Luminous Landscape Forum

Equipment & Techniques => Landscape & Nature Photography => Topic started by: sdwilsonsct on June 13, 2017, 10:09:54 pm

Title: Grayest
Post by: sdwilsonsct on June 13, 2017, 10:09:54 pm
The prairie is grayest just before the crops germinate.

Feedback welcome.
Title: Re: Grayest
Post by: graeme on June 14, 2017, 03:42:18 am
Nice set, particularly 1 & 3. It looks vast.
Title: Re: Grayest
Post by: Cornfield on June 14, 2017, 04:01:20 am
Great captures of a powerful weather front.
Title: Re: Grayest
Post by: Paulo Bizarro on June 14, 2017, 04:26:28 am
Great skies, well anchored by interesting elements on the ground.
Title: Re: Grayest
Post by: Bob_B on June 14, 2017, 08:11:50 am
Nice set, particularly 1 & 3. It looks vast.
+1 the expanse is beautifully captured in these photos
Title: Re: Grayest
Post by: brandtb on June 14, 2017, 10:21:57 am
Scott - Nice group especially the first. Don't know if these went through Silver Efex and right to JPEG like some of your others - but I think the darkest shadows could be pulled up slightly. I think the high contrast/zones of darkness can become it's "own story" in some ways and may not always be supporting the content. /B
Title: Re: Grayest
Post by: NancyP on June 14, 2017, 02:22:53 pm
Lovely. I particularly like #3
Title: Re: Grayest
Post by: Telecaster on June 14, 2017, 04:55:39 pm
Tonal range looks good to me on my iPad.

-Dave-
Title: Re: Grayest
Post by: churly on June 14, 2017, 05:10:58 pm
I had to wait and see these on a big monitor before commenting.  Love the big skies.  I favor 1&3 as well and I think brandtb may be right about the shadows in #1.  It is worth a look.
Chuck
Title: Re: Grayest
Post by: francois on June 15, 2017, 10:27:37 am
I cannot add more praises to the list.
Bravo.
Title: Re: Grayest
Post by: Rajan Parrikar on June 15, 2017, 11:43:12 am
All three are strong images. Hard to pick a favourite.
Title: Re: Grayest
Post by: sdwilsonsct on June 20, 2017, 06:43:14 pm
Many thanks for the feedback. Prairie skies are not always exciting but, when they are, they can be fun to work with.
Title: Re: Grayest
Post by: graeme on June 20, 2017, 06:48:31 pm
Tonal range looks good to me on my iPad.

-Dave-

& on my iMac. I wouldn't change anything
Title: Re: Grayest
Post by: muntanela on June 21, 2017, 02:08:40 am
but I think the darkest shadows could be pulled up slightly.

I agree, unless some clouds were really so dark.
Title: Re: Grayest
Post by: Chris Calohan on June 22, 2017, 07:11:14 am
Scott - Nice group especially the first. Don't know if these went through Silver Efex and right to JPEG like some of your others - but I think the darkest shadows could be pulled up slightly. I think the high contrast/zones of darkness can become it's "own story" in some ways and may not always be supporting the content. /B

I I did do several mid-tone adjustments to #3 and have to agree but the images are quite pixelated so cannot make a definitive statement. 
Title: Re: Grayest
Post by: sdwilsonsct on June 22, 2017, 06:26:57 pm
I agree, unless some clouds were really so dark.

Thanks Muntanela, Graeme and Chris. I have pulled up the darkness a little here, and included an OOC version for information.
Title: Re: Grayest
Post by: luxborealis on June 22, 2017, 06:56:27 pm
Beautiful work, Scott. That third one with the buildings and that immense cloud, is very engaging. Some of the mid-greys seem a bit muddy, but overall, the photographs are terrific!
Title: Re: Grayest
Post by: sdwilsonsct on June 23, 2017, 01:50:59 pm
...Some of the mid-greys seem a bit muddy...

Thanks, Terry! Can you clarify?

What I see in the mid-greys is noise or texture. If you mean something else, how would you remedy it?
Title: Re: Grayest
Post by: luxborealis on June 23, 2017, 06:18:22 pm
Thanks, Terry! Can you clarify?

What I see in the mid-greys is noise or texture. If you mean something else, how would you remedy it?

Yes, there is texture and some noise. What those middle greys, in the middle of the cloud mass, might benefit from is increased local contrast, just to make them slightly more "lively". Often photographers reach for the Clarity adjustment brush (in Lightroom) to do this. Try this, by painting over the middle greys and adjusting the value whilst examining the photograph on screen. it might just be the answer, but it may also make the greys too salt-and-pepper or grainy looking.

The way I see it, is you want to raise the lighter valleys while keeping the lower values the same. Another way to approach this is by, again, painting over the area with an adjustment brush and using a combination of increased Contrast and, perhaps, increased Highlights.

It's a subtle change you're after, just enough to, as I said earlier and have no other way to describe it, enliven the greys, give them some presence.

Good luck!
Title: Re: Grayest
Post by: John Cothron on June 23, 2017, 07:00:47 pm
If you are using silver efex (don't know) but a structure local adjustment in those clouds would probably get you close to that.


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Title: Re: Grayest
Post by: sdwilsonsct on June 24, 2017, 02:08:58 pm
Thanks, Terry, I see what you mean.

John: good suggestion, silver efex works for this.

But both curves and silver efex seem to amp up the grain. Blurring it out softens the sky. I'll work at this some more.
Title: Re: Grayest
Post by: John Cothron on June 24, 2017, 02:38:06 pm
Thanks, Terry, I see what you mean.

John: good suggestion, silver efex works for this.

But both curves and silver efex seem to amp up the grain. Blurring it out softens the sky. I'll work at this some more.

Hmmm, by any chance did you reduce one of the color channels in Lr before going into SilverEfex?  I'm noticed that this sometimes starts that process and anything you do in SilverEfex just makes it worse.  Particularly the blue channel for the sky.