Sky Over Sea

[flock]

As I found the comments on my first up load to this site very helpful I wondered how you might view this image.
It was taken at Clacton On Sea and I had waited for this storm to develop over the sea.
No lens filters, so did a lot in PS to bring out the drama of the sky.
I don't have any lens filters. Would they help a shot like this ?
Just a thought as I don't want to swamp the site with my shots how many would it be acceptable to upload ?
All comments are welcome.

[Mike Buckley]

It seems that you probably did a wonderful job of bringing out the detail and drama. Unfortunately, that can't be fully assessed or appreciated in such a small image. Considering that you're new to the forum, I wonder if you are aware that you can upload a large image. Many people upload images at about 900 to 1000 pixels on the longest side. The forum software will automatically downsize the image for display in the thread. Once the viewer clicks the image, the larger image is displayed.

I don't shoot this kind of image to know whether a graduated neutral density filter could be helpful to handle the bright area of the clouds. The issue with using it is that it would also affect either the sea below it or the darker clouds above it. I don't know about the ramifications that would pertain to post-processing.

I don't remember seeing any guidelines regarding the number of images to post in a thread. Based on my observations, almost all threads initially contain no more than about three to five images. There are exceptions for good reason. If every image serves a purpose, especially if the purpose is explained, it seems to me that that's the only thing that matters, not the number of images.

[flock]

Thank you MIke for taking the time to add comment on this Thread especially as you don't shoot this kind of image..also as I have been more used to 'ning' sites, I am feeling my way around this one, I am more used to having a front page of images to react to and be able to see the tone of the site rather than opening Thread after Thread.
Thanks again.
Frank

[Geoff F]

The common problem with this sort of shot is having too much dark or boring landscape below the clouds. But for me, this image is the opposite of that.

I would have liked to see just a little more of the ground/sea etc to place the scene into better context.

With regard to the number of photos displayed in the same post. There isn't any limit but too many usually fail to get many detailed replies unless there is a good reason for having so many. Particularly if the images cover a wide range of subject material.

However, when substantial editing has been applied, or there is a question about the best methods; it is often useful to see the original straight from camera (simply resized) as well as the final edit.

'Which of these photos do members prefer' etc are similar cases where a number of images are helpful.

Whether you use lens filters on a digital camera, when the image is being edited anyway, is generally a matter of personal preference; and the principles you employ when shooting.

Personally, I don't normally use any filters (except a standard UV filter) but I do vary the exposure compensation on most of my shots. Also, on scenes like this, I often carefully choose my exposure settings.

For instance, I will deliberately expose for the brightest areas then (unless I am shooting for a HDR scene) I do two conversions from the Raw files with different adjustments and merge the resulting images.

This creates similar results to using filters but gives me a little extra control over the end product.