Smoke from a wildfire created a dark and moody image that I thought worked well in B&W.
Any feedback welcome.
Canon 5dm4, 24-70 lens at 31mm, ISO 100, f8.0, 1/1000
Hi Todd,
I like the processing on the image. It’s a good black and white. The sun being in the top right bleeding into the image is a minor distraction, but that’s nitpicking. Great job taking advantage of the conditions!
I think this is beautifully done, Todd. I really enjoy seeing this. The layers in the mountains, the shadows of the trees…
Now, I do wish to see more light rays from the sun. I am not sure if dodging through a highlight selection will help to bring that a little more but that would be my first attempt to do that. Also, to be very critical, I would “fill in” a tiny gap of the sky on the UL corner, perhaps a content aware fill will do a very good job on this.
Todd, the B&W in this scene is a great way to work with the conditions, you also did a fine job with the contrast and creating depth. I agree with @Adhika_Lie concerning the gap above the mountain top on the ULC . Alternately, I might crop from the left side and have the mountain slope into the left edge of the frame leaving a little room between the top of the frame and the slope. This is a bit more drastic but it might balance the scene a little more.
Thanks Kyle, the conditions did seem desperate at the time but the heavy smoke did end up giving some interesting results
Adhika, and Alan. Thanks for pointing out the area in the upper left, I hadn’t noticed it but I agree It should be removed.
Really nice!
The B&W conversion is very suitable here.
I like to see “several horizons” like this.
I als agrre with others about the minor gap in upper left corner.
Beautifully demonstrated - love the sunstar off the upper right edge. Looks like a scene from a movie, like the guiding star and the path before me through the valley. To my eye (personal taste statement), the trees and shadows in the foreground are too inky black and the shadows merge with the trees losing their distinction from one-another. It also conveys a more foreboding/gloomy impression of the foreground, which while contrasting nicely with the atmospheric haze and limited contrast in the distance, is something I’d back off from a bit. Great shot in B&W.
Todd,
At first look, a summer rain squall is what came to mind. It wasn’t until reading your description that it all made sense. As someone mentioned, great job taking advantage of the conditions - as unfortunate and sad as wildfires can be.
Great choice on the b&w as I like how the smoke/haze has emphasized the layering as you look deeper in to the grand scene.
I like and agree with Adhika’s two suggestions as well. I think those would be some subtle, but good improvements.
Thanks for sharing!
Lon
Todd, going b&w does a great job of showing off the mountains fading into the distance especially given the smoky conditions. The hint of sun (and sunstar) plus the touches of cloud add interest to the sky.
Thanks to everyone for the suggestions, I did rework the image a little to incorporate some ideas. In order to bring in more shadow detail in the left lower corner I made an overexposed layer of the original color photo, converted to black and white and then used a low opacity brush to brush in a little detail in that area so it is not just solid black.
Todd
