Villages in the mist

[Jerry van Dijk]

Taken on a very hazy day from a 25m high viewing platform in the forest. I loved the impressionist atmosphere of the windmill and church emerging from the mist, as well as the layers of treelines. If you look closely, you see there's another windmill in the BG.
Nikon D7000, 200mm f/4 Micro Nikkor, resting on viewing platform railing, ISO 200, f/11, 1/800s.
ACR/CS6. Big crop. Slightly desaturated, increased clarity, sharpness, NR.
C&C very welcome.

[Don Railton]

Hi Jerry
A nice layered effect which along with the windmill and church make the image... No suggestions other than maybe try a full B&W??

DON

[Jerry van Dijk]

Thanks Don! I tried completely desaturating the image, but didn't like the result because most of the contrast disappeared too. I might have more succes with a proper BW conversion, which I'll definately try.

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi Jerry, I like the mist and the layering effect it has had. I would prefer it just a tiny bit darker overall. You mention that this is a big crop...I would prefer to see a foreground element to grab our attention, wouldn't mind seeing the original capture to see if other cropping opportunities exist. I do like Don's suggestion of a B&W conversion too.

[Diane Miller]

Very nice! I do think just slightly darker is worth considering.

[Jerry van Dijk]

Thanks Andrew and Diane! I'll have a look at darkening the image again. I actually made it a little lighter, because I thought the original was a bit too gloomy. I don't think there's something interesting as a leading element in the FG, just more layers of trees. I'll have a look whether there is a more expressed diagonal line to be found that can be used to lead the viewer into the image. I'll try and post the original crop tonight to get some suggestions.

[Katie Rupp]

Hi Jerry,

Lovely layers and although it is probably my monitor, I wonder if adding either a bit more contrast or making it slightly darker would boost the differentiation of layers.

Best,
Katie

[Jerry van Dijk]

Thanks everyone! Here's a reworked version, taking into account all comments. Andrew, there was nothing interesting to use as a FG, except some trees that were so close to my viewpoint, that the windmill and church became too small if I had brought those FG trees in the frame. However, I do see your point, in my view caused by a lot of empty space in the FG. To overcome that, I cropped off the bottom tree line to put more emphasize on the village itself.
I also made a BW conversion with the red filter preset in CS6, reduced exposure about half a stop and added a little more contrast by applying a levels adjustment, which indeed boosted the differentation between layers. You can now clearly see the second windmill in the BG! Curious to hear whether you think this is an improvement!

[Don Railton]

Hi jerry. I much prefer the second from a tonal range perspective, but I think I prefer the crop of the original.. The hazy sky I feel is important in the op to add the mood/ feeling. The tighter crop is forcing focus on items that are not that clear and disregarding the ambience... P


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Jerry van Dijk]

Thanks Don, very good point!

[Cheryl Slechta]

Hi, Jerry, I prefer the OP because I like the lighter version (very much more impressionistic) and also I prefer the crop.:S3:

[Valerio Tarone]

Jerry, at first I read everything not writing a word, but I was considering a darker version. Now I prefer it, the darker one. Nice layers, very moody.

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi Jerry, my preference is for the repost. I do think the pano crop helps to emphasize the village and my preference for these types of images is for them to be a little on the darker side...its a personal preference I guess. Nice repost!

[Jerry van Dijk]

Thanks everyone for the great input!

[Morkel Erasmus]

Late to this one, Jerry. I too prefer your repost for tonal range and contrast, I just couldn't make out what was actually going on in the OP.
On the whole, not an image I am crazy about. I think I'd go even starker with contrast - play around some more?

[Jerry van Dijk]

Thanks Morkel. I did play around more with tonal range and contrast, but with more contrast and tonal range the image is moving a way for the more impressionistic atmosphere I was aiming for, and going more towards a factual representation of the village. IMO such a version has too little appeal as a subject in itself and, as Don already noted, not a high enough IQ to be techniqually appealing too. After all, the image was taken with a relatively short lens, while the subject was a few kilometers away and there was lots of atmospheric distortion (apart from the mist). I still haven't replaced my long lens unfortunately, so for tele work I'm stuck with the 200 Micro.