Hi all. I haven’t posted for a while due to less than ideal weather and other commitments but I managed to get out a few days ago and visit this well known cave in the Lake District.
I’d love some critique with regards to composition and PP. The ‘normal’ shot that you see is a wider one encompassing more of the cave but tbh I’m sick of seeing it so thought I’d focus in on the cave window and light bathing the rocks and foliage in light.
I used the foreground rocks to frame the image and darkened down the scene whilst retaining shadow detail in the foreground rocks.
As you can imagine the dynamic range was fairly challenging and I struggled to get any kind of details on the sky outside without it looking odd so opted to add some light bleed and try and wash out some of the outside details.
Thanks in advance
Chris
Chris, I absolutely love the composition. I think the spotlight effect on the rocks and vegetation immediately above it is to die for. I only wish for more details in the window.
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Thanks very much. I bracketed the heck out of the scene but it was such an awkward dynamic range that any detail pulled back from the sky looked really bad when blended with the image of the inside.
I understand your predicament. I have only found myself in that situation two or three times so far and I have always been at lost how to process it in a way that makes it look natural. I would be curious if others have suggestions about that.
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Chris,
I too like the composition and just the “window to the world” kind of impact. The light on the rocks and especially the green plant are handled about as well as could be expected. And given the dynamic range and tough light, you handled the shadows pretty well and natural.
And you already know the main challenge and that is handling the light through the opening. Given the scenario, I think we all expect and believe the dynamic range to be impossible; at the same time we know our eyes adjust instantaneously to the light and we can see what’s going on outside the cave. Processing the scene is a whole other question. If you’ve got the frame to blend in, give it a shot, but the outside light is just too darn bright.
Lon
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Love the idea behind the photo and the composition. If you bracketed, it would seem to be an easy exposure blend using luminosity masks.
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Cheers folks. I’ve got the bracketed exposure so I’ll blend it in and upload it to see what you think.
Wonderful composition and I like the foreground light and detail. I look forward to seeing your blending efforts.
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