I definitely wasn’t expecting a vivid sunrise when I was driving out to this land slip in the dark. I was surprised by the 55mph winds though and the how hard it was to walk out across the ridge under the gale.
The fact that I was the only human in the area made for an eerie feeling and I was happy when a small patch of clouds allowed for some light to break through for a few minutes.
I’m going for mood over details but I’m contemplating boosting the shadows to make the overall image brighter. Please let me know if the image is too dark to your taste.
Any feedback on processing will be valued
Any pertinent technical details:
Sony A7R3 Sony 100-400mm lens
Iso 1250 135mm f5 1/80 s
You may only download this image to demonstrate post-processing techniques.
Having been in this place just a few weeks ago, I can really feel the experience you convey in this image. I especially appreciate the plainness of your composition that helps to reduce to the essence of the scene in my opinion.
Regarding the shadows, I think of brightening the lower left part maybe by a graduated filter tool in order to match it with the more distant areas. That might simplify the composition even more and thereby would be consistent with your overall approch.
Thanks for sharing this unique and transient moment!
The large view is really needed to get the full experience of viewing this scene. The smaller version I immediate see the angle of the mountain and think this image is skewed/leaning too far! But I’m quite confident the camera is level and I don’t get the feeling in the larger view. Plus, in the larger view I think the details in the darker slope come across just fine and I think you need to retain the mood and atmosphere as presented.
And while I don’t get a sense of blustery winds, I do get the feeling of really being exposed and I think you captured your experience very well with this.
The small image here doesn’t do it justice, the large version is a real treat. Love all the diagonal lines here. The darkness of the land creates a nice mood. If I was to do any increase in the brightness here, I would apply it via painting on a mask in PS, and only add luminosity on the areas of green that are already receiving some light, I would leave the darker shadows essentially untouched. On my monitor the brightest area of the sky feels a little too bright, I would darken it down a bit.
