The latest storm to pass Tucson provided zero precip here in the city. But the Catalina Mountains on the north edge got a couple of snow squalls in the afternoon. This was the second one. My goal here was to capture the cloud as it “snowed out,” especially the textures.
Specific Feedback Requested
With black and white, I always find adjusting the global contrast to not have too much middle gray is important. This feels a little gray to me, but since most of the scene is miles away, it sort of makes more sense maybe. Let me know if you have any thoughts.
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Fujifilm X-S10, 18-55mm lens @ 21mm, f/5.6, 1/1700 sec, ISO 160.
Didn’t catch that I was shooting at f/5.6 until I checked it in writing this post. The print is sharp enough that I thought I was at my standard f/11. I’m just starting to use this lens and am quite happy to see it performing this well at this aperture.
Great cloud and excellent scene, Tony. The processing looks really good to my eye. I might consider cloning out the cloud in the top right corner, but not a big deal to my eye. I am really enjoying this one.
Tony what dramatic weather conditions, these clouds have a lot of vitality. Since this image is 85% clouds and sky anyways, being at f5.6 is not any problem at all. The mountains are essentially only a platform for those spectacular clouds. With clouds like this, no viewer is going to linger on the sharpness of the mountains. I do agree with @Harley_Goldman about removing the cloud in the URC, the big cloud deserves the whole stage to itself.
Just tried it w/o the little cloud in the upper right corner, and yes, I think it’s better with the could gone. Interestingly, I never even considered removing it until the comments here. Appreciate the feedback.
Dang, that is one impressive cloud formation Tony! The houses along the bottom edge add a wonderful sense of scale to this image and only make the mountains and cloud stand out even more. I think your repost nailed it as I like the balance a little better in the upper two corners although the original is superb.
Superb, Tony. The drama is is truly awesome and going monochrome is a perfect choice . I just have to say something about the little bit of cloud in the upper right. I find this fussiness and attachment to perfection problematic after a certain point. I really think we need to embrace the imperfection of nature rather than trying to clone it out of existence. In my opinion, if a person can’t take their eyes off that little cloud then this picture is a failure … and it is anything but. For me - leave the cloud. please. Outstanding.
Thanks for those thoughts, @Kerry_Gordon. I think I should rename this picture “Philosophical Musings on a Small Cloud.” As I mentioned, I hadn’t considered removing the cloud until it was mentioned here, and given that this is a critique forum, I’m open to any and all suggestions. But it’s nice to know that the little cloud neither makes nor breaks the image. It certainly wasn’t the focus of my attention when I took it.
