This was taken in the badlands in Utah after a night of heavy snowfall. This is my first post here and I look forward to the feedback from this wonderful community. Thank you.
What technical feedback would you like if any? Is the image too bright? And of course, any other technical feedback is welcome.
What artistic feedback would you like if any? Any kind of feedback is welcome.
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
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Hi @Saikat_Chakraborty, welcome in NPN!. Very good composition, i love the lines and the lower part of the frame. Did you try to post process in a dark mood? It would be interesting in my opinion. Thanks for sharing.
Welcome to the neighborhood. This is a good strong composition. Iām just wondering how this would look in color with the reddish earth appearing amidst all that white. I like how everything seems to flow downwards. Theyāre like the folds in a curtain.
Saikat: Welcome to NPN and thanks for a fine first post. I like the graphic quality of this. I would also like to see the color version but I like this very much as presented, especially the conversion. Great to have you aboard and looking forward to more. >=))>
Welcome! I really like this Saikat. The almost high key black and white treatment works well for me. The lines are captivating and the bits of black are wonderful.
For me, the top edge is either a bit tight or could be cropped tighter just by a sliver. When the black intersects the frame, it pulls my eyes away from the rest of the beautiful composition.
I wouldnāt mind seeing this in black and white with a tish more local contrast (clarity or texture slider in LR?) just for comparison.
Welcome to NPN @Saikat_Chakraborty, this is an excellent first post. I think the graphic nature of this subject lends itself to a B&W treatment, so good choice there. I think the composition is pretty good overall, i like the placement of the bottom section, with the dominant folds on the right. I also like the dark stripes that run along the top frame edge.
To me this image is all about shape and texture. I would try darkening your dark tones to accentuate the texture even further. I think some stronger vignetting, especially along the bottom would help too. I was thinking something directionally like this rework.
Welcome to NPN! I guess itās more of a welcome for your very first post! And what a fantastic first image this is! Wow, first, awesome job with the vision in isolating this from the larger landscape. Excellent.
I think you processing, exposure, contrast, etc. are all spot on.
I have no nits or suggestions. Only suggesting and hoping you continue to post some images and participate in the community. Welcome aboard!
A very strong image! I like it a lot, including the processing.
In terms of composition, I think I would have angled it a little a further down, to include a bit more of the part where the hills trail off and become flat. In my opinion, that would have helped āresolveā the composition a bit more. Right now, it feels like a bit of the image has been cut off (which is something I do a lot myself!).
Thank you Massimo for the appreciation. Yes, I did try processing with a darker mood but I ended up liking the brighter scene more as it was more reflective of what I experienced on the day I was there.
Thank you Igor! I felt that it was like the folds of a curtain too. For this scene, I gravitated towards a monochrome as I wanted to draw attention to the layers and folds but I will definitely give the colour a try.
Thank you Marylynne! Yes, the top part, especially upper left bothers me a bit too. I will try a tighter crop. And yes, some local adjustments to increase texture in some portions would be good. Thank you for the suggestions.
Thank you Ed for the suggestions and the rework! I think the vignetting works great, I will play with it myself. The texture is more prominent in your rework and I like that. Thank you again.
Thank you Gaurav! Yes, I think including more of the flat foreground would be better. The reason I cropped off more because there were a few distracting rocks in that flat foreground that I felt didnāt go with the flow. But I can include it and clone out the distracting elements. hank you for the suggestion.
Welcome to NPN, Saikat, and your first post is beautiful. I love the overall high key look, but it appears a bit too light in a few areas, particularly at the bottom. I downloaded it and toned it down a wee bit and added a few shadows just as a possible suggestion. Looking forward to seeing many more images from you.
Welcome, Saikat! Hope you get as much out of this forum as the rest of us!
I really enjoy looking at this image. The texture is just so soothing and soft. And I appreciate the low-contrast processing. Very pleasing and peaceful.
I wonder, have you experimented with a vignette or other means to modulate the light values across the image? It could be a way to focus attention on a smaller area and break up the uniformity of the subject. Itās an idea that Iāve been working with recently that I picked up from @Jack_Curran, who does it so skillfully and to great dramatic effect.
@Bill_Chambers thank you for the appreciation. yes, the bottom part is indeed too bright and I like your edited version. Thanks for uploading your version, I will try this on my raw file too.
@Matt_Lancaster thank you. Yes, this is a wonderful forum and I have already received valuable feedback. I havenāt experimented with the vignette but it is definitely an important tool to selectively draw the attention. I will look up the work you mentioned. Thanks.
Yes, Jack Curran does great work in B&W. His YouTube videos and video tutorials on his website are very helpful for explaining his methods and purpose.
Welcome to the forum, and this is a spectacular first post. I look forward to seeing more of your photos. I think it could benefit from more contrast. Here is my take: first, a curves layer to darken the midtones and lighten the highlights. I played with the opacity to get what I preferred. Then another curves layer with a mask just to darken the bottom.
