Magical Kalahari Cloudscape

[Morkel Erasmus]

Hi everyone. I created this 3-exposure HDR in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in South Africa. That morning the skies were very moody and I loved the effect the rising sun shining from the opposite end had on it.

3 exposures taken from car window beanbag and blended in Photomatix.

I went for simplicity in the composition.

Your feedback much appreciated as usual...

Techs:
Canon 40D with 100-400mm L IS USM @ 100mm
f5.6 @ ISO-400

[Lance Warley]

It's beautiful. Mission accomplished - beauty in simplicity, with a sky to die for.

The only suggestion I have is to see if you like it cropped into more of a pano...with a small amount off the bottom and then, crop off the top just above where the bright light stops. This seemed to make the sky light and cloud patterns pop even more.

[Dave Mills]

Hi Morkel, I think Lance gave some good suggestions. I tried them and liked the comp.

[Morkel Erasmus]

thanks Lance & Dave...

like this??

[Lance Warley]

Sweeeet!

Good job, Morkel.

[Dave Mills]

Very nice, Morkel!

[Andreas Freund]

Wow Morkel, what sky. It is really nice photo.

I think Lance is right. The second version looks even better!

[Fabs Forns]

Very peculiar cloud formation, funny, I'd crop exactly the opposite to your repost, taking away foreground and leaving the glorious sky.

[Morkel Erasmus]

thanks for the kind feedback Fabs, Andreas, Lance & Dave.

Fabs - I like your suggestion as well, so here is another version :)

[Fabs Forns]

Wow, fantastic!

[John Ippolito]

Morkel, your last repost nails it for me. Well done! Just making arrangements for KTFP.

[Morkel Erasmus]

thanks Fabs & John...

John - you won't regret it... :)

[Betsie Storm]

Morkel, Great image, all 3 versions, of my most favourite place on earth. Personally I prefer the pano crop. This image captures what the Kalahari is all about. I won't mind having it on my wall.

[Morkel Erasmus]

thanks for the kind words Betsie...

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Morkel,
Late to the party.....but will offer anothing thing to explore......I like both re-posts.....but prefer the less sky just slightly......so I got to thinking.....did you try pulling out some more detail in the sky?.......in my re-post I did a levels layer on the subtler whites as well as a bit of contrast layer boost......staying away from the brightest area. This did jack up the colors some (which I liked).....but I backed off the blues just to keep it closer to your. This brought out more detail in the gorgeous sky.....but not as subtle as the OP.....just more food for thought.
All in all well composed and the sky really makes this special.....so any crop works ......and it's a nice luxury to have. Very well done!

[Lance Warley]

Roman, how did you do your selection to get a layer of the subtler whites?

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Lance,
just the lasso tool on a good portion of the sky....diving in and out in between any of the brighter areas just above the bush..avoiding the area just above the grassline entirely ....then blurring the mask until it was gone. I then re-did the lasso (so as not to match exactly.....for the B/C......and again had to blur it.
Make sense?

[Lance Warley]

Sure. Just wondering if you had a secret sauce.

[Morkel Erasmus]

thanks Roman - I like the detail you extracted but not sure I understand your steps?
once you completed the first lasso - did you apply blur to the lasso'ed area or to a vector mask?

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Morkel,
Layer>new adjustment layer> levels....pulling in the white and black slider>filter blur gausian blur.....till edge is gone...same for B/C.

[Morkel Erasmus]

okay I was wondering if it was a levels adjustment layer - then the blurring makes sense :)

thanks

B/C ? :)

[Roman Kurywczak]

brightness/contrast

[Morkel Erasmus]

of course...:o
been a loooong day

[Trevor Hughes]

A beautiful sky and I think the simple composition helps keep focus on it. I prefer the panorama of the three, but all very good and purely down to personal preference.