Dalton Gang Enclave

[wmchauncey]

The enclave is located in southern Colorado @ 10,000 elevation.  The image holds some sentimental value and I want to have it printed on metal.
Trouble is...I've played with PP for years and am unable to find "the look", whatever that means, that satisfies me.



There has been very little PP done to this example...the lens flair, in the upper left corner, is repairable but, what direction should I take the PP.
As a side note...I do have different exposures should I desire to go the HDR route.

[fike]

This is a good workable exposure. 

What style are you hoping for?

If your title is any indication, perhaps you want an old west style that is more nostalgic.  For this, sepia tone is the obvious choice...perhaps too obvious.  Here are the things I would do:

* Add vignette
* convert to a light sepia black and white
* On that B&W layer, mess around with the blend mode of the layer and the transparency until you find a mix you like...I generally look for somthing that is desaturated and toned, but with a bit of color showing through. 
* Make a duplicate layer of the image and render fiber, set blend mode to soft light and decrease transparency until you like it.  In my sample I also masked the sky from the fiber render because I didn't like the strong lines in the smooth sky.

[Rob C]

I like Olde West!

I twice researched such calendars - once in the desert of Almeria and another time at Old Tucson. In neither case did the clients bite; they much preferred beaches and shiny flesh.

It was in the era of Letraset; I'd even worked out a cover design using oldie westie type - something that you could scrawl onto the wooden stuff in your foreground. You wouldn't even need sepia: everyone including soccer mums (whatever the hell those are), would get it immediately, just like my calendar covers.

Also like them, covers not mums, it doesn't guarantee they'd buy into the notion one tiny bit.

;-)

Rob C

[wmchauncey]

If I'm gonna spring for the cost of a metal print I'm leaning toward a "Peter Lik look" to it...I just can't nail it yet.

[MoreOrLess]

Can you get back to the location? I can see potential for a good B&W conversion in that image but the colour shot doesn't really grab me with the foreground structure in shadow and the lighting generally not adding much character.

[wmchauncey]

I'm 70 y/o and it's at 10,000 elev. at the end of a 2 mile hike...not likely.