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Mark Hopgood
04-28-2009, 09:44 PM
G'Day All

Just joined on a recommendation that this was the best photographic forum on the internet so here goes.

My first post, taken whilst hiking the W in Torres del Paine Dec 2008.

http://www.romarimages.com/ChileS1.jpg

Canon 5D
24-105@24mm
F8
1/8 sec
EV +.33
ISO 100

C&C welcome

Cheers

José Rodríguez
04-29-2009, 03:24 AM
Hi Mark! A big wellcome to BPN!
Just impressive first post. The clouds are the key to this composition IMO. Colour, textures and shapes on them are lovely. The mountains and the house compliment very well the scene.
I would like to see a little bit more of light in the first layer wich includes the house, but anyway a wonderful compo!

Jay Gould
04-29-2009, 04:25 AM
Just joined on a recommendation that this was the best photographic forum on the internet so here goes.

I told you so! :D

Welcome to the best forum on the internet.

Love the image; let me suggest the following as a question for you and others:

Would this have been a good opportunity to use a 1 or 2 stop GND filter to open up the foreground and maintain the clouds? I love the clouds; would like to see the area beneath the clouds opened up.

Cheers, Jay

Mark Hopgood
04-29-2009, 05:30 AM
Thanks for the comments.

I posted the same image on the fredmiranda web site and the foreground looks lighter against their darker background. My wife was convinced that I had posted different images.

My intention in processing this image was to have the clouds as the main focus. I lightened different elements of the foreground, however, it was never meant to compete with the main subject.

Another processing decision was whether to clone out the house, however I'll leave that for another time.

Steve Patterson
04-30-2009, 06:57 PM
Let me say first, the forum just became even better with that image. Very dramatic, beautiful colors. I don't mind the house at all, by the way. I think it adds to the photo, IMO. The clouds are so special, the house just adds scale.

Mark Hopgood
05-01-2009, 03:04 AM
Thanks Steve for the positive comment. I am not young and as I told my fellow travellers on the hike, I look at clouds for a living. I have never seen clouds like this. I am happy with the image as presented.

@ Jay A GRAD ND filter is straight and the horizon is not, therefore bracketed exposures would be more suited. My opinion only :)

The foreground was always meant to be understated, my vision only.

Roman Kurywczak
05-01-2009, 10:30 PM
Hey Mark,
Welcome tothe forum! I like the house as blance and scale and do agree with your wife that the FG needs a bit of lightening as presented. You got some wonderful colors in the sky....and a split ND 2 stop (although you said a similar post on another site looke lighter in the FG) may have further helped..........ineither case...just use a levels adjustment layer on the FG...from the evergreens on down.....and this will make for a very nice first post! Very well seen and composed!

Jay Gould
05-01-2009, 10:42 PM
Hey Mark,
Welcome tothe forum! I like the house as blance and scale and do agree with your wife that the FG needs a bit of lightening as presented. You got some wonderful colors in the sky....and a split ND 2 stop (although you said a similar post on another site looke lighter in the FG) may have further helped..........ineither case...just use a levels adjustment layer on the FG...from the evergreens on down.....and this will make for a very nice first post! Very well seen and composed!

Hi Roman, on what "line" would you have placed the ND given Mark's comment about straight lines?

Cheers, Jay

Mark Hopgood
05-02-2009, 11:01 PM
As requested here is a lighter FG.

http://romarimages.com/ChileS2.jpg

Jay Gould
05-02-2009, 11:08 PM
Hi Mark, while I like the repost a lot, it loses a "nighttime" quality. What time of day was the image made? The sky is still holding its blues. Cheers,

Edit: on second look I am seeing that the house is not really square. Is it my eyes?

Mark Hopgood
05-03-2009, 02:25 AM
Jay
It was 7:30PM and although the foreground was a little gloomy the sky was quite bright. If I liked the lighter version then I would most likely have to straighten the house, fortunately, I do not.

For this version only the FG has been lightened by curves and a mask, the sky remains the same.

Steve Patterson
05-03-2009, 07:57 AM
For me, the original is still the way to go. The dark fg doesn't bother me at all in this image. I think it just makes the sky look even more dramatic.

Roman Kurywczak
05-03-2009, 08:30 AM
Hi All,
Here is what I had in mind......the green line shows where I would start with the soft stop grad ND......then probably go lower......because the grad is very weak and soft at the lowest part....would probably be close to that area.
On the FG.....I adjusted midtones about 20pts and then boosted the contrast(as your FG in the re-post looked muddy). I also removed the area on the right.....you could probably burn it out......I used the patch tool.