Southwest from Sharptop

[Sam W]

Monochrome conversion C&C welcome. The faint small dots in the clouds are a flock of crows (I hope)

[Shadowman]

Nice capture.

[Wavelength]

Superb; but such images always bring growing desire in viewers to see the image in color, except for hard core B&W fans

[bnnrcn]

Hi Sam IMO the chimney and the roof make the composition crowded. I would crop the image from the bottom and leave only the top part of the chimney and then clone it and also clone the remaining part of the roof. IMO this would direct the viewer's eyes more to the layered hills and clouds and the composition would look better.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Sam,

EXIF data: Nikon D750 (FF) at 24mm, 1/125s, f/14, iso 100.

I'm going to play devil's advocate (merely to get us all thinking), so please humour me;

What was the subject?
The sky?
The view?
Both? (wrong answer)

I ask because the horizon is set just on half way up the frame and there's lots of sharp, contrasty detail both above and below it, so my attention keeps flitting from one area to the other.

I guess what I am suggesting is; are there two images here?
Certainly, by moving the LyteBox image off the top edge of my screen, I can get a nice composition of the view, with some sky and a horizon running on the 'upper third' line.
Less successful is any attempt to exclude part of the foreground and reveal a shot that makes the most of the sky, because of the building and foreground rocks getting 'cut through'
A slight re-positioning while shooting might have solved that issue, in fact, you may have other shots. Although I see Binnur has an alternative idea to deal with the building.

Well those are my thoughts - I think it would benefit from the application of the 'rule of thirds' - some may say that rules are meant to be broken (when the scene suits, I agree), but for me, this doesn't work as it stands - except I envy you being there.

As Nandakumar says, I do also wonder what the colours were like though.

Cheers, Dave

[Kaye Leggett]

I'm with Nandakumar and Dave here. In the B&W I feel there is too much going on in the sky in contrast to the pastoral scene below, maybe in colour it is less over-powering ? I think Dave's crop idea to lose some of the sky would work, but was it the sky which attracted you to the image in which case cropping some out would be self-defeating

[Sam W]

Superb; but such images always bring growing desire in viewers to see the image in color, except for hard core B&W fans

Thanks Nandakukmar, I appreciate your kind comments. I'm reluctant to post the color because it needs so much PP work to make it presentable IMO...but I'll give it some thought.

[Sam W]

Hi Sam IMO the chimney and the roof make the composition crowded. I would crop the image from the bottom and leave only the top part of the chimney and then clone it and also clone the remaining part of the roof. IMO this would direct the viewer's eyes more to the layered hills and clouds and the composition would look better.

Hi Binnur, thanks for your comments. When I first starting working with this image I spent some time trying various cropping. I agree with you that it seems a little crowded. I agree with your suggestion of cropping and cloning as that would direct the viewers eyes more toward the hills and clouds.

[Sam W]

Hi Sam,

EXIF data: Nikon D750 (FF) at 24mm, 1/125s, f/14, iso 100.

I'm going to play devil's advocate (merely to get us all thinking), so please humour me;

What was the subject?
The sky?
The view?
Both? (wrong answer)

I ask because the horizon is set just on half way up the frame and there's lots of sharp, contrasty detail both above and below it, so my attention keeps flitting from one area to the other.

I guess what I am suggesting is; are there two images here?
Certainly, by moving the LyteBox image off the top edge of my screen, I can get a nice composition of the view, with some sky and a horizon running on the 'upper third' line.
Less successful is any attempt to exclude part of the foreground and reveal a shot that makes the most of the sky, because of the building and foreground rocks getting 'cut through'
A slight re-positioning while shooting might have solved that issue, in fact, you may have other shots. Although I see Binnur has an alternative idea to deal with the building.

Well those are my thoughts - I think it would benefit from the application of the 'rule of thirds' - some may say that rules are meant to be broken (when the scene suits, I agree), but for me, this doesn't work as it stands - except I envy you being there.

As Nandakumar says, I do also wonder what the colours were like though.

Cheers, Dave

Hi Dave,

Thanks for your thought provoking comments and sage advise. This one was a hard one for me to crop and end up with something that worked. I like all of the sky, the mountains and I feel the house provides a sense of scale in regard to the boulders in the foreground. None of these by themselves seemed to provide the interest that I was seeking.

I am aware of the rule thirds but I found it hard to apply to this photo and end up with something I liked. The good news is that you confirmed my earlier thoughts which I forgot which was "what is the subject?". Thanks for pointing that out. I guess this one is a puzzle for me to keep working.

On the B&W conversion, I now wonder when viewers wonder what the colours were like. Could it mean that the B&W conversion left something to be desired? Probably. :-)

Best regards - Sam

[Sam W]

I'm with Nandakumar and Dave here. In the B&W I feel there is too much going on in the sky in contrast to the pastoral scene below, maybe in colour it is less over-powering ? I think Dave's crop idea to lose some of the sky would work, but was it the sky which attracted you to the image in which case cropping some out would be self-defeating

Thanks Kaye - yes it was the sky that attracted me to the image so cropping it, although I attempted it many times, was self-defeating. I preferred the B&W over the color because it gave the clouds added interest. Thanks for viewing and providing comments. Best regards - Sam

[DanK]

As a fellow easterner who lived for 25 years in the mid-Atlantic, I think I may know what you were referring to when you said that the color version would take a lot of PP. I find eastern mountain views really difficult, in part because of the distance-related blue cast from humidity. So, I am sympathetic to your doing this in B&W, and I like the contrasts in B&W.

Still, this image stumped me. I take Dave's point about their being two subjects, and I just spent a while trying a bunch of different crops without finding one that seemed right. However, maybe there is. There is a lot of interesting material in this image.

[Sam W]

As a fellow easterner who lived for 25 years in the mid-Atlantic, I think I may know what you were referring to when you said that the color version would take a lot of PP. I find eastern mountain views really difficult, in part because of the distance-related blue cast from humidity. So, I am sympathetic to your doing this in B&W, and I like the contrasts in B&W.

Still, this image stumped me. I take Dave's point about their being two subjects, and I just spent a while trying a bunch of different crops without finding one that seemed right. However, maybe there is. There is a lot of interesting material in this image.

I appreciate your thoughts Dan. Yes, there was a lot of blue haze to deal with in the color original. I am please to hear you like the B&W contrasts.

I guess there could be one subject to crop. I really don't mind the vista as the single subject. But I'm new at this, lot to learn. Thanks for trying the crops. Best regards - Sam

[IzzieK]

Too many things to see here. Have you tried just cloning out the chimney and leaving the just the house to anchor the shot? Just a thought...

[Sam W]

Too many things to see here. Have you tried just cloning out the chimney and leaving the just the house to anchor the shot? Just a thought...

Hi Izziek - I have not tried that yet. It might eliminate one problem. A house on a mountain top probably needs a chimney. :-) Thanks for your comments. Best regards - Sam

[Mike Buckley]

For me, there is a highly effective crop -- at the bottom to eliminate the outcropping and everything below it. That leaves a stunning panorama-style image in my mind.

[Sam W]

For me, there is a highly effective crop -- at the bottom to eliminate the outcropping and everything below it. That leaves a stunning panorama-style image in my mind.

Hi Mike - Thanks for your suggestion. I gave it a try:

[Wavelength]

Great edit

[Dave A]

That sky is killer, I'm liking the edit.

Dave

[Ziggy]

Very nice image. Been in that area a few times but don't think I have been to this location.

[Nayir]

Nice, sharp and good contrast Sam