Loch An Ais 01

[weepete]

-Tech Specs
Canon 5DmkIV with Canon 16-35mm f4L
1/15th sec f16, ISO100, 5 shot panorama

-Lighting
Shot just as rain clouds were moving over the hills and clearing from behind me at sunset

-Why did I take the shot?
I've seen a few spectacular sunrises and sunsets here but allways lacked the time to stop. The mountains are pretty iconic and with the light varing from the storm clouds combined with the sunset created an amazing backglow and combination of colour.

I've just re-calibrated my screen again so I really hope that it's kept the drama in the sky. It was looking a bit washed out on my phone, but has quite a bit of colour and contrast on my monitor.

Original:

42490 by weepete on ThePhotoForum: Film & Digital Photography Forum

New edit:
Lochan An Ais Sunset 01 by wee_pete, on Flickr

 

[Space Face]

You have certainly kept the drama in the sky. The foreground is a dark but I feel that makes the eye concentrate on the middle ground and the sky....................and no telegraph poles neither. Bonus

 

[weepete]

You have certainly kept the drama in the sky. The foreground is a dark but I feel that makes the eye concentrate on the middle ground ant the sky....................and no telegraph poles neither. Bonus

Thanks mate, spot on what I was going for here. It's all about the clouds, colour and the mountains. I did darken the foreground a little more in post, just because it was s much lighter on my phone but maybe I have taken that a bit far. Possibly need to trust my calibration more!

 

[Dean_Gretsch]

I can hear the pipes a'playing too. Very good. I really do like this one.

 

[dxqcanada]

This is better "balance" than your other image.
I agree that the foreground is too dark.
I suggest adding some more "punch" to the sky/background ... not sure what that would be exactly, but it seems too muted.

 

[bulldurham]

It is always important to understand that my edits are merely suggestions and never directives...

What I found was the foreground was way too dark and lacked a secondary focal point to the upper left bright sky

Next, there was not enough separation between the cloud masses

Then I saw too much blue in the sky

Then I added some boost to the lighter clouds to push them forward by selectig the sky and giving it a curves adjustment with only changing the blend mode to multiply +1 stop

Lastly, I selected the foreground and did several adjustment layers that 1: added one stop of light to the foreground to which I painted back some of the darkness

2:, I did an HSB concentrating on the yellow to brighten it significantly thus making the flowers a counterbalance to the upper left bright sky

All done in PS, in layers and layer masks and blend modes..

 

[weepete]

I can hear the pipes a'playing too. Very good. I really do like this one.

Thanks Dean, being there in person was phenomenal, even if I did forget the midgie repellant and was literally getting eaten alive for these shots. Scourge of the higlands indeed.

This is better "balance" than your other image.
I agree that the foreground is too dark.
I suggest adding some more "punch" to the sky/background ... not sure what that would be exactly, but it seems too muted.

Thanks dxqcanada, I'd be a bit concerned about pushing the sky more, I think I'll loose the subtlety if I take it further. I'll try and re-edit to lighten the foreground a bit, tried last night however I was sruggling getting the brush even so I'l need to re-work it somehow.

 

[weepete]

It is always important to understand that my edits are merely suggestions and never directives...

What I found was the foreground was way too dark and lacked a secondary focal point to the upper left bright sky

Next, there was not enough separation between the cloud masses

Then I saw too much blue in the sky

Then I added some boost to the lighter clouds to push them forward by selectig the sky and giving it a curves adjustment with only changing the blend mode to multiply +1 stop

Lastly, I selected the foreground and did several adjustment layers that 1: added one stop of light to the foreground to which I painted back some of the darkness

2:, I did an HSB concentrating on the yellow to brighten it significantly thus making the flowers a counterbalance to the upper left bright sky

All done in PS, in layers and layer masks and blend modes..

Thanks bulldurham! That edit looks great, I'll have a go at this myself and see if I can replicate what you've done here. Your help is very much appreciated!

 

[weepete]

I've now edited to to reflect the above comments by @bulldurham, @Space Face and @dxqcanada. Hopefully that'll be an improvement, thank you for the help guys

 

[dxqcanada]

Great job on the new edit.
The entire scene is much richer and eye wants to see the whole thing now.

too bad you did not leave the original for comparision

 

[bulldurham]

[/QUOTE]Thanks bulldurham! That edit looks great, I'll have a go at this myself and see if I can replicate what you've done here. Your help is very much appreciated![/QUOTE]

You've learned well, grasshopper

 

[weepete]

Great job on the new edit.
The entire scene is much richer and eye wants to see the whole thing now.

too bad you did not leave the original for comparision

Thanks, and good point. I've uploaded the original and put it in the first post for reference.

You've learned well, grasshopper

Thanks BD, glad you approve

 

[weepete]

@dxqcanada thanks for the POTM nomination!

 

[bulldurham]

Better than using the adjustment brush, do a magic wand selection and then the select and mask feature to get the tiny blades of grass and the reeds on the left. next make an adjustment layer using a curves adjustment and change the blend mode to "Screen." Then you can dodge using a black brush - I think I started at about 30% and worked up and down from there.