Autumn Morning

[Rebel]

I've been trying to capture this scene for a few weeks now, but the sky/weather always lets me down. The sky wasn't ideal this morning but I'm pretty pleased with the image.

The castle you can see peeking through the trees in the background is Margam Castle, more info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margam_Castle



Also a cow I passed which had some lovely light on her



And finally, a bit more experimentation below:

[Wavelength]

Excellent images, both

[Rebel]

Excellent images, both

Thank you Nandakumar, I have now added my final image

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Matt,

I really like the final (third) image - I'd say the experiment succeeded!

The cow is good too, but how did you find one without those bright ear tags?

Unfortunately #1 suffers bright borders against the sky; sharpening artefacts (radius too wide, amount too high)

Did I say I liked the third one?

Dave

[James G]

Matt, an interesting series.

The Margam Castle/river scene has a nice aspect, but looks too pink in the lightbox. Maybe a bit too much magenta?
The large tree branch creates a great natural frame for the central area of the image but I feel it is a bit too dark and unbalances the image on the right. (I too can see sharpening artefacts.) I'd probably lighten it a bit and bring out a little more moss and bark detail.

The light on the cow is good too. I think I'd be inclined to crop in a little tighter, (not too much), to make the cow stand out more from the background more.

As regards the path in the woods, it doesn't quite work at present for me. I can see your idea but I think it would benefit with a bit more brightening of the undergrowth and a corresponding increase in contrast.

I still like them though, with the river scene my favourite.

[Brownbear]

I'm especially fond of the 3rd image and an admirer of your beautiful images with a definite style. The image of the cow is my favourite - the most beautiful cow in the world!

[bnnrcn]

Hi Matt I like the composition in #1. IMO there are some too orange parts which need fixing among the branches of trees in the upper left .Actually may be reducing the saturation of the oranges a bit for the whole image would be better. #3 looks very nice too. Did you pull the dehaze slider to the left for the misty look?

[Wavelength]

Third one is also awesome indeed

[Dave A]

Great series! The third one is just plain beautiful.

Dave

[Shadowman]

Good captures.

[deetheturk]

Lovely images Matt, I like all three mate!

[KimC]

The cow reminds me of that beautiful pony you captured in the field! Third one is my favorite of this beautiful set.

[NorthernFocus]

Nice set, Matt. The first one really has an "old world" feel to go along with the castle. The second is one of the more excellent shots I've seen of livestock and the third looks like it came straight out of Lord of the Rings. Well done.

[Rebel]

Hi Matt,

I really like the final (third) image - I'd say the experiment succeeded!

The cow is good too, but how did you find one without those bright ear tags?

Unfortunately #1 suffers bright borders against the sky; sharpening artefacts (radius too wide, amount too high)

Did I say I liked the third one?

Dave

I agree Dave, I underexposed this shot and thought it would be ok to raise the shadows in PP but it was not the case so thats why the image is as it is. Might go back down tomorrow as its meant to be a nicer day

Oh and I cloned out the yellow tag, I'm not a fan of them

Matt, an interesting series.

The Margam Castle/river scene has a nice aspect, but looks too pink in the lightbox. Maybe a bit too much magenta?
The large tree branch creates a great natural frame for the central area of the image but I feel it is a bit too dark and unbalances the image on the right. (I too can see sharpening artefacts.) I'd probably lighten it a bit and bring out a little more moss and bark detail.

The light on the cow is good too. I think I'd be inclined to crop in a little tighter, (not too much), to make the cow stand out more from the background more.

As regards the path in the woods, it doesn't quite work at present for me. I can see your idea but I think it would benefit with a bit more brightening of the undergrowth and a corresponding increase in contrast.

I still like them though, with the river scene my favourite.

Thanks James, I have actually toned down the Magenta, the actual scene was much pinker than this... the sky was an odd colour this morning

Hi Matt I like the composition in #1. IMO there are some too orange parts which need fixing among the branches of trees in the upper left .Actually may be reducing the saturation of the oranges a bit for the whole image would be better. #3 looks very nice too. Did you pull the dehaze slider to the left for the misty look?

Thanks Binnur, The orange parts are the sun As for number 3, its not the dehaze slider its again a motion blur layer over the top and I changed the layer kind to Overlay and played with the opacity and fill.

The cow reminds me of that beautiful pony you captured in the field! Third one is my favorite of this beautiful set.

Thanks Kim and well spotted, I used the same PP technique as I did on the wild Pony

[dje]

All very nice Matt. The others have said it all !

Dave

[Rebel]

All very nice Matt. The others have said it all !

Dave

Thanks Dave

[rtbaum]

Thank you Nandakumar, I have now added my final image

And they just keep getting better

[John 2]

Like all of those Matt, the last one in particular. The warmth of the early morning light adds to the Autumnal feel. Nice shots.

[FootLoose]

All good, Matt. I think that is probably the best environmental bovine portrait I have seen. And your treatment of the 3rd has evoked a faeryland atmosphere for me.

[Chrisclick]

Awesome work Matt.

Can't agree or disagree with any of the suggested modifications, as the images are simply not large enough in Lytebox to to have a real good look ( I'm using a 27" 5K Mac). I also notice that some of my bird images degrade in sharpness and therefore, detail, in Lytebox. Is this something that you have noticed?

Back to your images... I can agree wholeheartedly with all of the positive comments made. They certainly are wonderful shots and your PP is to be admired.

Your results remind me very much of those that can be achieved by careful exposure blending. Have you seen any of Jimmy McIntyres work? His images have a similar tonal quality and appeal. Not that I'm comparing, just noticed the similarity.

Once again, Awesome work!