Just wondering how this looks to everyone as this is my first exposure blend. I have been a bit of a dinosaur and have always used my Singh- Ray GND’s. But, thanks to the urging of @Michael_Lowe and @Ed_McGuirk I thought I would give it a whirl. I will always remember this image for two reasons: the first being the lovely sunset and the second being the obnoxious drunk who was ranting while standing out on the rock edge just outside of the right side of the frame. Other than that a…hole it was a lovely evening. ### What technical feedback would you like if any?
All C&C welcome
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
All C&C welcome
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
Nikon D800, Nikon 17-35 @ 22mm, f 16 @ 0.6 sec, two exposures blended, one for sky and one for FG
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Ed, I’m not an exposure blender but I think you’ve done a pretty good job with this. The luninance in the sky and the foreground looked pretty well balanced and spot on. One thing I did spot when looking the transition is that there is a slight darker fringe on the tree side of the horizon - rather being an artefact from the belding it could be as a result of sharpening. You could try setting your clone tool to ‘lighter colour’, selecting the lighter green just below and painting it in.
Other than that my only cc is about the sky. I think it’s lovely but also think there is too much of it. If it faded to dark and didn’t have the red diagonal I wouldn’t have commented. From a purely aesthetic POV the red diagonal is very strong and draws your eye from the horizon where all the loveliness is going on. I have cropped the image to about 4:5, maybe 5.2. I think the image holds attention better with the diagonal gone. Small change but I think it makes a difference.
Ed, it is good to see you to stretch, and “graduate” to exposure blending. It won’t be long and you can kiss those GND’s goodbye !!!
Out of curiosity, how did you blend this, Lightroom HDR, TK Luminosity Masks, or a dedicated HDR software? Not that it really matters, any of those techniques can do the trick. But the answer might influence any suggestions that I might have.
First, I love this image and location. You have some sweet light in the sky, and a very interesting foreground. I like the composition in the original (I like picking up more of the color in the sky). For a first stab at exposure blending, you have done an amazingly good job, overall the exposure looks great, and is very well balanced. Horizons are always the trick, and this one looks very good, especially for a first time blend. I can see what @Eugene_Theron is talking about with the dark fringe, but you have to look very hard and close to see it. For a first stab at blending this is a very good effort. Okay, now for your next blend let’s see some trees sticking into the sky…
My only suggestion is more of a creative choice type thing. I might consider darkening the bright foreground rock formations, in order to place more emphasis on the color in the sky. This is not an exposure blending thing, but rather a creative effect. Here is a rework reflecting my idea.
I haven’t done a lot of exposure blending but this looks good in my book. One thing that throws itself at you are those bright wavy rocks at the very bottom. I notice that Ed darkened them but they still stick out.
Beautiful shot, Ed. Great job with the blend, but you had a excellent teacher
There’s no way I would crop the top cloud off. It balances out the image nicely IMHO. There’s the diagonal of the fg rocks, and I think the diagonal clouds mimics it beautifully.
Nice image @Ed_Lowe . I like the sky, but I noticed that if the white limestone foreground rocks are given some of the sunset color, they knit the foreground and sky together, allowing the full sky to be more harmonious with the rest.
Sorry I’m late to the party, but this is a good conversation. Excellent job on the blend @Ed_Lowe! It looks really nicely done. When I first saw the image, I was pushed back pretty hard by the luminance values of the foreground rock. To my eye, they were too bright compared to the sky. So, I really like how @Ed_McGuirk has burned down the foreground rocks, but agreed with @Igor_Doncov that more could be done.
Then I saw @Dick_Knudson and the image finally felt complete to me! Great job to the whole team in my opinion! I was indeed struggling with dysharmony between the colors of the foreground and sky. I really like how this shot has “matured” during this conversation. Sometimes it takes a village…
@Eugene_Theron: Thanks for taking the time to do a rework as it gives me another option. @Ed_McGuirk: Yea I finally decided to give it a try and got Mike to show me how one evening while I was visiting. Thanks for the rework on the FG. I was wondering if it might be to bright. Funny you should mention a blend with trees sticking up as that is what Mike said. I will have to check my files for some. @Igor_Doncov: Loud cursing, telling everyone within earshot of the things he did while in Afghanistan so that those of us there could enjoy the view before us among other things. All the while I was conversing with a veteran from the Marine Corp who told me no way he did those things because it is not something they brag about. He was going to go over and talk to him after he moved back from the edge. For the icing on the cake he threw his beer bottle over the edge. I don’t think the talk had any effect as we could still hear him later on walking back through the woods. @Michael_Lowe: I have to say you were any excellent teacher. @Dick_Knudson: Thanks for the rework. I like what you did with the FG. @Jim_McGovern: That is the beauty of NPN; all the wonderful photographers willing to share.
I will have to check my files for some.