After the storm

Image Critiques Landscape Critiques
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After the storm
After the storm2048×2048 1.36 MB

This is from Sabino Canyon AZ, one day after a rainstorm. The clouds were still very present, but some light was coming through. I was drawn to how the light was hitting this hillside.

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I did some contrast work, but overall I think it’s still fairly understated. Perhaps too much? After going through a period of going overboard with contrast I wonder if I’ve done to far in the other direction sometimes. In any event, this image isn’t about drama but more the calm after the storm.

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Hey Dean,
Loving the cactus!
for me this is a tough one as it seems there are elements competing for attention. The big bush lower left occupies a lot of space and I’m not sure its your subject per-se, while the light on the peaks seems like what you wanted to showcase the most, but its actually small. It feels a bit left heavy over-all. I would maybe darken the clouds up some too.

Also found a dust spot in there! =)

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Hi, Dean. Your image conveys the calm we experience right after a storm very well. I like the light in the center ridge toward the back as well as the light toward the front ridge. I think the right side has great contrast and gives me an excellent sense of depth in the image. I do agree with Matt about the tall grass on the left side. I would have probably done a different crop to reduce that and add more sky instead. I also think that the sense of depth I see in the overall photo would be even more accented if some burning could be added to a couple of sections of the hills on the left side right above the tall grass. This is a beautiful and serene landscape you capture. Was the square crop used to prevent distracting elements outside that area?

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That is a nice photo, Dean. It is a good example of using clouds for landscapes. The lighting came out pretty good. Looks pretty green out there, I have been there a million times hiking everywhere. I see what the others are saying about the bush on the lower left, not sure how it could be adjusted to keep the cactus in the background. That said I see what Matt is saying about the light on the mountains being the subject. One note about contrast, Curves work well in Photoshop or Lightroom by setting 2 points, one on the darker area and one on the brighter area. Then rase the curve up on the lighter area and lower it on the darker. That is only one way to get contrast. Again nice photo.

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Hi Dean, you have some really wonderful layers in this image and to me they tell a very powerful story. You have the dense bush, the sharp cacti, then the mountain and finally the dark stormy sky. Finally, on top of all that you have the wonderful light.

You say that the image is about the calm after a storm and I can see that because for me, the image is a story about the overcoming (represented by the light) the challenges and struggles in our lives (represented by the bush, cacti, mountain and storm clouds). So yeah, really well done!

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I agree with Matt that the giant bush is more blocking the view than a subject of interest. I would crop it out. To answer your question - there is plenty of contrast in this image. Both the sky and the shadows on the mountain provide good drama.

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Thank you, @Matt_Payne, @Egídio, @Dean_Salman, @Tom_Nevesely, and @Igor_Doncov. The image was taken as a vertical and I ended up cropping a fair amount of the sky. I settled on the square crop in an effort to have layers with the bushes, hills, and sky. But I get the observations about the lower left bush. I’ll try a different crop to eliminate that and include more of the sky. Thank you @Matt_Payne for catching the dust spot!

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Hi Dean,

I can relate to that very thing, most of us probably go through phases like that.

The hardest thing for me is trying to replicate what I see in person.
I’ve shot hundreds of sunsets and sunrises over the last 40+ years and none of them come close to showing what I actually saw with my eyes. Almost every time I think “Wow”, what a beautiful scene!, and then be disappointed when I viewed that shot on my computer or in a print.

The overall feel of this image says: The storm is on it’s way with the dark and heavy looking clouds and it may have already rained but it appears that more is on the way. I do find it calming though because those clouds don’t look dangerous, just slightly ominous.

I’m not bothered by the bush in the FG and this may sound contradictory but some scenes (like this one) can have more than one element as the focal point, the bush mixed in with the cactus are part of the scene IMHO because there’s continuity between the bush and the cactus in the FG and all the way though to the cactus on the mountain. I would probably feel different if the bush were seemingly “Disconnected” from the other FG elements.
Some scenes of say: A powerful early sunrise across foggy water should be “The” main focal point (for example) and other competing elements should be eliminated from the composition.

I don’t really get the since of out of balance but that’s just me I suppose.

I’m at a cross roads myself and I find myself shifting to micro adjustments, meaning I want to add saturation, dodge & burn, etc. on each element individually in a scene rather than global treatments or masks of large areas.

My critique isn’t about what I think your image should be but rather how can I help you achieve what you want it to be.

In the edit below, I lowered the luminosity in the bushes because they seem to be a little too bright. Then I darkened the shadowed areas on the mountain, lightened and slightly saturated the lit up areas, then added a bit of saturation to the orange/brown rocks to make them stand out a bit more and finally darkened the clouds a bit.

Maybe a bit of individual element adjustments is what you’re after?

It’s just a thought and hopefully an approach that helps you to get what you want.
Hopefully you can get it closer to what you experienced in person.

After The Storm - Dean Royer
After The Storm - Dean Royer2048×2048 1.28 MB

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Thank you, @Merv, for your thoughtful input. A lot to consider and much appreciated. I’ll give this image another go with your suggestions in mind.

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