This is a 6 image Pano of the Mesquite dunes taken just after the sun had set - I di use a little imagination playing with the white balance - I was surprised to see how much magenta there is in the sand!
What technical feedback would you like if any?
Anything that will " help" the image - my first with any dunes
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
I did use the Orton effect - to me it was the shapes rather than the sharpness - within reason, of course
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
6 images - tried to ensure that the exposure and WB was the same for all 6 images. The hand of man ( foot prints ) was a fair amount - but the pano of images plays these down - please identify any eye sores
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Youâve got some nice shapes happening in this image.
Iâm not sold on the pano format for this scene. For me the most interesting shapes are on the right side of the image and I would consider making an image of that portion of the shot. Technically the pano stitch looks solid to me but I would simplify the scene - personal preference perhaps.
You mentioned that you were creative with the white balance. What was the colour with the white balance on daylight setting? The reason why I ask is that strong reds makes for a martian type scene. Even if the clouds above were on fire with plenty of reds I assume the dunes would have been more orange in colour which is what I would go with.
I think it is a lovely composition, but the âstrangenessâ of the color doesnât work for me. It just feels âoffâ. I would love to see the original.
A different perspective on this infamous dunes, for sure. The composition grows on me, especially the combination of various landscapes of Death Valley. I agree about the othersâ comments on the color though.
Iâm rather enjoying the pano, I think itâs a really unique take and it feels fairly balanced to my eye. I do think you took the magenta too far and it made the colors look artificial. I tried to dial it back a bit in this version along with desaturating the most saturated colors. Itâs a bit challenging to get the colors just right without the raw file so it should be easier for you just by adjusting the tint.
Karl, the foreground dunes are very striking in shape, texture, contrast and extent. I think the pano looks good, but wonder if a bit more up top would better balance the view. The colors are unreal, but that can be an âartisticâ choice, depending on the reaction that youâre trying to create in the viewers.
Thanks Mark - unfortunately I donât have any real estate on the top - in fact needed to fill in a little especially top left
I did reply to David with a more realistic WB
The first redo was certainly too far the other direction with too much cyan, your second retry is getting closer, but there still seems to be a cyan cast. I would play around with the selective color tool in Ps to remove that, itâs a very delicate balance!
Color is very personal and that also goes with the magenta in the original post. If it were mine though, I am with @David_Kingham regarding the cyan cast in the shadows of the 2nd RP. But the rest of the image looks really good to me.
Beautiful scenery! Have never been, but certainly would love to some day. This is a complex image as a pano. Two primary foreground mountains, the left higher than the right. The âdescendingâ line of sand in the near background also is listing slightly to the right. These two together make for a sense of imbalance for me (right heavy). Davidâs right about the colorâŚcolor can be so difficult to âget rightâ when we have the power we do in our software programs! I still struggle greatly with this, but NPN has sure made this improve more quickly. My only other comment would be to lighten the patches of vegetation as they are pretty dark and serve as distractions from the main lines of sand. Hope this helps and thanks for sharing.
Karl, sorry for coming in late here, but I have been tied up with the holidays. I see that you are realizing that color and white balance are little more complicated in landscapes than in wildlife images
âI agree that I over did the magenta to infuse some creativity - perhaps I need to increase the contrast a bit ?â
I actually prefer the more subtle colors in the âoriginal pano with a more natural WBâ ie your second post, over your third post, the âtoned downâ version.
Contrast can also be created in images by adjusting colors, and not just increasing the contrast by making highlights brighter and shadows darker. The classic approach to this by making localized color adjustments, ie warming highlight areas, and cooling shadow areas. I did a rework of your âmore natural WBâ image. I did a TK lights 2 selection on a Color Balance adjustment layer, and increased yellow (warming lighter tones). and did a TK darks 3 selection to a Color Balance layer, and increased blue (cooling shadows). Making these adjustments on a localized tonality basis, gives you more control than making global adjustments.
