Ode to Joy

[subhasish_dutta]

On my way to work, I have to cycle through small private farmlands and patches of trees with a valley acting as a backdrop. Having passed this road hundreds of times, I always looked at this tree in the distance rising above the rest. As autumn started, I saw how this tree was a bit late to join the party while the rest had already started to change colour. On this particular day, it was a rainy day and the valley behind was covered in patches by rain clouds giving the tree the perfect backdrop to stand out.

Specific Feedback Requested

Any and all feedback is welcome of course, but specifically I am struggling with the patches of colour that is visible in the background. They look a bit blown out to me, are they distracting or is it just my eye? Also, any tips on colour separation would be welcome as it is something I struggle with considerably, specially yellow and green. Thanks in advance.

Technical Details

ISO 100, 194mm, f/11, 0.4s

Basic raw adjustments on LR and then the usual editing workflow on PS like boosting midtone contrasts and dodging and burning. Also I brightened up the backdrop to make the tree stand out more.

[Eric_Bennett]

Hey Subha,

You can add a color balance layer and slightly bump up the red in the Midtones which I think fixes the color issue. It felt slightly green/cyan and this fixes that while also adding a nice punch to the foliage in the background. You can also slightly darken the midtones to add a little contrast, but your blacks feel pretty muddy here, especially for how soft and even the light is. I would target thos and open them up a bit. Maybe you used too much orton or negative dehaze or something when you tried to smooth out the scene. I tried to open them in PS by targeting them and using a Curves adjustment

but it will look better when you do it on the RAW.