Drakensberg Stream

[Morkel Erasmus]

I have been applying some new workflow tweaks to enhance midtone contrast, based on a tutorial by the legendary (yet very young) South African pro landscape photographer Hougaard Malan.
You can read his tutorial on his new website here: http://www.hougaardmalan.com/blog/advanced-contrast-application/
Take some time to browse the site...the man has got serious talent. He also programmed some actions that you can download for free in exchange for a punt of his tutorial (kind of what I am doing now).
Be warned - you will want to brush up on his previous tutorials as well as Tony Kuyper's luminosity masks (www.goodlight.us) to make full use of these tweaks. :w3

This was shot in the Giant's Castle region of the South African Drakensberg mountains.

Techs:
Canon 7D with 10-22mm USM @ 10mm
f16 @ ISO-100
blend of 2 exposures

[Robert Amoruso]

I will come back to this again Morkel, but first thing I noticed was the bright vertical stick against the large FG rock - it draws my eye right in.

I would have removed it from the scene before exposure.

[Morkel Erasmus]

I should have mentioned the stick as a self-critique upfront, Robert :e3.
I will try and burn it in a bit in a repost...

[Robert Amoruso]

I should have mentioned the stick as a self-critique upfront, Robert :e3.
I will try and burn it in a bit in a repost... :t3

It is interesting that you brought up Hougaard Malan website and tutorial. I have been using Kuyper's luminosity masks for sometime (over three years now). I was searching to info over the weekend and ran into Malan's website and tutorial. Interesting and good stuff. I have not tried the actions yet.

Post the shutter speed(s) Morkel.

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi Morkel, thanks for the link. Great stuff, I will bookmark it for future reference. Quite like the comp here. the rocks look great in the river and nice sharpness throughout. Agree with Robert on the stick, look forward to the repost! :S3:

[Rachel Hollander]

Morkel - stick aside, I quite like this. I like the leading line created by the rocks and you can imagine someone hopping from rock to rock to cross the stream and then continuing on a path through the opening between the 2 slopes. Well seen and composed. Now, I have to check the link.

TFS,
Rachel

[Andrew Aveley]

Morks , I am sure Hougaard will approve of this punt :) Interesting thing this blending thing. May crack it one day :eek3:.....pity about that toothpic in FG as mentioned yet a pleasing comp. Razor sharp but think you have lost some of the silkiness of flow in water and rock area from this. Can you lessen it a bit and see if it is more subtle?. Awesome spot this and also a little further up the stream :w3

[Jay Gould]

Mate, the image is wonderful and the link to Hougaard is very helpful. TY!

I posted a TY on Hougaard website and acknowledge that I found him through your post.

[Morkel Erasmus]

Thanks for the kind feedback, folks.


:t3

It is interesting that you brought up Hougaard Malan website and tutorial. I have been using Kuyper's luminosity masks for sometime (over three years now). I was searching to info over the weekend and ran into Malan's website and tutorial. Interesting and good stuff. I have not tried the actions yet.

Post the shutter speed(s) Morkel.

2.5s, 10s for the 2 exposures :S3:

Here's the repost...burned the stick a bit and also dodged midtones on the stream...

[Jay Gould]

Morkel, since you are willing to burn the stick which, I am guessing, changes what you saw, is there a reason you are not simply removing the two sticks? They do not add to the story, and even burned as you have done they are a distraction. This is a beautiful image; if mine, this is what I would have done for a commercial presentation. Obviously "not" for a contest presentation. It seems to me that the story is moving the eye from the anchor boulders up through the beautiful stream to the sky where the hills come together and then up through the clouds to the high ridge on the LHS. In addition to removing the sticks, I also removed anything that caught my eye and detracted from the story. That included some tiny white spots in the low foreground and black dot above the RHS escarpment. Just another approach; what do you think?

[Morkel Erasmus]

Thanks for taking the time to work up a repost, Jay, looks good! I see a significant difference between burning and cloning for my personal workflow ethics, but I do value the improvements that can be made using these tools! :bg3:

[Jay Gould]

YAW! Curious, what if you burn it to the point that you cannot see it?