Luminous Landscape Forum

The Art of Photography => User Critiques => Topic started by: ivan muller on January 30, 2012, 05:05:29 am

Title: Landscape....sky too dramatic?
Post by: ivan muller on January 30, 2012, 05:05:29 am
I made the sky nearly black but is it too much?

I have a couple more with varying degrees of drama here...http://thelazytravelphotographer.blogspot.com/2012/01/karoo-cloud-landscapes.html


(http://i39.tinypic.com/2dahhnd.jpg)
Title: Re: Landscape....sky too dramatic?
Post by: Chairman Bill on January 30, 2012, 05:25:24 am
I find that sometimes you just lose detail in the clouds, which reappear once you tone down the 'red-filter effect' a bit. That doesn't mean what you've done is wrong - aesthetics is a subjective issue - just not always as good as it might be for some.
Title: Re: Landscape....sky too dramatic?
Post by: Riaan van Wyk on January 30, 2012, 05:32:35 am
For me it's too much Ivan.
Title: Re: Landscape....sky too dramatic?
Post by: Josh-H on January 30, 2012, 05:56:57 am
For me it's too much Ivan.

I'm with Ivan. It is a subjective opinion - but for me, its a little too much.

Dramatic is good (at least I like drama in photographs), but if overplayed it just results in the viewer being asked to suspend their disbelief and the effect is lost.
Title: Re: Landscape....sky too dramatic?
Post by: Fips on January 30, 2012, 06:08:22 am
I like the sky in the second and third picture from your website the best. Really nice!  :)
 My problem with the photograph show here is not only blackness of the sky, but the amount of midtone contrast in the cloulds. Don't know if it was captured like that, but it looks too artificial to me.
Hope that helps.
Title: Re: Landscape....sky too dramatic?
Post by: francois on January 30, 2012, 06:15:38 am
I have no problem with the sky itself but, as noted by Fips just above, the midtone contrast in the clouds doesn't look appealing to me…
Title: Re: Landscape....sky too dramatic?
Post by: ewanqbl on January 30, 2012, 06:41:32 am
It's a bit too much, the clouds take away too much from the overall effect of the picture.

I would've gone with something like the skies in the second picture from your blog. Tone the skies down, or add the color back to the sky.
Title: Re: Landscape....sky too dramatic?
Post by: fike on January 30, 2012, 09:51:50 am
I like the sky.  The foreground is a bit lacking in interest, but the sky is awesome!! I'd crop off a bit of the bottom to focus the image on the parts that are excellent, the sky and the mountains.
Title: Re: Landscape....sky too dramatic?
Post by: ivan muller on January 30, 2012, 10:10:19 am
Thanks everyone for the very helpful feedback.....I must still digest it all, but in the meanwhile a version of the landscape before any post processing except increase in contrast and edge darkening...via silver efex 2...thats all...will work on it a bit more, but at least you can see where I came from.....

(http://i44.tinypic.com/2d9d0mw.jpg)
Title: Re: Landscape....sky too dramatic?
Post by: Chairman Bill on January 30, 2012, 10:38:52 am
If you placed a control point on the sky, and then reduced the brightness slightly, yellow filter maybe, & increased the contrast slightly more overall, I think that would be enough.
Title: Re: Landscape....sky too dramatic?
Post by: jalcocer on January 30, 2012, 10:47:53 am
It's a nice picture, but maybe look better with something in the middle.
Title: Re: Landscape....sky too dramatic?
Post by: Chairman Bill on January 30, 2012, 11:10:12 am
It's a nice picture, but maybe look better with something in the middle.
There's a telegraph pole. What more do you want?
Title: Re: Landscape....sky too dramatic?
Post by: Roberto Frieri on January 30, 2012, 02:57:49 pm
I like very much the dramatic sky.
Title: Re: Landscape....sky too dramatic?
Post by: jalcocer on January 30, 2012, 04:16:18 pm
There's a telegraph pole. What more do you want?

I think I missed to explain my self, I mean about the tones on the sky, something in the middle between the tone of the first one he shot and the original.

sorry for not explaining my self properly
Title: Re: Landscape....sky too dramatic?
Post by: Chairman Bill on January 30, 2012, 05:02:39 pm
I think I missed to explain my self, I mean about the tones on the sky, something in the middle between the tone of the first one he shot and the original.

sorry for not explaining my self properly

It's OK. I was joking
Title: Re: Landscape....sky too dramatic?
Post by: jalcocer on January 30, 2012, 05:23:37 pm
thanks for pointing that out! :)
Title: Re: Landscape....sky too dramatic?
Post by: hjulenissen on January 31, 2012, 04:24:38 am
I prefer the less-processed/"original" version.

-h
Title: Re: Landscape....sky too dramatic?
Post by: ewanqbl on January 31, 2012, 07:25:51 am
But the original could use a little darker sky. Maybe a composition between the two. I think it would be something very dramatic and nicely compiled.
Title: Re: Landscape....sky too dramatic?
Post by: langier on January 31, 2012, 09:03:34 pm
The pole is a little too centered for my taste, but the gutsy version with the rich sky is fine.
Title: Re: Landscape....sky too dramatic?
Post by: ckimmerle on January 31, 2012, 10:52:05 pm
I don't think the sky is too dramatic, but I do think it might be a bit too contrasty. The top of the pole gets a bit lost. I think simply lowering the contrast a bit is all that is required.

As for the centered pole, I like it.
Title: Re: Landscape....sky too dramatic?
Post by: ivan muller on February 01, 2012, 07:05:13 am
Thanks all for your input, once again.

I have worked on a few versions but at the moment I have had enough of this image and I am going to give it a rest for a few days and then I will work on it again. Ii like Chuck's suggestion and will give it a go, but at the same time I am starting to like the softer version too...but first I need to clear my head a bit...