Chisos (+ Rework)


New crop and reworked edit.

Image:


This was the original post.

Description:

As a regular visitor to Big Bend NP (my husband and I go there just about every year), I never get tired of seeing the Chisos Mountains while driving and hiking across the park. Although there are some well-known iconic views in Big Bend, I enjoy finding new compositions of the Chisos from different spots. In my eyes, that helps create a sense of new discoveries in every visit. That and other photos from our trip to the park in 2021 are indeed screen savers presently being used on my computer. Besides capturing the Chisos at the end of the day, we were also blessed with those clouds and light.

Specific Feedback Requested:

Please let me know about color, texture, and any editing suggestions you may have. The light on the left side of the frame caused the mountains to be a bit too yellowish for my taste. I reduced the luminosity and hue a little, but I didn’t want to change the actual light completely.

Edit: Upon the recommendations of three viewers, I did a new edit and crop of the original image.

Pertinent technical details or techniques:

2021-12-09-DSC00590-ETL-EXIF
Edited mostly in LR with brushes in Topaz Photo AI and Luminar Neo.

@Egídio I love that sky and the light on the mountains. I can’t decide where to look and keep going back and forth between the two. It’s a grand scene to put across a monitor. Is there maybe a little detail that could be brought up in the bottom shadows, or would that be too distracting?

First of all, thank you for your feedback, Karla. You hit the nail right on the head with the comment above. The scene was so intense that I did not want the viewer to find any more distractions. The bottom portion of the photo did not offer me any incentive to open the shadows. It was basic Chiuhuahuan desert vegetation. So, I purposefully left it darker to minimize the already-present focus of mountains and sky. Thanks again for your feedback.

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Wow, what a great view! I can totally understand why you never get tired of it because I don’t think I would either. This image has a lot going for it - First, the sky is amazing – it has great drama and energy, and the mountains, they have really nice form and light on them. I that you composed this such that none of the mountains are cut off uncomfortably. Lastly, you have that great warm/cool colour combo that I like so much.
I get why you wanted to keep the vegetation dark but I actually think that the image would benefit if you lifted the shadows a little bit – not much. I think that when they are so dark, they actually attract my attention more, maybe because subconsciously my brain wants to know what’s hidden there (that could just be me though).
I brought the image into Photoshop to lighten the shadows and while I was there, I also brought back the highlights in the brightest parts of the clouds because although I like the clouds, I felt that their brightness pulled my attention to them a little too much. To do that, I used the Lights Triple Play action in the TK8 panel but I’m sure there are probably a hundred different ways to do a similar thing. Lastly, I decreased the blues in the shadow areas to make them a bit more neutral.

Anyway, here are my edits (they’re very subtle):

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Hi EgĂ­dio, good morning! :slight_smile:

This is a wonderful grand vista, there’s lots of interesting elements that most of us would be very excited to capture. :slight_smile:

I worked on this image with a few different crops, as well as adjustments in shadow details, color balance and color temperature, and it kept coming back to the example crop and edits shown below.

The balance between the sky, mountains and FG was an issue in my mind, the sky seems to be little too prominent IMHO. If the sky could speak to the mountains, it would say something like: "Ha, I’m bigger than you are, and…I’m brighter than you are, I bet you that everybody is going to pay more attention to me than they do you! :slight_smile: "

One concern I had was keeping the mountains sloped downward at the left and right sides of the frame (as you have in the original composition), fortunately, this one worked in our favor by the “V” shape just to the right of center, that was the perfect spot to crop to IMHO.

My next concern was the taller, wide bush just right of center in the original composition, it seemed to be too prominent as well. By cropping it as shown, that bush was basically cut in half and seemed to blend in with the right side of the frame, and with the area of the FG on the left where it juts out, that seemed to help with offsetting any balancing concerns I had but that is only my personal opinion.
Note: The luminance of the bush on the right probably should be brought down a little more (I should have done that while I was at it :frowning: ).

The next edit was to change the color temperature of the shadows at and on the mountain, they are pretty blue looking, and to me, a little too bright, in my mind they should have the same color temperature as the side receiving the golden sunlight, and while maintaining the details, the exposure should be brought down just enough to maintain the shadow look that we expect to see in real life.

The next edit was to bring out some details in the FG bushes (trees?), but not make the bushes brighter, to accomplish this, I masked the dark areas using a brush with a large feather amount, then brought up the shadows some, lowered the highlights all the way, and lowered the exposure (using the same mask).
The highlights were still too bright so I created another mask to further reduce the highlights, I specifically targeted the brightest spots so I could lower the luminosity enough to make it all blend together somewhat evenly.

And finally, the color temperature of the clouds and the sky seemed to be at odds with the golden light seen on the mountains.
To me, the color temperature of the clouds and the sky should have a slightly warmer tone that forms a sense of continuity with the mountains.
When the sun is low in the sky, the atmosphere blocks the blue light from the sun and leaves us with a yellow/red (golden) color, the clouds and sky should have that same golden color cast IMHO. :smiley:

The clouds and sky presented in your original composition are really awesome, there just seems to be a little too much of it for this particular composition.
The entire mountain range shown is awesome as well, but the area between just right of center to the right side of the frame doesn’t seem to have the same feel as the left side in terms of luminosity.
I know you said that the intensity of the yellow luminance of the mountains on the left was something you weren’t too fond of, just curious here, could that have been only in comparison to the right side?
The main reason I chose to crop down to the left side was that the left side had quite a bit more interesting shapes, shadows and depth when compared to the right side, but all of this is merely my personal take on this wonderful composition.

You can certainly, completely ignore this crop and edit idea without hurting my feelings! :slight_smile:
Or, maybe this may spark an optional idea of your own? :slight_smile:

Final notes:

  • The cropped version has the same basic overall feel as the original in regards to the shape of the mountains at the sides of the frame.

  • I tried to recreate the same frame around the image so they would have that same look when comparing your original to the cropped and edited versions, the frame isn’t exact but maybe close enough? :slight_smile:

  • And, this has nothing to do with what I like or what I want personally, but it does have everything to do with suggestions for improvements of your vision or goal in your original composition.

I’ve included your original composition, a cropped and edited version with the sky color temperature left as you presented it in the original and a cropped and edited version with the sky color temperature pushed to +20 (in ACR but it should be the same in Lr).

(I hope I didn’t forget to write something, as I often do :roll_eyes: )

Edit: I knew I was forgetting something! :frowning: – During my considerations for cropping, I wanted to make sure I kept the original aspect ratio, especially since this is intended to be a screen-saver. :slight_smile:

Warmest regards,

Original (below).


Cropped and edited with original color temperature in the sky (below)

Cropped and edited with color temperature in the sky warmed to +20 (below)

Tom, thank you so much for taking the time to comment and offer valuable feedback on my photo here.

When I cropped the image a bit, that was one of my main concerns: not to leave any rising mountain line on either side of the photo. I didn’t want the viewer to feel like leaving the frame. As for the colors, it was just pure luck that one gets at the end of the day.

I never stopped to think about what you brought up here. In fact, I totally see your point and agree that a viewer may feel curious about that. That same point was raised by @karlag in her feedback. I will need to address that when I rework my edits.

Thanks for sharing your edit. I’ll try to address those highlights and shadows.

Thanks again for your valuable feedback and suggestions.

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Hi, Merv. Good morning to you, too.

I totally agree with you. In fact, when I stopped to make that photo, the sky was the first thing that got my attention. Often, skies are not as dramatic in Big Bend. Those swirling clouds and size make the Chisos mountains look smaller than they are.

Totally. When I did the crop for submission, I wanted to make sure I was not leaving any upward mountain line on the edge of the frames. I like giving the viewer a resting place instead of leaving the viewer wondering where that upward line goes.

I believe you are talking about the top of the bush only. The luminance could be brought down a tad just so it doesn’t stand out from the rest of it.

Yes, it was in comparison to the right side. The luminance almost felt overblown to my eyes. It was interesting to see your choice of cropping the image. I can see that the V notch on the mountain is a deciding factor. I personally find the left side of the mountain more like a mesa. However, it would be nearly impossible to crop that and use the right side of the frame because there is not really a good resting place (like the V-shaped section). I must say that your cropping did spark options I had not foreseen. I also personally like the clouds in the crop you used because they don’t compete much with the mountains. The cloud leading lines are really better focused on the mountains. Another strong point to that crop is that I can clearly see the FG with the mountains being the center of attention.

I can play with all the options you offered (and the other critiques, too). Clearly, one thing appears to be leading me to eliminate the top of the clouds. They diminish the mountains.

I think I have my work cut out for this weekend. I thank you again for taking the time to work so diligently and expertly on my image. I appreciated that.

I completely agree with that philosophy! Unfortunately, we don’t always have such a cooperating landscape to capture as you did here.

Yes, exactly, sorry about leaving that part unclear.

The above is your response to the difference in the luminance on the mountains (between the left side and the right side).
I’m happy to know that was the case, I didn’t want to focus on an element that you didn’t care for.
And you’re right, cropping to the right would have been a real challenge!

What I’m most happy about is that you don’t seem to feel that I “Chopped” up your wonderful composition! I would never intentionally do that.
It’s all about growth for everyone in my mind.

And you are quite welcome, I’m just glad I could help in some way. :slight_smile:

Thank you so much for the kind words, and for sending your image through this so we can all gain new perspectives and techniques. :slight_smile:

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@karlag , @Tom_Nevesely , and @Merv , once again thank you for your time and valuable input. Re-editing this image was both an exercise in patience and skills. Because of the severe crop used in the end, the image did not have pixels enough to work with. I upscaled it and then started my edits from scratch, following several suggestions made. I probably did not cover them all, but I find the cropped version much better than the original. For starters, the mountains are the main subject. The clouds are more tamed here, and the foreground has a bit more definition without adding distractions.

Thank you all for the help and feedback you provided. They are much appreciated. Now, please let me take you for a beer, tea. or coffee.

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I miss those pretty clouds, but it definitely simplifies the scene and defines the subject which I think are strong points.

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Hi EgĂ­dio,

Wow, the second version looks really good!

I really like how you processed the shadows, details, colors and luminance of the lower portion of the mountains! (rest of the image too of course)

That lighter color and tonal range added to the overall “Presence” of the mountains IMHO.
I think the lighter tone and higher luminance on the lower portion has a lot to do with making the mountain stand out more, darker colors and lower luminance tend to push things back into the deeper reaches of the image no matter what it is in my opinion. In this case, the darker portions of the top of the mountains help to make that part seem farther away which is really good.

Upscaling is a handy tool to have in your toolbox for situations like this.

The details in the FG are nice and certainly not overly bright.

And the clouds look great, they work well to compliment the mountains without creating negative space and the color cast is spot on to me.

Well done! :slight_smile:

Thanks for posting the new version!