What technical feedback would you like if any?
Any processing glitches visible (unaligned layers? spots?)
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
Is this balanced? I have done at least 4 iterations of this, initially going for the more dramatic approach with the dunes darker. The sky seemed too light, though, so I then darkened it. That didn’t work because it was just too much yellow. So, I’m back to more or less subtle. I’ve toned the dunes to be more of a shade similar to the distant hills (they originally were more gray), thinking that would pull it together more. Any comments on the foregoing (or anything else) are welcome.
Edited: Posting edited version per @Ed_McGuirk’s great suggestion. Definitely more interesting light and contrast now.
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
Composite of two images - one for the sky, one for the land. f/16, ISO 800, sky - 1/80s, land - 1/15s.
You may only download this image to demonstrate post-processing techniques.!
Edited:
Original
Bonnie, the soft type of light you get at this time of day is best served by a more subtle processing approach. So I think you made a good call in taking that route. I like the composition you used, the “flow” of dunes does a great job of leading the eye from left to right. I do like the soft yellow color you used in the sky as well, it looks very natural, and not over-saturated. overall i think this is a very effective image.
If you wanted to play with color a little bit for creative effect, one possibility would be to cool the shadows, and warm up the highlights on the land (leave the sky alone). This would create some color contrast. Here is an effort at doing this in a subtle way.
Thanks, @Ed_McGuirk. I actually had cooled the dunes down, but hadn’t considered warming the highlights on them. Good idea. Will give it a go.
Bonnie,
Love the dunes - the light, subtle color and especially the arrangement of alternating dunes and the gentle, but beautiful highlighting on the ridges.
I think you’ve done a great job with the color and light balance between the sky and the dunes/landscape. very nicely handled. I’m wondering though, what this might be like without the blank sky? The bg mountain ridge contains little detail and/or not adding much to the scene, other than to give the sun something to rise over… But then I wonder if the landscape will stand enough on its own without the sky. Just thinking out loud now, perhaps cropping maybe 1/3 - 1/2 of the sky? And the more I think about it, the complimentary color of that open sky is pretty important to the overall impression.
I like Ed’s suggestions and edits, although pretty subtle and yours work beautifully.
Lon
You definitely captured a wonderful scene here Bonnie. I like your edited version with Ed’s input but this just screams B&W to me with the undulating contrast and tones in the foreground.
Just my preference but we all have our own take on a scene. Hope you don’t mind my input. I used Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 to make the B&W conversion (high structure with some tweaks). I also cropped the sky since except for the color, I don’t think it adds to the B&W version. Clouds would have definitely added to the scene but we have no control over that.
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Very minor differences in the light play in the color versions . Each work well, just a matter of personal preference. I do like the sky removed in Eva’s version, but I would leave it as a color image. Regardless, a very pleasing scene with exceptional tonal range and subtle textures.
A beautiful combination of silver and gold and a lovely contrast between the jagged mountain tops and the soft rise and fall of the dunes.
Thank you @Eva_McDermott, @Lon_Overacker, @Patricia_Brundage, and @Ian_Wolfenden for your comments.
For me, this was about the whole landscape, sky and dunes. I can see that eliminating the sky and/or turning it to b&w to emphasize the tones, lines, and contrast could make a more compelling photo, but I wanted to try to make something of the scene, in color. If it ultimately doesn’t work so well, that’s ok. I learned quite a bit working with this one. I truly appreciate all the detailed and thoughtful comments.
