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Charissa
03-06-2010, 06:59 AM
http://i45.tinypic.com/6p4u3l.jpg
Still trying to find my way around landscape shots, and to get it just right. This is 2 images blended together, and a bit of PP work with levels etc. Any help and crits will be appreciated.:)
Canon 50D, f13, ISO 100, One photo taken at 1/40sec, other 1/100 sec. Both on tripod, at 10mm.
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Robert Amoruso
03-06-2010, 08:39 AM
Charissa,

Welcome to BPN and the Landscape Forum.

Your image has nice lines that lead from the FG to the BG - the rocks, the grass, the trees are all forming diagonal lines of sight that guide the viewer's eye - well done on the comp. I see some distortion in the trees most likely caused by a tilted wide-angle. DOepth of Field looks good though the very front rocks appear a bit soft.

The clouds are very dynamic whcih I like. You have a few hot spots in them that looked over processed and clipping.


In the future, please post the equipment used and the exposure as this all has a bearing on the critique and suggestions we make. Also, and of course this is up to you, I would recommend not using a border. It takes up space on the image that can give us a larger view of it and is a distraction when critiquing.

Looking forward to more images from you.

Charissa
03-06-2010, 04:59 PM
http://i50.tinypic.com/6z7s47.jpg
Thanks Robert, for the comments and tips. I sharpened a bit, did some level and contrast adjustments, and removed the frame. Would u say this is an improvement? I don,t know how to remove the clipping, blown out whites in the clouds, any suggestions?

Harold Davis
03-06-2010, 07:36 PM
the rocks in the repost look a lot better. may be borderline oversharpened. the sky is so nice here that i want to see more!! love how the rocks push your eyes right through the center of the image. nice job!!

Roman Kurywczak
03-06-2010, 08:56 PM
Hi Charissa,
Agree with both Robert's and Harold assesment. Nice composition and strong clouds. A bit of PP'ing tweaks and this will bring it to its full potential.

Julie Kenward
03-07-2010, 08:18 AM
Charissa, this is a beautiful landscape. For the clouds, it's always best to try to correct them in camera and then, if you have to, in camera raw, but...as a last result, try this:

Click on the clone tool, set it to 20-30% opacity and "darken" and then use the colors from the clouds to clone over the hot spots. You might have to adjust the settings a bit - sometimes you only need 10% opacity and sometimes "normal" works better than "darken" but give it a try and see what you think.

Charissa
03-07-2010, 01:48 PM
Thank u all for all the help, and positive crits. I already look at some of the photos in a different way. Will do the clone stamp idea, thanks Julie.
Roman, what would u suggest i pp?

Rob Miner
03-07-2010, 06:42 PM
Charissa, One time, before this forum, I had a senic picture that I really wanted to save. That picture suffered from the same problems as your picture. My cure was to go outside and shoot a sky that was totally over cast. I made sure taking this picture that I didn't blow the highlights. I combined the two photos in Photoshop and corrected the white outs with a 5% brush by painting only the hot spots. It may not of been kosher, but it worked for me.

Rob...............

Charissa
03-08-2010, 06:54 AM
Thanks Rob, will have to wait for overcast skies.

Morkel Erasmus
03-10-2010, 08:10 AM
welcome here Charissa! you will learn a lot from the talented people on this forum. I suggest going through Robert's tutorials ASAP. this is a great shot and the repost rocks, except for the blown clouds which have been covered in other suggestions. I usually try to blend them back in from an underexposed shot (if it's a blend) where the clouds aren't blown out (I use masking for this).

keep them coming!

Charissa
03-10-2010, 02:05 PM
Thanks Morkel, hope to learn a lot here. Will look around for Roberts tuts. The masking thing is above my ability with photoshop at this stage. Can u point me in the general direction of some tuts on the web, or be so kind as to pm me with a bit more detail? Thanks again, appreciate.

Robert Amoruso
03-10-2010, 02:34 PM
Thanks Morkel, hope to learn a lot here. Will look around for Roberts tuts. The masking thing is above my ability with photoshop at this stage. Can u point me in the general direction of some tuts on the web, or be so kind as to pm me with a bit more detail? Thanks again, appreciate.

Charissa, you can find them here.

1) Go to http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=20434

For Reverse S-Curve, Shadows/Highlights, Local Contrast Enhancement (LCE), Blending Mode and Selective Color.

2) Go to http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?p=161168.

For Selecting Highlights and Shadows and Gradient Masks

I like the repost and the lack of frame really makes the image stand out. A good way to handle the highlights in the clouds is during conversion in Photoshop from RAW to TIF or PSD, you are using Adobe Camera RAW (ACR or Camera Raw). In ACR is a slider called recovery. Hold down the ALT key (CMD on Macs) and put the slider right. You will see the screen do black except for the blown highlights. Pull right until the colors disappear.

Charissa
03-10-2010, 03:20 PM
Thanks Robert, for the help and info.