NIK Software used to fiddle around :e3
What I'd like to know how to get the sunlight hitting the boulders and wall in front of the house more smooth and not such a hard light.
I took Brightness and Contrast off in Vervezia, but to me still appears a bit "harsh"
Is there any way to get that a bit softer ?
Would highly appreciate some help in this and if you find more I can improve in this image, please do. I am keen to learn more.
Thanks a lot :bg3:

Anette

[Markus Jais]

Cool house! Beautiful shot with great light and wonderful composition. I like the reflection and the simple but wonderful sky.

Markus

[Anette Mossbacher]

Hi Markus,

thank you very much :bg3:

Ciao
Anette

[Morkel Erasmus]

Looks like a nice place Anette. I like the amount of sky you left on top, and the reflection is sweet.
The highlights look fine to me, but you could try a multiplied luminosity layer - see Robert Amoruso's sticky thread at the top of the Landscapes section for a tutorial! :S3:

[Robert Amoruso]

Anette,

Morkel is referring to the following method I use a lot. I downloaded your image and tried it (opacity set at 60% - last step of Blending Mode adjustment below) and liked the result. Give it a try (below).

I agree, well composed and I would not have the sky any other way - that blue is perfect.

Up to you, but I might consider cloning out the car in the image.



These links go to my tutorials.

Go to http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=20434 to see my Image Contrast and Tonal Range Tweaks, Part 1.

Go to http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?p=161168 to see my Image Contrast and Tonal Range Tweaks, Part 2.


Look at blending modes in the first link and highlight selection in link 2 using method 2 (CTRL Key and double click on the RGB channels pallet will make same selection in current versions of PS).

Highlight selection:

1) Channels palette.
2) Ctrl key and click the RGB channel. Photoshop will now create a feathered selection around highlight pixels in the image. Photoshop has selected pixels based on how bright they are. Pure white pixels are selected 100%. Pure black pixels are not selected and pixels falling in-between those two extremes are selected based on a percentage of how close they are to white.

Blending Mode Adjustment:

1) Go back to layer palette - you will see selection.
2) Create BG copy.
3) Create mask on the BG copy from the selection.
4) Selection is grayscale shaded.
5) Change blending mode to Multiply.
6) Adjust opacity.

[Grady Weed]

Anette,

The deep blue sky is what drew me into this image in the first place. It gives the rest of the image something to anchor to and gives the rock house something to give it perspective, a big house with big sky, space. The reflection is a nice bonus. It makes the scene not so big. As for the harsh light, Roberts suggestions above will help. You have a keen eye to bring this to us via photography. Thanks for sharing it with us.

[Anette Mossbacher]

Hi Robert, Morkel and Grady,

Thank you very much for your help, suggestions and the kind words.
Cleaned the cars, there have been two. They have been hard to see in this small image. Followed your suggestions for the highlights and it looks now so much better. :bg3:
I like the sky as well very much and never thought of changing that at any time.
Thank you so much for your help in this I highly appreciate it. :bg3:

Ciao
Anette

PS Grady, many thanks for the compliment, gives me a boost :tinysmile_shy_t:

[Mark Wiseman]

Hi Anette,
I like the simplicity of your image and the composition. Robert always has good suggestions which will add to the image.
Best wishes and good light,
Mark.