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View Full Version : Drakensberg, looking at Lesotho



Douglas Bolt
07-10-2008, 09:22 PM
1DM2, 28-135 @ 41, f5.6, ISO 250, 1/800, FF, HH.

The amphitheater located in ZwaZulu Natal, South Africa.

David Steele
07-11-2008, 02:22 AM
This is good rendering a much photographed South African landcape. However, I find there is too much 'wasted space' and that everything is just a bit too centred and this makes me wonder if this wouldn't be better if presented as a panoramic. Also, the sunlit areas are a bit too bright for me . . . all of which has made me want to post a revised 'suggestion'. Hope you don't mind.

Douglas Bolt
07-11-2008, 07:41 AM
Yes, cropping out some blue sky did improve the image. Thanks for posting your revision. I don't mind at all. I was looking for suggestions. That's why I posted initially.

Robert Amoruso
07-11-2008, 11:15 AM
Douglas,

I like David's suggestions. I was going to suggest bringing down the BG brightness and upping the FG darkness. Cropping the FG certainly eliminates the "heaviness" in the FG, but a curves adjustment there would too. The FG is interesting with the leading line of the canyon.

In this thread I crop out some of the sky and balance the image out better. You original was in a RoT proportions with the peak in the middle as David mentioned. I leave that in the first repost. In this next thread is a crop with the peak near a RoT power point. I left the cropping grid on.

Curves adjustment as follows:

1) FG - pull mid-point up and left to brighten FG up. Mask out the sky and sunlit peaks.
2) BG - pull mid-point down and right to darken sky and sunlit peaks. Mask out the FG in shadow.

Robert Amoruso
07-11-2008, 11:16 AM
Second cropped version.

Douglas Bolt
07-11-2008, 02:15 PM
Hi Robert,

Thanks for your suggestions. I prefer the first crop. It seems to produce a much more balanced image. Also, the curves adjustment did a nice job, and what I wanted to do on the shadows in the foreground.

The second crop removes the streambed towards the lower left, which I think is useful in joining the foreground to the mountain on the right with an S shaped curve.

Roman Kurywczak
07-11-2008, 06:24 PM
Hi Douglas,
I feel the pano crop works the best. While the others gave a different view..........for me the Curves adjustment made to the pano crop ...........would turn out to be the strongest.

Paul Marcellini
07-11-2008, 09:25 PM
I really like Robert's processing and first crop. I don't mind the peak not on a power point. The flow of the image works for me. Very nice scene.