Badlands at twilight

Hello fellow NPN members! It sure has been a while. I am currently re-editing some of my older photos. I shot this back in 2018! I love how it resembles lightning. Any and all feedback on the post processing would be very much appreciated.

iso 100 f/11 30 sec

What technical feedback would you like if any? All feedback is welcome!

What artistic feedback would you like if any?

Pertinent technical details or techniques: I double-processed the raw file and did a blend in the center to make the ā€œlightningā€ pop a little.

(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)

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You may only download this image to demonstrate post-processing techniques.
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Welcome back, @Stefanie_Goo!! This reminds me of @Matt_Payne shot a while back. Very nicely composed and I think the color and editing works really well. I really like how the higlights in the image leads the eye throughout the image. If there is anything, I feel like the small peak at the very far back (on top of the image) about 1/3 of the way from the left bothers me just a tiny bit because it is so close to the edge of the frame. Otherwise, this is pretty cool!

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Stephanie, this blue and white view of a badlands make a neat abstract with fine leading lines and tons of texture. Thereā€™s a nice ā€œinto the frame and sweep to the leftā€ sense.

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This is a wonderful abstract Stefanie. It does remind me of lightening. The exposure looks good. I see the spot Adhika is talking about. Maybe a slight crop will eliminate it but not a bother for me.

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Oh, just lovely! The sinuous river bed makes a nice centerpiece for the beautiful textures. I had the same though as Adhika about that little peak. Maybe just bringing the highlights on it down a bit, to make it less prominent.

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Welcome back Stefanie, great to see a post from you. I LUV the cold, steely-blue tones with this. Your processing is excellent and great job with the highlights as you described. I never would have suspected any work there - or anywhere really. The flow from top left through the center and with the ā€œlightningā€ strikes hitting the ground at the bottomā€¦ makes for a wonderfully flowing composition. No nits or suggestions on the processing, comp, etc.

I will jump on the bandwagon about the peak pushing the top edge. not only is it close, creating tension on the edge, but thereā€™s a light strip right above it, which doesnā€™t help. I think easy enough mitigated by extending, "stretching the canvas a little for some breathing room and then cloning that little bright strip above. Minor stuff, but with an image of this quality, every little detail counts!

Lon

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This is really nice. I love the blue toning you used here, it creates a very surreal looking image. The fractal pattern of the ā€œlightningā€ makes for a very striking image. i also like how this pattern is repeated on a smaller scale in the LRC.

I agree with @Adhika_Lie that the peak at the top is a distraction. I think crop from the top, cutting the peak off at its base works, while retaining most of the river wash to the right.

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Hehe pretty sure that is because it was taken from the same spot. =)

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Beautiful image, beautiful color, cool pattern. Welcome back - sure would like to see more of your work!

To my eye, and maybe Iā€™m an anomaly, all lines are guiding me toward the upper left corner. Iā€™m ā€œreadingā€ the image (perhaps erroneously) as guiding me to that ULC rather than down in to the base of the river bed. As I step back and look at the luminance, there seems to be some vignetting of the lower part of the image, while thereā€™s more light at the top of the image. If it were me, Iā€™d be tempted to vignette the top more, and open up the highlights in the lower central river basin to guide my eye toward that tremendous ā€œlightningā€. Please let me know if Iā€™m off base here or if you agreeā€¦and thanks for sharing!

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Hi @Stefanie_Goo. Good to see you are back. I love this shot and itā€™s processing and would love to get a shot like this myself. Maybe one of these days. I pretty much agree with everyone on that the little peak and a crop would solve that. I might take the crop a little farther and take that stripe out of the upper right to make the ā€œmain boltā€ the center of the shot. Welcome back.

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Thank you all for your feedback! I agree the little peak in the upper part of the frame needs to goā€¦ it is a bit of a distraction. @Jim_McGovern thank you for your detailed response and after looking at it a little more - I agree with you. I think the top should have more of a vignette, rather than the bottom. Thanks again everyone!!

Hi @Stefanie_Goo, this image is a beautiful journey for the eye. Iā€™m trying to follows the lines from bottom to the upper part of the image and vice versa. A pleasant exercise. Thank you for sharing your image.