One of the joys of photography for me is that feeling of being a kid again. No matter how old you are, how experienced you are, we can still enjoy and cherish those moments like sunrises, sunsets and rainbows. Nothing creative or important about the event, yet these moments always mean something and will forever be remembered.
This was captured about 45 min after my stormy weather image posted in the WC. After the big squall had passed on through and it was beginning to rain harder, I looked to the west and saw a break in the clouds. I knew driving towards the light I would eventually hit the conditions that could produce some great rainbows. (It’s not rocket science to predict rainbows, so I take no credit in finding them…)
I found a long driveway off the rural country road where I could safely park and watch the show. In between showers I was able to grab some images. I was disappointed to learn that my new Tamron 17-35 was NOT wide enough to catch the double rainbow!
Processing of course. In post just some basic saturation, levels, selective color adjustments. The stormy blue/gray bg was a bit warmer in the RAW image, but I liked the warm/cool contrast created here. Any thoughts or suggestions welcome.
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
Any and all. Again, nothing creative here; mostly reactive
Any pertinent technical details:
Nikon D800E, Tamron 70-200mm @150mm, f/6.3 1/320th iso 400. can’t remember if this was handheld or on tripod
You may only download this image to demonstrate post-processing techniques.
Really a nice composition Lon and the colors look good to me. I was actually looking for the Unicorns and Leprechauns after reading the title. I thought you had made a discovery
Holy mackerel, Lon, this is an incredible image. I’ve seen many rainbows but given their fleeting nature have never been able to find a compelling composition. Kudos to you for having the presence of mind to find such a nice, clean composition. Processing looks good to me. Great work!
Lon, I couldn’t agree with you more about this feeling. Like you, I often get a lot of personal satisfaction from seeking out nature’s details in more intimate scenes. But I have to admit that special weather conditions like this rainbow still gets me excited even after 25 years of doing landscape photography.
Simply put, your image is gorgeous. A clean, simple composition, with exquisite light, it doesn’t get much better than this. I like that you shot this with a telephoto, I think extractions of part of a rainbow are much more dramatic looking than the wide angle view. The telephoto focal length distilled this scene down to it’s most basic elements. I actually find the light on the trees and land to be as appealing as the rainbow. My eye sees the rainbow first, but my appreciation of the image increases substantially as it wanders across the trees and land. This is a true masterpiece Lon.
Try as I might I have not found the unicorns or leprechauns, Lon. All kidding aside this is an outstanding image. I am jealous as I have not had the good fortune to capture a rainbow image. Everything looks spot on to me from the processing to the composition itself. I particularly like those oaks as they add a nice sense of scale to the image. No suggestions from me other than print this baby and hang it.
Love it, and echo what has been said. I wouldn’t be afraid to try a version with that track cloned out; I think the fence really adds but the track not so much?? Regardless, this is a jewel Lon.
Thank you @John_Williams for your comments and suggestion. Actually no one has suggested a crop, but I combined that with cloning out the bovine trails… Much of the rainbow is cut off, but the square crop and closer view shows off the oaks better and even the rainbow.
I much prefer the cloning, and enjoy both crops. I slightly prefer your original; it has a real grandness to it. Either way, it is a truly magical image.
Thanks @Matt_Lancaster for the comment. Let me see if I can summarize the adjustments.
The RAW file had a very warm color balance and the sky was pretty yellow. I first used a “Selective Color” adj layer. Adj the neutrals, Yellow/blue -21 pts and cyan/red +12. This cooled off the storm sky considerably
Used B&W layer in Luminosity blend mode and increased the Yellow luminosity. Brought up the grasses and the yellow in the rainbow
Standard Levels layer and dropped the overall luminosity a few points. subtle
I use this technique frequently. Google “boost your images using LAB Color mode”. Ultimately, you can choose a variety of blending modes, but ultimately it helps boost contrast and make an image pop a little bit. this is also something used at low opacities
I do have a Hue/Sat layer, but it’s just -4 pts on the master channel. Not sure what I was doing there.
some subtle dodging and burning
used Nik’s RAW presharpener for the trees/grasses, masked out sky/rainbow
Used one additional Selective Color layer to further reduce the yellow. However, masked out the rainbow and trees. When I “mask” something, more times than not it’s not a “selection” mask, but rather painting loosely with a soft brush and varying opacity. It’s more like painting with a brush rather than some technical sophisticated “selection.” Hope that makes sense.
My general approach:
Start with global white balance, major cloning, cropping and pre-sharpening.
Once settled with comp, crop and artifacts, cloning, then I start in on Luminosity, Hue/Sat global adjust
Typically will add the LAB color layer and/or an Orton layer at low opacity.
Then start in on adjusting specific elements in the image; burning, dodging, etc.
In other words, start with big, global adjustments and slowing work down to the fine details.
Awesome explanation, Lon. Your workflow gives me some ideas. That was precisely what I was hoping for, such as the “selective color” adjustment layer. Your description of brushing the mask on makes perfect sense, both technically and aesthetically. Well done. Thank you very much!
I happened to see your crop to square and feel the image is much stronger at full frame. The rainbow’s dominating strength is much diminished when cropped.
I actually had thought of suggesting the square crop but decided that everyone would prefer the entire rainbow. What I like most about this image is how it depicts one of the best moments of springtime in the Central Valley. The floor is lush green and these rain storms pass through with wonderful rainbows. The warm light is perfect here.
Lon this is an excellent “mini-tutorial” as you call them, thank you for taking the time to share more detail on your techniques. If you wouldn’t mind, it might be educational to see your un-adjusted raw file starting point as well. I think it would help to illustrate what you did with color.
All kidding aside this is an outstanding image. I am jealous as I have not had the good fortune to capture a rainbow image. Everything looks spot on to me from the processing to the composition itself. I particularly like those oaks as they add a nice sense of scale to the image. No suggestions from me other than print this baby and hang it.
