Morning at Arrowtown 2, New Zealand

[Jay Gould]

Our first morning on South Island we were definitely Wowed!! by the colors. This is the result of multiple blends from a single image.

Camera: 5D2
Capture date/time: 23/04/11; 0557
Light condition: overcast-sunrise
Lens: 70-200 f/2.8
Focal length: 70mm
Distance:
Extender: none
Tube: none
Flash/Comp: no;
ISO: 100
Exp Prog: Av
Speed: 0.8 sec
Aperture: f/25
Exp Comp: 0
Metering: Evaluative
WB: Auto
AF Drive: single shot
Tripod: yes
Filter: SR GNDs and RGNDs
Crop: minimal
Image Changes: lots!

Processed in LR3, CS5, Pixel Genius Sharpening, Tony Kuyper Actions.

All C&Cs gratefully appreciated!

[Dave Mills]

Hi Jay, I can tell that you studied the location and found an area that nicely framed the water. The tree on the rt acts as a good anchor.( might have given it just a bit more room from the edge) The open clouds give the early light an opportunity to bounce and you captured it well. You were also fortunate to capture the foliage in full color.
I felt the majority of the land area was a bit dark so I used S/H and a contrast adj to bring it up more. I thought the foliage might be a bit oversat but left it alone not being sure if the warm early light is creating that effect. The treelined base frames the image well. Some might want a bit more but I feel it's adequate.
Overall a compelling image...

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Jay,
I was going to suggest bringing up the FG a bit.....and I may be tempted to go even a bit more than Dave. As for the sky.....Dave tamed some of the highlights which was good but I also enjoy the darkness of the sky in your OP. Could go many ways with that. Minor tweaks to a nicely composed image!

[dankearl]

It certainly has interesting color.
I personally would tone down the reddish hue a bit.
I like the brighter foreground also and also agree with Roman about the dark clouds.
I like them.

[Robert Amoruso]

I agree with Dave on all points. Personally, I would have preferred more of the FG if it did not introduce some unwanted distraction.

And to reiterate Dave's comment, more room on right so as not to clip the tall tree would have been preferable.

I also agree with Dan's comment on desaturating red some.

[Jay Gould]

Hi and thanks everyone for the comments.

Keeping in mind that it was 6AM, while I agree with some lightening of the foreground, I would not go as far as Dave and I do feel there is now a reddish cast. For me, and I appreciate the RP as Dave has presented me with some options, the RP doesn't feel like 6AM; perhaps the beginning of dusk rather than dawn.

The RHS: I went back and looked at the unprocessed dng and the processed dng in LR before editing in PS. There is a bit more room on the right - just a bit so as not to clip the tree when I undo the lens correction. Applying the lens correction flattened/squared (?) the image a bit and resulted in the clipping.

Back to the drawing board and a RP to follow. :S3:

[Roger Clark]

Jay,

I like Dave's repost and I too would suggest lightening the distant vegetation more.

But let me ask, what is the focal point? It seems to me the trees framing the scene, the 1/3 line of the horizon, and the clouds into the distance are pointing to the vegetation on the far side of the river, but it is too dark there.

I also think the scene should have included more of the trees that are cut off on the bottom edge.

But overall, a beautiful sunrise.

Roger

[Jay Gould]

Jay,

I like Dave's repost and I too would suggest lightening the distant vegetation more.

But let me ask, what is the focal point? It seems to me the trees framing the scene, the 1/3 line of the horizon, and the clouds into the distance are pointing to the vegetation on the far side of the river, but it is too dark there.

I also think the scene should have included more of the trees that are cut off on the bottom edge.

But overall, a beautiful sunrise.

Roger

Hi Mate, interesting question - the focal point; not the point of focus.

Since you are my favorite resident scientist:


A focal point may mean:


Focus (optics) (https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Focus_%28optics%29), the point at which initially collimated rays of light meet after passing through a convex lens, or reflecting from a concave mirror.
In Fine Art (https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Fine_Art), a Focal Point focuses specifically on a point of interest which makes a canvas unique. (e.g. Girl with a Pearl Earring (https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Girl_with_a_Pearl_Earring) by Johannes Vermeer (https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Johannes_Vermeer)) https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Focal_point

At 6am the original RAW is, to say the least cool; because I light warm-hot-saturated colors I envisioned basically what I was able to digitally create.

There is no "focal point" in this image; the whole image is the story. This is not an image of leading lines towards a focal point in the mid-ground or background; nor is it an image anchored by a strong foreground object. It is the whole scene at 6am in Arrowtown.

I am going to do a RP; another image has a bit more on the bottom and RHS; less on the LHS and I am going to see if I can blend the two since they were not shot as a two-image pano.

[Morkel Erasmus]

Jay I love the autumn colours here, the drama in the sky and the depth.
I do think that the foreground is a weak point in the image for me. I hear what you're saying regarding it being a "total view" of the scene, but maybe it's just my personal tastes as I don't generally like landscape shots with "cut off" foregrounds like this with lots of protruding branches and stuff. I understand (and have been there myself) that sometimes this is the only "window" we get on a spectacular scene and have to make the best of it.

That being said - the overall light, details and depth cause the FG not to be a deal-breaker for me and I would have loved being there next to you trying my hand at this scene despite the shooting position :bg3:

[Harshad Barve]

This is one image which wants me to visit the place
TFS