Badlands PArk in Orange County CA. Please critique

[MikeFlorendo]

I was trying to capture the coast with the trail as if you were walking the trails. The clouds were extra fluffy and I was attempting to convey that with the sun throwing color on them. I may have made the temp to cool for some but let me know what you think? I sat in the same spot playing with camera setting adjusting f stop and ISO to try and learn what works best.


1/400 sec, f13 and ISO 1600

Thanks-

 

[Ec1981]

Wonderful photo! I think the colors are amazing

 

[mmaria]

too cool and too saturated for me, but that's jmo

 

[IzzieK]

I like the cool look and the composition...a bit soft but it is OK for someone experimentng...

 

[MikeFlorendo]

IzzeiK thanks for the comment but being new to photography what does "soft" mean? Thanks-

 

[afoto]

Hey Mike, watch out for the haloing along the top of that little mountain in the middle, that is often a sign of over proccessing.
You chose a nice time to shoot though, those clouds are great.

 

[MikeFlorendo]

Thanks afoot. Good eye I will look out for that when doing my PP. Very constructive critique and extremely helpful.

 

[MikeFlorendo]

afoot, I backed off on some of the photos retouch but I feel the sun area is blown out. Not sure how to fix it in LR. I like the sun reflection in the water but can't get it without it appearing over processed? Check out what I did with it and the last is untouched. On the untouched what setting could I have changed to get better color and less PP? Thanks.

 

[afoto]

Hey Mike,

it is very tough in situations like this get all the dynamic range, shooting straight into the sun your always going to have problems with blown out highlights.
There are a couple of ways to deal with this issue.
- HDR or custom blending multiple exposures is one option.
- and my personal fave.. use some graduated filters!

If your new to filters I've got a couple posts on my blog about good ways to use them here:

How Filters Work: A Video | Abbye Dahl

Graduated ND Filters: Vancouver fine art photography | Abbye Dahl

My filters | Abbye Dahl

 

[MikeFlorendo]

Thank you very much afoot. Seriously a big help. I bought a B & W 10 stop ND filter today on ebay. I can't afford the graduated filter yet since I want to buy the slide in ones so I can adjust it. I have not done any HDR work yet but I will try it eventually. I used the graduated filter in LR but I guess it's not the same as having it on your lens. I will check out your blog. Thanks again-