Originally Posted by
Tony M
Hi Sam,
I like the photo very much. The two versions you have posted are both good on their own merit; the first treats the foreground shadow as a base upon which the clouds and hills are layered. The second version gives more emphasis to the foreground. Personally, I like the first one the most; I might try cropping a very small amount at the bottom, just to reduce the weight of the shadow area.
I think that the processing of the second photo to lighten the shadows of the foreground can be applied more consistently to give a more realistic appearance. The lightening has not been applied to the top of the trees, and more trees at the bottom left ought to be lightened, as should the narrow second line of trees in the left half of the image, albeit slightly less than the foreground shadow. You could do this with the adjustment brush in Lightroom, or perhaps with luminosity masks in Photoshop (but only applying it to the lower half of the image). I hope I've explained myself well.
You have captured a magnificent scene, without losing information in the highlights or shadows, and you have plenty of scope for applying your own creative processing. Good job!
Tony