A few days recently at Death Valley. Would appreciate any feedback/preferences on versions. This was in Badwater looking southeast during sunrise about 2 miles out. I’ve not experienced the pastels in DV that morning offered so I wanted to accentuate them in post by going with a high key process that I’ve used on other images from DV. Thank you in advance!
Version 1
Version 2
George, I much prefer Version 2 with the prominent foreground, I like the pastel colors, well done.
Version 2 by a wide margin, IMO. The first has too much featureless blue sky vs the compelling foreground of the second.
Definitely version 2 for me, George. The first has to much featureless sky IMO. The elements are much more balanced in the second one. Needless to say the pastels are gorgeous.
Great colors George. I would agree with everyone else and say version 2 is my favorite. I think version 1 could work with a bit less sky as the contrast in it is very nice.
I like the high key, pastel treatment here George, the twilight color tones are very delicate. As presented, I prefer #2. But I actually like the foreground better in #1, and while this is very subjective, to my taste there is too much negative space in the blue sky. I might try an alternate crop like this.
No contest, Version 1 is the clear winner here. There are very few times that a huge blank sky in color works, but this is definitely one of them. I think the subtle gradation of color and brightness help. And you have the perfect foreground image with that reflection in the water. My only thought is to maybe crop a bit of the land so that the water is a stronger element in the lower part of the frame. This also increase the proportion of sky to land in the image (Version 1), but I think this is positive in this case because of the way the sky is working here. So in the end, Version 1, works so well because it can be reduced to two simple elements, the water and the sky. Simple and beautiful.
I love the big sky and soft pastel colors of version 1. The foreground dominates in version 2 and takes away for the progression of pastel colors in the sky.
@Tony_Kuyper @Eva_McDermott @Ed_McGuirk @David_Nilsen @Ed_Lowe @Dave_Dillemuth @Reno_DiTullio
Thanks for the feedback. All has absolutely been taken into consideration. As Ed aptly pointed out these types of images are highly subjective. I had been gravitating towards version 1 - I’m going to let this ruminate and see what Tony’s minimalist suggestion produces. Thanks again all!
George,
I’m thoroughly enjoying both versions; each having their strengths and impact. And with both, your processing is excellent. I love the delicate processing of the pastels and from your description, you processed to accentuate this and I think you were quite successful with the processing.
Version 1 to me is more about the expanse of the location by including such a big sky. I really like the color gradation in this version, although the blue starts to dominate up top. I think a square crop starting from the bottom would be a great alternative.
Version 2.of course is more about the foreground and the natural story of the the Badwater flats. My only wish here would be the inclusion of some blue and including more of the color gradation - which is lacking in V2. This version still very enjoyable given the foreground patterns and reflection in the water.
Lon
