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Author Topic: Golden Rocks  (Read 3582 times)

maddogmurph

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Golden Rocks
« on: February 23, 2016, 09:35:36 pm »

So I'm just going to keep dumping on you guys for opinions because I have 6+ months of backlogged processing going on here.

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Paulo Bizarro

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Re: Golden Rocks
« Reply #1 on: February 24, 2016, 03:54:20 am »

I like it, it has a "Mordor" feel to it:)

Not sure about the "burned" sun, difficult to handle in any case.

stamper

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Re: Golden Rocks
« Reply #2 on: February 24, 2016, 06:42:53 am »

This one is worth the "dump". Very interesting image!

francois

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Re: Golden Rocks
« Reply #3 on: February 24, 2016, 08:52:12 am »

Wow, the sun in the frame wasn't easy to handle but you did very well. I like the golden or bronze colors on the rocks and in the sky and the fantastic shapes/textures of the foreground.

Well done!
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brandtb

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Re: Golden Rocks
« Reply #4 on: February 24, 2016, 09:16:05 am »

There are many great things about this image...the rocks in foreground, the moodiness, color and tone, the rocks structures in background and how it all relates. The really big problem with the image is the blown out hot-spot. With exceptions, the eye is often drawn to the brightest element in a frame like this. In this case it's at the expense of all the rest. I don't know what your shooting situation was of course or what it is typically - but in an instance like this I would get at least five or six "in a bracket below"...-1, -2 etc. and then blend in detail to bring that down a bit.
« Last Edit: February 24, 2016, 09:21:24 am by brandtb »
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maddogmurph

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Re: Golden Rocks
« Reply #5 on: February 24, 2016, 02:21:56 pm »

There are many great things about this image...the rocks in foreground, the moodiness, color and tone, the rocks structures in background and how it all relates. The really big problem with the image is the blown out hot-spot. With exceptions, the eye is often drawn to the brightest element in a frame like this. In this case it's at the expense of all the rest. I don't know what your shooting situation was of course or what it is typically - but in an instance like this I would get at least five or six "in a bracket below"...-1, -2 etc. and then blend in detail to bring that down a bit.

Do you have any suggestions given there is no dark bracket exposure to work from?
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Jens Peermann

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Re: Golden Rocks
« Reply #6 on: February 24, 2016, 06:16:38 pm »

Nice drama and great sense of distance. I can stare at this for a long time.
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Slobodan Blagojevic

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Re: Golden Rocks
« Reply #7 on: February 24, 2016, 07:02:17 pm »

Do you have any suggestions given there is no dark bracket exposure to work from?

Use a brush (with soft edges) for negative clarity, or even soft focus (negative sharpening, more than -50 in LR, for instance).

Another option is to use a Spot Removal tool in LR (or similar effect in PS or other programs) to patch a nearby area with low opacity, so that it appears that the sun is behind clouds (as I assume it actually was).

maddogmurph

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Re: Golden Rocks
« Reply #8 on: February 25, 2016, 01:38:23 am »

I dunno, hows this?
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B-Ark

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Re: Golden Rocks
« Reply #9 on: February 25, 2016, 07:04:34 am »

Looks good.
I like the 'liquid metal' look of the water.
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Bob_B

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Re: Golden Rocks
« Reply #10 on: February 25, 2016, 09:07:42 am »

Yes to the second, modified version (not that the first wasn't print-worthy).
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sarrasani

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Re: Golden Rocks
« Reply #11 on: February 28, 2016, 07:20:46 am »

excellent. I like both composition and tone/colours (not pumped as we often see) management.
All the best,
sandro
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Jeremy Roussak

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Re: Golden Rocks
« Reply #12 on: February 28, 2016, 01:12:24 pm »

I dunno, hows this?

Yes! That's a big improvement. You've removed the real eye-catching flaw in the otherwise fine original.

Jeremy
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luxborealis

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Re: Golden Rocks
« Reply #13 on: February 28, 2016, 01:50:16 pm »

I dunno, hows this?

This one is an improvement, but I don't think you are quite there yet. The cloned in area is substantially softer-looking than the rest of the clouds. Bring back some of the "edge" - by redoing what you did but with more contrast or adding contrast to what's there - and it will be more successful.

Great colours overall. I'm wondering, though if could stand to be brighter in the mid-tones to liven it up a bit.
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Slobodan Blagojevic

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Re: Golden Rocks
« Reply #14 on: February 28, 2016, 03:06:02 pm »

This one is an improvement, but I don't think you are quite there yet...

The three methods I proposed can be used either individually or in combination. The strength or proportion of each is more a trial and error than a precise formula.

James Clark

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Re: Golden Rocks
« Reply #15 on: February 28, 2016, 04:02:06 pm »

I like the first treatment, and I REALLY like the second, but mostly I commend you on dealing well with what are (for me at least) some of the hardest lighting conditions to shoot/process to a high level.

(And thanks to Slobodan for the suggestions - I may go back and try a few of them on some older images..)

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Jeremy Roussak

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Re: Golden Rocks
« Reply #16 on: February 29, 2016, 03:50:25 am »

This one is an improvement, but I don't think you are quite there yet. The cloned in area is substantially softer-looking than the rest of the clouds. Bring back some of the "edge" - by redoing what you did but with more contrast or adding contrast to what's there - and it will be more successful.

Is a little softness in that area really a problem, Terry? It is still a representation of a very bright light, after all. It didn't bother me.

Jeremy
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luxborealis

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Re: Golden Rocks
« Reply #17 on: February 29, 2016, 05:49:45 pm »

Is a little softness in that area really a problem, Terry? It is still a representation of a very bright light, after all. It didn't bother me.

Jeremy

To me, anyway, it doesn't quite fit the rest of the photo. Not a huge problem.
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brandtb

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Re: Golden Rocks
« Reply #18 on: March 01, 2016, 08:16:48 am »

I think that's a little too soft and blurred like a cotton ball. Most important is to make sure that hot spot in sky "matches"/"clearly relates" to its reflection in water. The spot in water is pretty intense...but the sky element doesn't really correspond. Also, getting the surrounding tones of the sun area just a little bit more reddish would relate more to rest of sky where light is coming through clouds
« Last Edit: March 01, 2016, 02:55:51 pm by brandtb »
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Hidden Grid

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Re: Golden Rocks
« Reply #19 on: March 01, 2016, 02:15:10 pm »

This is real nice!
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