From almost the top of a mountain

JimMcClain · Jun 14, 2014

Been absent for a week or so, been busy with other stuff, but I've also tried to spend more time getting used to my camera and learning a little about Lightroom 5. Took my car, with Segway in back, from 3,500 ft elevation to over 7,000' because there was a cloud bank coming in and it was close to sunset. I didn't realize just how thin the air is up there, so I was nearly gasping for breath most of the time (emphysema).

Although I was unable to make it to sunset, I got a couple pictures I wanted to ask for critique on. I'm not enamored with the composition - I would have liked to change positions a few times, but just couldn't manage it. I am more interested in what you might suggest for better exposure (I did take 3 different exposures of both of these, but the other 2 were either over or under exposed). The one with a bit of the lake was difficult because the lake is in shade most of the day. There was also a haze over the whole area. I used a polarizing filter to darken the sky some, but maybe I should have used a different kind of filter.

Let me know what you think I can do differently in any similar situations (besides staying at lower elevations and waiting a bit longer for the sun).

Jim

colnago1331 · Jun 14, 2014

Jim,

It's the difference in luminance (I think that's the right term) that's killing you. The sky is inherently bright and the ground, well, not so much. The filter you could definitely benefit from in a situation like this is a graduated neutral density filter (a "grad nd" for short). A grad nd will allow you to darken the top half of an image (assuming you use it perfectly level, which you don't have to do) while also keeping the bottom half light. You can also "fake" a grad nd in Photoshop and Photoshop elements using layer masks. I did a quick example of this on your first photo.

JimMcClain · Jun 14, 2014

Thanks, colnago1331. I should have noted in my first post that my post processing is done with Lightroom 5 and PaintShop Pro X6. LR has a graduated filter feature and I used it on the first image above (as well as the second), but I only used one layer. The image below is not the same image redone, but one I took at almost a stop more exposure (2/3 more, to be precise). I then did 2 layers of ND and also used the adjustment brush to add a little warmth to the hills at mid-point. I also think the exposure on the foreground trees is better in this image.

snerd · Jun 14, 2014

I have also gone out many times, too early, and not made it to the sunset times I went for. My back is my problem. That last edit looks pretty good, but someone more experienced can tell you more.