Mt. Agung

[mdg]

Your thoughts?

[Harald L]

Very impressive. Less sky would work more for me.

Harald

[francois]

Another beauty… I love it!

[louoates]

Impressive image. More impressive with a small sky crop.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

I like the composition and simplicity. I find contrast a bit too strong...or perhaps the sky too bright.

[mdg]

Very impressive. Less sky would work more for me.

Thank you.  I wanted a square frame for this shot and I considered having a bigger portion of the ground but I don't want the street and houses in the frame so I decided for a bigger sky.  I also considered for one mountain only (still for a square crop) but I don't want to remove the smaller mountain on the left.

[Jeremy Roussak]

Thank you.  I wanted a square frame for this shot and I considered having a bigger portion of the ground but I don't want the street and houses in the frame so I decided for a bigger sky.  I also considered for one mountain only (still for a square crop) but I don't want to remove the smaller mountain on the left.

Fair enough. If not less sky, then, at least try a darker sky. It looks as if there's some interest there to be brought out.

Jeremy

[mdg]

Fair enough. If not less sky, then, at least try a darker sky. It looks as if there's some interest there to be brought out.

Thanks Jeremy.  How's this?

[francois]

The photo is much different with the dark sky. It's more threatening while the first version is "quieter".

[mdg]

The photo is much different with the dark sky. It's more threatening while the first version is "quieter".

indeed

[petermfiore]

The photo is much different with the dark sky. It's more threatening while the first version is "quieter".

Ah! The power of value structure.

Peter

[louoates]

I like the way the darker sky brings out the reverse Z shape that ties the image together. I'd still like to see more cropping off of the sky. Regardless of our micro-managing it's still a masterful image as presented originally.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

...  How's this?

I like it!

[mdg]

Thank you for another lesson (bow)

[BernardLanguillier]

Nice!

Cheers,
Bernard

[amolitor]

I would not go nearly so far, but I would darken the upper left corner to create more of a gradation-to-darker-greys. The original has lovely transitions from light to dark and back again, but too many of them for "breadth".

[Jeremy Roussak]

Thanks Jeremy.  How's this?

It's very different, and I like it. I didn't have anything quite so dramatic in mind but it does work. Is there perhaps a little detail to be teased out of the clouds on the right, which are still very pale? (Just a little!)

Jeremy

[RSL]

+1, except that I'd leave the clouds to the right alone. You have the left slope of the mountain more or less repeated in the large dark cloud, and the right slope of the mountain repeated in the smaller, lower cloud. The last two make a nice leading line upward and to the left. I'm afraid any more work on the clouds to the right will detract from this.

[wolfnowl]

I prefer the original image.  There's a visual cue that the smoke is heading to the left, but the shape of the clouds seem to render an idea of moving to the right, almost as if the image is pushing against itself.  I might try lowering the contrast a little, though.

Mike.

[mdg]

I like the composition and simplicity. I find contrast a bit too strong...or perhaps the sky too bright.

I prefer the original image.  There's a visual cue that the smoke is heading to the left, but the shape of the clouds seem to render an idea of moving to the right, almost as if the image is pushing against itself.  I might try lowering the contrast a little, though.

Noted on the contrast.  Thank you all (bow)