Well it has been a while since I have had anything new to post, but I just returned from a trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway.
This is an image that I took at my favorite spot along the parkway. The view from this point is spectacular and the conditions on this night were grand. While the sky didn’t light up quite as much as I had hoped I’m still pleased by the light from this night.
It had been raining much of the day and fog had filled the valleys between the ridges. I have some images from earlier in the day that showed this.
While I was waiting for sunset a couple of guys drove by and for one of them it was his first time to see the Blue Ridge Mountains and he was in awe with the view and the way that the fog was filling the valley. He said he didn’t have the words to describe the beauty (thus the title).
What technical feedback would you like if any?
All comments and critiques are welcome.
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
All comments and critiques are welcome!
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
Capture Info:
45 mm
0.4 Sec @ f/8
ISO 64
Processing Info:
Adjustments to contrast in the midtones and lights channels using TK’s luminosity masks. Minor adjustments to vibrance and saturation using TK’s vibrance and saturation masks. Color balance adjustment to add warmth to the scene and pull out some of the magenta that was present in the scene.
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This is the kind of moment landscape photographers dream about, but so rarely experience.
I think this image has both awesome light and a great composition. The diagonal ridge in the center just makes this image so dynamic. This image has more layers than Photoshop. The way the light is streaking across the foreground ridge is pretty wonderful too. It doesn’t get much better than this, well done Brian.
If I had to offer any suggestions for tweaks, I might slightly back off the green saturation in the foreground ridge. That ridge is mostly in shadow, and shadows are generally less saturated in real life. I think you could also gently dodge the distant mountains in the ULC, things in the distance usually are brighter in luminosity than the foreground. But these are nits, overall this is a great image.
Brian - nice you were treated with such beautiful conditions…is this Cowee Mtn Overlook?
In regards to the presentation, my first observation was that the shadows in the distance were too dark. The magenta you may have incorporated is a bit strong to my eye as well.
I also see some of what @Ed_McGuirk is referring to as there is inconsistency in the ways the shadows are color “graded”. As someone familiar with this type of scenery, I find the greens in the foreground shadows can be this warm if the light above is warm-ish. I guess it’s not the presence of warmer shadows in the foreground and near mid-ground that seem incongruous to me, but the strong sense of transition of these shadows with more darkness (contrast) & coolness (+ some magenta?) in the further mid-ground and distant mountains than I would expect.
I feel you have a great template to work with here and of course its your vision, not mine. You were there and not I, so please take my comments with a grain of salt and follow your heart in the processing of this image. You’ve got a winner regardless!
Thanks @Ed_McGuirk and @Jim_McGovern. You have given me some things to think about to revisit this image.
A couple of thoughts:
The foreground was being lit by warm light from the setting sun (out of frame to the right) while the background mountains were mainly in shadow. The skies overhead where I was shooting were more clear than the skies in the distance. Maybe this accounts for the tonal difference between the foreground ridges and the background ridges.
I will experiment with backing off of the saturation of the greens in the foreground (although I don’t think I have really pushed the saturation here. The saturation adjustments that I made were really minor. However, I have noticed that the Z7 that I am shooting with now tends to really make the greens pop.
The magenta was coming from the setting sun (out of the frame and to the right) which was at this point at a pretty low angle and backlighting clouds that were vibrant red. Although I did make color balance adjustments to bring that out it is close to how I remember the scene in person and that was something that i really liked.
@Jim_McGovern This is taken from the Cowee Mountain Overlook. The view from this spot is my favorite on the Parkway (but I haven’t been further north than the Linville Gorge area or the Viaduct - I forget whichever one is the furthest). I even prefer this spot to Clingman’s Dome in the Smokies. The great thing about this spot is that it is rarely crowded and the view is just spectacular and largely unobstructed. There was a photo workshop there on this night (they arrived after I did so I got my favorite spot), but most of the time I have been there it is really quiet with only a handful of other people there. Hopefully I don’t give away the secret!
No worries @Brian- Cowee is no secret! I thought I recognized that middle and background! It’s usually pretty crowded when I’ve been there. It truly is very special though. You should also have a look at Waterrock Knob if you haven’t been there. It’s reasonably close and also pretty cool.
Brian,
You hit the jackpot this particular evening as I can not imagine the conditions being any better than this for us photographers. there are so many layers in this image to savor and enjoy starting with the FG ridgelines, up through the fog filled valleys and topped off with that gorgeous drama laden sky. The lighting throughout the scene is absolutely wonderful. My only suggestion would be to desaturate the greens in the FG as they look a little neon; at least to me. This must have been grand to witness first hand!
