Rework:
Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
Another roadside image from Death Valley. What a special place! As we were driving along headed out toward Ubehebe Crater I was sucked in…not by the light surprisingly but by the reflected color of the sky on the salt flats! I was able to make two images that I think will make the cut as I stood on the side of the road, handheld with my 100-400! I guess the light on the peaks in the background was an added bonus.
Specific Feedback
Im curious what you all think about the processing on this one. I think this is close but I feel like it just isn’t quite as good as it could be. I tend to be really cautious with gaudy (in my opinion) saturation. I’m wondering if I could afford to push it further here…
Technical Details
ISO 500, f/11, 1/400 & 300mm
1 Like
Death Valley is full of surprises. David, your image certainly exemplifies what it has to offer. The way the hills fade away at the top of the composition is powerful. If the blue were any more saturated, it would be hard to incorporate it into the scene’s reality. Allowing the warm tones to dominate but not overwhelm the balance of color seems about right. It feels like you have hit the “sweet spot,” but that is how I see it.
As I reread what you wrote and looked at the image again, I wondered if the transition between the blue and the warmer tones needs more detail and is too dark. The transition is rather abrupt.
Death Valley can have some incredible light! The contrast between warm and cool light is pretty dramatic at times. You caught that here, David, yet I too wondered that if in processing the transition between the cool tones of the salt flats and sunlight was too strong. I took the liberty of make a very slight adjustment to lighten the salt flats a bit, hopefully it will show well here in the upload; it’s just a little but it seems to balance the image more. I would definitely not ‘push it’ as you state in saturation or contrast - it’s already on the edge… lucky you for having this light and good job capturing it!
@Barbara_Djordjevic and @brenda_tharp thank you for taking the time to look this one over. I backed off the contrast by lightening the foreground and background just a bit. I also dropped the saturation by a few points as well. Interested in what you think now.
David for me the re-work is excellent. As I love not much saturated colors I would reduce a bit even more the colors of the salt flats. But it is me.
Wonderful scene, well presented! I think the revision is good, but I think you could go farther with the left half of that area. That area is an important transition.
I like it. The transition between the warm and color colors is less abrupt, but I agree with @Diane_Miller about the left half of that transition.
David,
Gorgeous! As they say, it’s all about the light and you have that in wonderful abundance! I especially like that you included the cool tones and light on the salt flats. Great color contrasts.
I hear ya on this - although my tendancy is to push the limit, without getting gaudy as you mention… But in this scene, I think your edited version works better - if just slightly.
Re: the transition? I like the re-work but disagree it needs further work. i’m looking at the scene and that shadow transition looks natural to me; ie. the shadow is darker on the left, but gradually gets lighter simply because that’s how the light is falling on the scene.
The only suggestion I have would be to set the black point. To my eye, the dark, detail-less shadow areas above that transition area are pretty blue. At first glance of course the shadows are dark and appear black, but upon taking a look, there is certainly the blacks are more heavy in blue. Setting the black pt. on a curves or levels layer neutralizes that.
A wonderful DV image. Minor tweaks and print big!
Lon
