Mountains in the Mist

[ShaneS]

You guys are killing me! I am currently at the point of "what the hell was I thinking" trying to translate the steps that Trace so kindly provided from Lightroom into ACR

Despite warming up the image, pumping up the contrast, lightening the shadows and adding vibrance I get nothing that resembles what Trace presented in her first step...what am I missing? I even went back to the RAW file and started from scratch with a similar result.

I might need to sleep on this one...

[PhotoByTrace]

That's disheartening.

There are a few different variables that are likely at play.
Probably the key one is that a compressed JPG will react quite differently to a raw file or even a TIFF file to these adjustments. So the changes I got with that file will be different than what you will get with less compression or with a NEF.

I'm using LR 5.6 which may adjust differently than to older versions of ACR. I know that the shadows slider and whites vs highlights were quite different when I changed to version 5. So that may be a compounding factor also.

Perhaps rather than aiming for it to look the same, just try to follow the workflow and make adjustments that are pleasing to your eye. Trust your judgement (she says after we've all just commented on how we second guess ourselves continuously )

Sorry if I've made the process more complex, that truly wasn't my intention :-S

[terrib]

Hi Shane. Hope things become less hectic for you. Love seeing you post.

I rather like the composition and the play of clouds around the peak in the first image. I also like that it shows more color. On the second, I agree with you that somewhere between yours and Trace's image would be nice. It almost looks monochrome as it is.

I so agree with you about the tools adding so many possibilities that it is easy to get caught up in them and forget what we were trying to portray in the first place. Definitely step back. Some images may need a long break to see the light. Others, like one I did "to perfection" yesterday only took going through a couple more images and coming back before I said "What was I thinking!". It reminds me of that Ragu/Prego pasta sauce commercial where the woman says "I wonder what other questionable choices I've made?"

Ragu/Prego Commercial

[ShaneS]

I finally wrapped my head around this one and agree with Trace that this image looks better a bit warmed up. In addition to the color temperature I was a bit more daring with separate curves adjustments on this mist and mountains and lightened the shadows in the lower right.

I'm not sure if I was daring enough on any front or the other way around...here is my revision:



This was a really good exercise in PP and I am grateful for the detailed suggestions and comments.

[Brownbear]

Hi Shane,

Just to say that I think #2 is especially lovely. For the composition, and the way the mist and clouds runs alongside the mountain peaks. I like the way Trace brought out the greenery in her edit. That may just be because I remember the beautiful jungle clad mountains in Hawaii, and the beautiful greens, especially on the island of Kauai.

Thank you for sharing these. Very helpful for me to see.