Blyde after the Storm

[Rudi van den Heever]

I am a big fan of Silver Efex, but tried to work on my Lightroom skills... Conversion and all local and selective adjustments done in LR5, with minor adjustments to midtones in CS6...

Your input will be appreciated...

Canon 7D and 10-22mm lens at 22m
A blend of two exposures at F18 and ISO 100

[gail bisson]

Very unusual landscape and very dramatic clouds/mist. I like the diagonals lines and the straight waterway running vertically.
The eye is kept pleasantly busy looking and following the forms and shapes.
May I ask how you blend 2 exposures?
Gail

[Don Railton]

Hi Rudi

I am rubbish at B&W but I happy to comment... This is very dramatic countryside and the clouds provide a lot of moody atmosphere. Well captured, and a place I would surely love to visit. For me, the FG looks a bit too contrasty, not sure if its sharpening, or the b&W conversion and a see a bit of noise in the cloud (so maybe it is sharpening..?), but like I said, my B&W skills are a work in progress so 'a grain of salt' and all that...

DON

[Rudi van den Heever]

Thanks for the feedback guys! Gail, I used the blue channel luminosity mask method to blend the exposures. Don, yip, I might have to look at the sharpening of the clouds - I usually apply less sharpening to clouds, but I also think the added contrast to the clouds might play a role...

[Morkel Erasmus]

Nice mood here mate. As mentioned elsewhere - dodging midtones and highlights on the rock faces and highlights in the sky will add more pop and tonal contrast :bg3:

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi Rudi, I really am liking this image...very nicely composed...good suggestions by Morkel for the needed tweaks. Lovely!

[Rudi van den Heever]

Thanks Andrew... Will see what improvements I can achieve...

[Cheryl Slechta]

Hi, Rudi, I like the image in b&w and I'm sure the suggestions above will only make it better:S3: