The photographer has shared comprehensive information about their intent and creative vision for this image. Please examine the details and offer feedback on how they can most effectively realize their vision.
Self Critique
I like the light on the sand on this side of the storm. The rain tracks and forms of the clouds are fun as well. I would have kept the full frame view save for all the footprints in the foreground. Footprints are long-lived on these gypsum sands.
Creative direction
Hoping for a bit of awesome natural grandeur in this photograph. It’s not nearly as good in color.
Specific Feedback
Any suggestions, comments, helpful criticisms are welcome.
Technical Details
Handheld Canon R5, EF 16-35 f/4 @ 16mm on RF adapter, f/8 @ 1/1250, EC -.067, ISO 100. Processed in Dx0 PL 9, ACR and Photoshop. I find Dx0 gives more control over highlights, ACR is for dodging and burning basics, Photoshop for final tweaks.
Description
I had hiked up to the top of one of the sand dunes when I saw this storm rolling over the San Andres Mountains. I did include the foreground area with all the footprints in case I could find the time to remove them. This was shot in 2021 before all of the new retouching options were available. I liked the crop better anyway so saved all the work.
Critique Template
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Hi Fred - Nice photograph and I like the crop. I also like the lighting on the sand. However, when I first saw the photograph my eye immediately gravitates to the clouds and the light in the clouds rather than the ground. Is that your intent?
Based on your answer I might make different updates post processing to the photograph. At a minimum, it looks like the edges of the clouds are quite sharp - especially in the upper left corner. That may be a result of sharp contrast. I would suggest working through making the clouds a bit more nature, more fluffy and watch the whites in the clouds.
Hi @Fred_Lord,
The sky in this is amazing. I love the Ansel-dark sky and the wild cloud formations. Like @stephen_rauch, I’m not drawn as much to the foreground, but I think you can direct us there more with a graduated filter mask, brightening and adding texture there.
I only say this as that’s what you said you were drawn to in the scene. That said, the clouds are enough to hold the whole image for me.
ML
I’m a sucker for high contrast black and white scenes, especially when they include dramatic skies like this. If it were mine, I’d push the highlights at the edges of the clouds much brighter so they had more presence against the dark sky. I’d also be tempted to do a little dodging and burning of the light shafts hitting the dunes. I use Nik Color Efex Pro on most of my b&w images because the Tonal Contrast adjustment makes it really easy to add localized contrast in highlight, midtones and shadows w/ minimal work, and the effect is striking. All told, I really like this image.
The high contrast B&W treatment of this photo gives the already impressive storm some extra power. It is a striking photograph. I don’t know if the foreground would help accentuate the poser of the storm or take away from it, but given that you have better cloning tools now, it might be worth the effort to remove the footprints and see.
@Youssef_Ismail Thank you for the kind words of encouragement. I sat down and started to clean up the footprints but the texture of the gypsum sand is quite challenging to replicate. I may try other software solutions.
Thank you. The upper left area was harshly lit by the sun. The storm crossing over the San Andres Mountains was the subject in my mind. The sand had good tones to complement the wild ragged cloud forms. I have toned it down a bit in the next version posted in a later reply.
I’m a sucker for these sort of photographs as well. You’ll see that in postings to come. I have altered the photograph in several ways per various suggestions. Dodging and burning mostly.
Nice job on the newer version. I agree with @Bret_Edge about the sun rays. In addition, I much appreciate the larger size to enjoy the small details in such a broad scene.
Thank you to everyone for your comments and suggestions. It’s good to read other viewpoints. You are all helping my growth and keeping me invested in the world of photography.
A very impressive, explosive image. The b&w rendering conveys much of its power. To my eye the darker parts of the clouds in the upper left seem too dark and hurts the composition somewhat. Actually the central interest is the light fan-like cloud in upper center and the left clouds sort of drag you away from that. There is a sort of vortex look to the clouds. Perhaps by lighting the mentioned clouds you could emphasize that. I’m not sure how difficult it is to do that. The rich tonal quality is marvelous to behold right now and it would be a crime to diminish that with over processing.
@Igor_Doncov Thank you for the lovely description. Nature is impressive and the difficulty is always simply conveying the power that is intrinsic there. It’s always difficult to determine where to stop and tinkering with the photograph could go on for a very long time. I did burn in the upper left area a bit in response to an earlier suggestion. I may have gone too far. I’ll go back and assess it.
