(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
First of all, great find on the scene and I like the subjects at play. If it were me in the field, I would have considered getting MUCH lower (almost close to level with the flowers). That way, I could point upwards a bit and have the flowers in the foreground (ending at approximately the first third) then the mid area would be the trees ending at the top third and finally the last top third would be the foggy hills. This would, I believe, isolate the flowers, trees, and foggy hills while also giving the image a strong sense of balance.
Kathy, I like all the layers you have in this scene, it creates a great sense of depth. The background is simply wonderful, with the fog drifting through the trees on the hillside. I also like the soft glow effect you have achieved with your processing, it creates a very pleasing mood.
I think your instinct of wanting to add a little more “shape” in the foreground flowers is a good one, I think it would help channel the viewers eye towards the trees and hill. I downloaded your file and played with it a bit, trying to “shape” the foreground more. I added some stronger vignetting to the LLC and the LRC (but not to the top because I wanted to keep the fog lighter). I also tried to create some color separation in the field of flowers by using HSL hue adjustments to shift green more to green, and yellow slightly to orange. I may have gone a little too far with the green shift, but you get the idea. This was then masked into the field of flowers only, because I liked the way the greens and yellows already were in the trees and hillside. I think these changes create a little more shape and definition in the field of flowers.
Thanks, Ed, I think this has helped. I appreciate you taking the time to play with it. I do have some other shots from the ground, so I’ll work with those a little more, too.
Kathy, what I like about this are the different layers between the wildflower field, the trees in MG, merging into the gradients of haze on the slope then the fog beyond. It’s almost like looking at a seasonal timeline. Fun to ponder.
Kathy,
Beautiful spring landscape. I think you’re on the right track in your thinking and what you’ve presented. I gotta say, I think Ed took this exactly where this needed to go. Great job @Ed_McGuirk in separating the colors in the field of flowers. Never would have thought of that - and now I’ll have to try and remember…
No nits or suggestions. Just a wonderful image.
Lon
