A more traditional view of the hills near Yellow Mounds in the Badlands National Park. It was sprinkling rain here and there, a relative rarity in this part of South Dakota which is quite dry. I liked the deeper seam of green in the valley and tried using that as a throughline into the scene. The blue cloud layer completes the rainbow.
Specific Feedback Requested:
Ideas for improvement are welcome - I have a few other views of this area and this little valley as well.
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
Is this a composite? (focus stacks or exposure blends are not considered composites)
Tripod
Initial RAW processing in Lr included texture, clarity, sharpening & nr. Some curves adjustment, but I left it basically flat so I could do a lot of work in Photoshop. I used a variety of zone, luminosity and color masking to bring out the most in the contour of the hills. The light was flat, but the dynamic range still pretty wide so it needed some dimension added to it. At the end I applied a Saturation mask to even out the color levels and a slight vignette.
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Kris, this is sensational. The colors, the comp, the feel are all excellent. I think you captured the slightly wet scene perfectly. Kudos to your processing as well, subtle but effective.
My only comment is that you could lose about a third to half of the sky and have a nicely done pano. Although the negative space of the sky helps to ground theâŚwell, ground. So maybe the pano would give a very different feel. Either way, a winning image for sure,
A truly wonderful look at this unique area, Kris. The processing is excellent. I really like it as it is presented here, but can also see other crop options that David mentions too. Itâs really nice when there are other ideas to try with mere crops for different looks.
btw: whenever I see scenes from the Badlands I immediately think of an episode of âWild Americaâ with cinema photographer Marty Stouffer. He actually filmed the inside of a cave full of rattlesnakes in this area. Kept me awake for weeks after that showâŚ
Great looking image Kris. The greens, blues oranges and reds all works really well together in this one. You have been getting some terrific conditions on this trip and I love the soft textured clouds in your last 2 images. As I look at this Iâm drawn to the center of the image where all of the color is along with that nice curving line. I really like central part of the image and so I hope you donât mind, but I did a crop to remove both the right side and the left side and created a portrait. Not sure if it works or not. I think it needs more foreground in portrait mode. That said, there is nothing wrong with this image and I have actually love the sky the way it is.
Thanks @David_Bostock, @Paul_Breitkreuz, @Mario_Cornacchione & @David_Haynes - the options for compositions and crops are almost endless in this park. It really is amazing. I like the vertical and have a similar view shot that way - instead of just a seam in the valley, thereâs a nearly dried up stream, so maybe Iâll post that for comparison. Iâve included a cropped version in the OP for consideration. Glad the colors work for everyone. It really is very bright and saturated.
Get out there if you can, Mario. You wonât be disappointed. Landscapes, wildlife, details and macro - itâs all there!
The first has a much more expansive nice feel to it, the cropped version seems crampedâŚ
At first glance at the thumbnail I thought it was Iceland⌠The colors are great and you had a nice sky.
I think the lower part of the image could be sharpened a bit.
A fine and lovely landscape from the Badlands. I really like the variety of color displayed that includes the draw of the âseam of greensâ which works nicely pulling the viewer in and thru the scene. And although I wasnât standing there⌠it sure seems like youâve done the colors justice and your processing in general is spot on.
I do favor a crop - but not from the bottom. In fact I wish there was a tad more at the bottom. But some of the sky I think brings a better overall balance. But this is of course subjective. I like Mattâs idea of darkening the sky just a bit.
Thanks @Matt_Payne, @Jim_Gavin, @Lon_Overacker & @Dan_Kearl - Iâve played with it a bit more and put a 3rd image up. The sky was a bit I debated with myself over and didnât want to take things to far or make it look fake or overly dramatic. So let me know what you think.
In terms of sharpness - this was a lesson learned - the wind picked up and I neglected to hang my backpack from the tripod for ballast and it shows. Itâs a little soft. Itâs VERY windy here pretty much all the time, so I did start to anchor the tripod when I thought it would vibrate too much.
Kris: Iâm pretty late to this party but this brings back some good memories for me. I got to looking at my archives and canât believe itâs been over 15 years since I was there. Marvelous scene. My first impression was âtoo much skyâ and your final iteration checks all the boxes for me. Most excellent. >=))>
Iâm still catching up here after a busy spell. This is a fascinating view of what I would expect to be a very dry landscape. I think a squarish crop, in between @David_Haynesâ and your versions could be very interesting. His version jumped out at me as very dynamic, but felt a bit too tight on the sides.
Thanks @Bill_Fach & @Diane_Miller - amazing how when you see a picture of a place youâve been the memories come right back, even if itâs been a while.
Crops are endless here, but a 4:5 sort of ratio might be interesting as well. I can keep playing with it.
A very interesting landscape and a fine edit with some subtle color balancing. Love the colors, particularly the magenta-green contrast in the foreground to middle ground, with the richly textured ochres in-between. Very pleasing to the eye. V3 works best for me because I enjoy letting my eye start rolling down the grassy slope in the LLC to then come back around the undulating, colourful hillocks to the steep slope in the LRC, ending back in middle of the foreground and then on a straight line to the highest peak in the centre. Thatâs some distance travelled and every time I do it, I see a new detail. I also prefer the more dramatic, slightly bluish sky in V3. The separation of fertile land from the desert is very striking in this image - and a dry desert it is! One wouldnât want to spend too much time above the magenta line alone and without food and water Finally the mountains on the horizon are beautifully stark and impressive (I think I may see a slight white fringe around the 3 main peaks?)
That said, there is nothing wrong with this image and I have actually love the sky the way it is.
Finally the mountains on the horizon are beautifully stark and impressive (I think I may see a slight white fringe around the 3 main peaks?)