This is my first post in NPN and I’m looking for all and any constructive feedback <3
artistic
technical
It was my first visit to Death Valley this year and I didn’t come away with the images I’d envisaged, so I got up at 3 am and drive back there before flying home to Scotland for one last attempt at finding a composition at the mud tiles which had been badly affected by a flash flood the week before.
I think this is definitely the best composition I have, so am looking to make it the best version of itself that it can be.
Canon 5D Mark iv, EF16-35mm f2.8 II USM Lens, EXIF 5" @ f16 and ISO100
Editing - Two copies of the same image edited to match foreground colour tone to the sky and then blended together in PS. Normal type of edits, a little dodging and burning on the leading lines, some vignetting and web sharpening for detail.
vikki_macleod
You may only download this image to demonstrate post-processing techniques.
it’s an excellent shot (although I have seen this specific comp a lot) but I think the magenta is a bit too high. I would take it down 10-15 points in LR.
Outstanding first post, Vikki. The early light and stormy atmosphere are a great moody component. Your downward framing works well to accentuate the mud. On the large view one can see the little cracks in between. I’ve never shot there, but would be proud to have taken this. While not necessary, you might want to consider including shooting specs, including camera, focal length, etc such that others can gain an understanding of the scene. Look forward to more from you.
Thanks Bruce, appreciate the thinking. It’s my first attempt at applying some colour theory and bringing out the tones in the foreground to match the sky. Will have a play at toning it down a little.
I agree with @Bruce_Couch about the Magenta but I also think it comes down to personal preference… it is not overwhelming to me, but I’d love to see a slightly less magenta version, especially for the foreground. Great comp!
I will add to the choir that this is a very nice image, Vikki. It’s not new by any means but at the same time it doesn’t get old. I like the magenta, maybe a little less in the FG as @Matt_Payne mentioned but it’s still beautiful as presented.
This is a wonderful first post, Vikki. This has a wonderful depth to it with the FG cracks leading the viewer to the BG hills and sky. My only suggestion would be to back off the magenta a bit as it is a little strong for my tastes, but that is all subjective.
Very nice first post Vicki, it was certainly worth the three hour drive. The composition is about as good as it gets for this type of the scene, its obvious that you paid a lot of attention to the placement of the cracks in the frame. I’m with @Matt_Payne, i would reduce magenta, but primarily in the landscape and not the sky. This is subjective, but I might prefer the foreground darker, it has more luminosity than the sky, which should not be the case. Perhaps a stronger vignette that primarily targets the land would handle this as well.
This looks really good to me and I like your comp with the wonderful curve in the foreground that takes my eye for a loop and then boom, shoots it to the awesome mountains in the background. Really cool! If this was my image however, I would get rid of the magenta a touch. Especially on the foreground.
It looks great to me, Vikki. I think you did a great job capturing the ominous clouds and the pop of the sun. The balance between the amount of foreground and background seems just right. The mountains form a divider between the two–stark, hard lines in the foreground and soft, puffy lines in the clouds.
Welcome to NPN! A beautiful and well composed image from DV - and a great first post! As mentioned, it appears you paid a great deal of attention to the comp and selecting a pleasing set of lines and cracks in the dried mud.
I get all the attention and comments on the magenta. However, I think it’s mostly influenced by the somewhat oversaturated pink/purple whatever color in the clouds. If that alone was tamed down I think the overall color balance wouldn’t be as noticeable. I do think in general the far bg mountain range/shadows are too blue and the blues are somewhat heavy in the clouds.
IMHO, you backed off too much in your repost. I think just dialing back the saturation in the clouds and leaving the mud flats alone - or some variation could work.
It’s been many years since I’ve been there, but I’m pretty sure the mud flats aren’t gray. Probably more brown than gray, in which some magenta could be present. One suggestion might be to set your black point in the deepest darkest parts of the cracks to get some true blacks rather than leaning magenta in the cracks. that could help as well.
The great news is that you’ve got a stellar image to work from. I would have been happy to come home with this one.
Hi Vikki and welcome to NPN. First, my wife shares your name, she spells it Vicki, though. There’s about as many ways to spell it as there is interpret a scene, right ?
Anyway, I like the perspective of the photo, the fact you got down low to accentuate the dry cracked earth and vastness of scene. Now, and please, please don’t be offended but I do not like the obvious color manipulation. Would you be willing to share the unmanipulated version as it was out of the camera? I should have looked but was it a raw capture? If it was jpeg did you apply any in camera styles? Thanks for sharing this beautiful place.
Sincerely,
GEGIJR
I’m not offended in the slightest. As mentioned, it was my first attempt at using / applying colour theory and the fact that the sky and raw file had a very pink patch led me down a path which became way too saturated. I’m much happier with my final version, which still takes the pink streak as it’s inspiration but doesn’t go into the full magenta of the first draft.
I’m still v new to colour theory as I’ve never really manipulated colours (or to be fair, too much of my photo’s at all) so it will take time for me to a) get right and b) decided if it’s for me at all.
Here’s a snapshot of the raw file straight from camera
Thanks for being so kind. WOW! I much, much prefer the straight from camera file. The only thing I would do with it at this point is straighten the horizon and fix the converging line effect or barrel distortion like you did with the purple
image. The image looks a bit skewed which is indicative of wide angle lenses.
?