This is a re work of an old image from our 2005 to Yellowstone NP. I have always enjoyed going back through some images and reprocessing with modern techniques and software to see how they can work out. Thanks for looking.
Ed, I like the composition here with 2/3’s sky, and the “Big Sky Country” feeling that it creates. And those light rays are simply fantastic. While I know you were going for a dark and stormy feeling, I would slightly increase the exposure in the sagebrush foreground, to see a little more detail. And I might decrease the contrast in the sky a bit, it feels heavy, especially in the upper right corner. I’m not sure if that is caused by a vignette, or by your processing of contrast, but to my taste I would back off the sky a bit.
Ed Cordes,
In my experience, although I like darkness, it has to be used carefully. Total black, creating silhouettes, can be very effective, but when it’s just dark and with enough detail to draw the eye, it can be annoying. The center of your image really draws me in with a lot going on. The top third looks like a little too much graduated filter was used. There’s detail in the clouds there, but it’s like looking through a glass door on a fireplace with a lot of soot. You could still use a graduated filter, just don’t dial down the exposure so much or play around with how far you pull it down so the transition would be more gradual. Or crop out more of the sky. Lots of possibilities to get the effect you want.
The lower third of your image has enough detail to draw my eye, but I’m straining to pick it out. You could crop a lot of that out and use the dark foothills in contrast to the warm mist, or, If you lighten it up a bit (see my example below), the silvery sage adds a lot.
Great drama on the in the sky and on the landscape. I agree with others I think the foreground should either be cropped, giving more emphasis back to the light and drama - OR, increase the luminosity a bit if you want to keep the bottom. I like Rick’s rendition, especially the foreground detail - looks just right. But I think lost some of the drama in the clouds/light. Perhaps something between this and your original as far as the upper half goes. Maybe just back off the yellow a bit from the original? Anyway, these are minor suggestions - you’ve got a dynamic landscape image.
Thank you to all who have made good suggestions AS it happens my wife thought the FG should be lighter, but I was trying to create more drama. I do like the rework Rick did. Again, I appreciate all of you taking the time to comment.
