looking East..

[Don Railton]

Hi guys,
A view looking east from my new back yard.. it can get very moody with fog in the valley some days and often lights up nicely in the late afternoon light. This day was hazy and i liked the light...

Canon 1d4 & 500f4 +1.4 tc (wanted compression) sitting on a 5 series gitzo.
1/320 sec at F14 ISO 160. Not sure i needed F14 at that distance..
Processed in ACR and then converted to B&W in Silver effects. A bit of local levels adjustment in CS6. Sky cropped out to 16:9 aspect, full width.

Feel free to tell me what you think...

DON

[Adhika Lie]

The layering here is very interesting, Don, not only in depth but also in tonality. A patch of brighter spot on the second layer closest to us right on the center, not sure if this is in the scene or a local brush adjustment.

[Don Railton]

Hi Adhika

Thanks for commenting... All the tonal adjustments have been done globally, with a slight vignette added and a graduated mask from the top down to pull back the sky a little. the patch you refer to has not been touched. The compression from the tele lens helps with developing these tonal gradients, the closest layer is about 400 meters from the camera while the shed mid frame is about 5 KM away. the most distant layer is ~ 15km away..

Don

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi Don...I like the B&W look to this scene and the layering too. The main tree that rises up the highest in the foreground is a bit distracting for me. I am wondering if you could shoot this scene with a shorter focal length so that the foreground trees do not dominate the foreground quite as much.

[Don Lacy]

Hi Don, If I am honest this one falls a little short I find the large foreground tree distracting and dominating the frame

[Don Railton]

Hi Andrew & Don.

Most appreciate the honest comments, if they are not honest then don't bother i think. I now see and agree that this tree is a bit of a barrier to the eye flowing through the image. Unfortunately its going to be difficult to get enough elevation to shoot over this tree from this spot (maybe if I clamber onto the roof..), and I am not sure shorter glass will help Andrew.. The good news is that the lighting conditions here seem to happen fairly regularly (again this morning in fact..), I just need to find another spot on a hill with a cleaner FG and get out of bed in time... Hill should be possible, not convinced about the other..

regards to you both

DON R