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View Full Version : Blustery day on Lake Monroe, near Bloomington, IN



massimomossi
02-11-2009, 08:30 PM
I took this today: the weather has been unstable, going from -5 in the mornings last week to a balmy 50s this week. I was out looking for eagles, but there was a 50 mph wind blowing across the frozen lake, and nothing was moving or showing.

The clouds were spectacular, and the light kept changing from deep shadow to brilliant, almost harsh, sun. Caught this as mixes of rain, clouds, and blue sky raced each other. 10 minutes later, it was deep dark, and tornado conditions were reported throughout our region. And through all this, the lake is frozen. I wish I could record the effect of sub-ice waves rolling the thawing surface--it's spell-binding to watch.

Lake Monroe is just outside Bloomington, IN, about 60 miles S of Indy, for those who do not reside in the Mid-West.

Olympus SP-570UZ, ISO 64, 4.6 mm, f5.6, 1/640 sec; no adjustments made to exposure. Camera set on "landscape" mode. Minimal post-editing. Not cropped.

By the way--I sought and kept the slight "fish-eye" effect on the far shore: the very slight scoop matches the more prominent scoop of the lower shore, and everything around here is so flat and straight that a bit of curving seems like a big thrill. BUT--please let me know if you think it's a bad idea.

Thanks in advance for your advice, as always,

Massimo

Robert Amoruso
02-11-2009, 09:02 PM
Massimo,

Overall, I like the composition. My only suggest is the the small puff of cloud along the top should be cropped out or cloned out. In the bottom, I would have like to see a bit more of the beach to better ground the curve of the shoreline.

I reposted a version using a reverse s-curve to lower contrast. I then used selective color and added black to the white, black and neutral channels to give it some punch. The saturation boost was not corrected but can be lower if you so desire. Note the additional detail on the shore and BG trees. Shadows are not as deep or black. Differences are subtle but when i toggle them on and off in PSCS3, I can see a big difference.

Reverse S-Curve here: http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=20434

Roman Kurywczak
02-12-2009, 09:25 PM
Hey Massimo,
robert's lowering of the contrast seemed to work nicely. Landscapes are tough in the "flat" areas of the US........that's why I head west! I am debating the curve..........but do agree that it does accentuate the curve of the shore. Now.....if you had gotten out there for the brilliant sunrise colors.......that may even help a flat landscape significantly.....Robert is well aware of that in Florida..........that's why his seascapes have very dramatic lighting! This looks to be a good location to re-visit for sunrise or sunset.