Sella

[Harald L]

Sella / Dolomites

[brandtb]

Wonderful image!

[David Eckels]

I have to visit this place! Very nice, Harald. Just a  tad more contrast in the background?

[Harald L]

I have to visit this place! Very nice, Harald. Just a  tad more contrast in the background?

Yes, indeed nobody should pass without visiting the dolomites.

The foreground is a beast because it tends to be too busy. But I'll try my very best. Here's another interpretation of that picture which is a little bit away from this forum's main stream but I like it anyway: Sella

Harald

[Harald L]

...Just a  tad more contrast in the background?

Here you are...

[sdwilsonsct]

Very nice but kind of busy with lots of structure in the foreground, mountains and sky. Would colour help?

[Harald L]

Very nice but kind of busy with lots of structure in the foreground, mountains and sky. Would colour help?

:-) Thank you, please have a look at reply #3.

Harald

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

The linked color image has a kind of painterly quality to it, which I agree would upset some LuLa viewers, but it is still quite nice.
My preference is for the second of the B&W versions. I don't mind a somewhat busy foreground; after all, Nature often is busy.

[David Eckels]

Understand the business, but after seeing #2, I think I prefer #1. There's a certain "other worldliness" of the peaks that separates them from the foreground. Thanks for accommodating my wonderings!

[francois]

…My preference is for the second of the B&W versions. I don't mind a somewhat busy foreground; after all, Nature often is busy.

I like the last version best, it has lots of textures and excellent contrast. I'm not so hot on the linked color version but it might just be a [lack of?] post-processing.
Anyway, the B&W is superb.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

I find myself increasingly at odds with esteemed members of the community as of lately, with your, gentlemen, newfound love for overcooked imagery. Not sure if it makes me mainstream or fringe, though.

The image is too busy, placing accents all over the (wrong) place. Everything seems accentuated, thus nothing is. Actuallly, the main element, the magnificent mountain range, seems to be emphasized the least.

My recipe:

Foreground: Less, not more, contrast, clarity and exposure
Background, sky: less clarity
Background, mountain: more clarity and contrast

[cjogo]

Great image -- but not sure about the "look" of the foreground ---maybe some kind of processing happening ??

[Harald L]

Thank you guys for the discussion. Isn't it funny that different ponds need different bait? With the first picture I've got a lot of wows from non-photographers. It seems to be obvious that that kind of over-processing attracts much more people in our world of visual-overkill. I don't want to start the Raberizing-Thread again but have a look at the colorful world of Flickr and 500 px...

Anyway - here's the forum which upholds the immortal values of St. Ansel. And back to the bait: a worm has to delight the fish but not the angler;-)

Harald

PS: The picture is only about to worship the overwhelming beauty of the Dolomites.

[Bruce Cox]

I shouldn't say anything after my daily drink, and if I was a fish and I ate worms I would feel less insulted.  If I wanted to photograph the mountains, I would get closer.

[armand]

The last version is better, I can distinguish easier what is happening in the foreground as the trees are not the same tone as the rocks

[Richowens]

Harald,

 You have it right in the first image. Leave it alone and enjoy!

Rich

[David Eckels]

+1

Harald,

 You have it right in the first image. Leave it alone and enjoy!

Rich

[davidh202]

This is indeed a very tough image with so much going on in that foreground. That is why I actually prefer your linked color version in which the colors themselves tend to separate the clutter, and reminds me of an old time tourist postcard effect. ;-)

David

[Harald L]

Let me simply suggest that if the attraction is the over-processing, then the attraction is not the overwhelming beauty of the Dolomites.

C'mon Isaac, don't get me wrong deliberately. Nobody gets attracted by the make-up but nobody would notice the beauty of Scarlett O'Hara on a stage full of drag-queens. Sadly the internet is the latter.

Harald

[brandtb]

One of things I find remarkable about this image is at base level it has a very visceral power and shifting rhythm all throughout the image...fg, bg, sky...a striking qualities that to me capture and help tell the tale of the Dolomites and the landscape surrounding. It may be one of those images that over time gets tweaked...one time, ten times, one hundred times...I don't know...certainly wouldn't be the first time.  But whether it changes or not in varying degrees of contrast, sharpness, etc..at the end of the day... the essentials of a great image are here.