Rolling Palouse

[lovelife65]

Did our yearly trip with dog and kid in tow to Montana, came back thru the Palouse region of Washington State.
Not sure on this image, landscape is always tough to me ... finding something that is memorable that someone else hasn't already done. Much harder to capture any emotional elements without a person or point of interest.

Oh well

It is quite an interesting area with the rolling wheat fields, and we were there this time pre-harvest/dry period which is brown.

#1



#2 - could possibly use some pp work, and a bit less sky....

[tbob]

I think you have captured quite unique images. I would not worry about not duplicating other's images, never the same light or position shot from. And besides, they are yours.

I did a quick conversion in Capture One, these are the main points I think you can use.
The blue sky, I made it a bit more blue and less green, then saturated it a very small amount. I then decreased the overall brightness and contrast to bring out the clouds a bit. I had to increase the overall exposure a hair to compensate for that. I did a slight curve to enhance the image . And finally did a crop, you need to keep most of the sky (especially one like this) however i felt the ground needed a bit more emphasis/dominence. Fairly subtle stuff on the whole,

[Geoff F]

Trevor has done exactly what I was thinking. Maybe something similar with the second image? But don't overdo any 'improvements'. Subtlety is always the watchword with this sort of scene.

[lovelife65]

Trevor and Geoff thank you both. I like your edits Trevor, and appreciate you taking the time to do so.

What I always fear in pp these types of scenes is creating a "Thomas Kinkade" image... which personally drives me a bit nuts , but a lot of people love that stuff.
You improved the image without taking it too far.

I may go back and look at the jpegs from in camera, as the film simulation used was a more vibrant one. Mid day shots are always a little washed out, so...

[tbob]

I had to look up Thomas Kinkade, I did not recognize the name. Hmm, not my style and probably a safe bet I will never own one. I, like you, live in fear of sliding down that particular slope.

When it comes to learning processing, and I may have said this before, take an image and go wild with the sliders/adjustments one at a time to learn what each does. I have found, and this may be just me, that contrast, brightness, saturation and sharpening often need to go into minor reduction mode. And local adjustment of these is far better than overall.

[lovelife65]

I had to look up Thomas Kinkade, I did not recognize the name. Hmm, not my style and probably a safe bet I will never own one. I, like you, live in fear of sliding down that particular slope.

When it comes to learning processing, and I may have said this before, take an image and go wild with the sliders/adjustments one at a time to learn what each does. I have found, and this may be just me, that contrast, brightness, saturation and sharpening often need to go into minor reduction mode. And local adjustment of these is far better than overall.

Thanks Trevor, absolutely agree... need to spend more time. Thomas Kinkade may be an unfair target... more along the lines of the over saturated/over processed style... A local photographer here in town goes for that look and people just love it. I'm just a more subdued type, even preferring black and whites

I've got pre-sets in light room, but need to start digging more into the nitty gritty and possibly even learn photoshop. (but still really wanting to get the best take SOOC), with some minor in camera raw conversion adjustments (and continuing to use those film simulations my camera offers).

Sharon

[Shadowman]

Nice set, compositions have enough emotion for me, good weather can sometimes do that for you.

[FootLoose]

Nice set, Sharon.

[AndrewMcD]

I too had to Google Thomas Kinkade......have no fear, you are no where near! *L*
I agree with the comment regarding don't worry about shooting what has already been done; all we can do is present what we see. Having said that I think you see things very well. I struggle with landscapes as I often fail to have an object of interest or focus. I just get this overall image in my mind and more often than not it evokes a "so what" response. You have managed to create images that, at least for me, evoke an emotional response, a feeling for what it was to be there at the moment you snapped the shutter. Subtle processing, minor cropping and you've got some memorable images. Nice work.

[billtils]

Sharon

I pretty well agree with the above comments, most especially because someone has done it before is no reason for you not to do it too, and that yours are nicely composed.

Adding to the Kinkade theme, how a photograph impacts on someone is at least as much a matter of taste as anything. I like what Trevor did - and his accompanying narrative, but there is a delicacy in your original that appealed to me as soon as I saw it.

[lovelife65]

Thanks for the comments guys, appreciate the feedback. Andrew, landscapes are tough I think, for the very reasons you state... so hard to get something that isn't just flipped through as a "oh, okay I guess that's pretty".
Bill, subtle is the key I think, with scenes like this... to not overwhelm the colors and present a softness to the scene.

[LePetomane]

Sharon, very nice. Hard to get a bad shot in Montana.

I am wondering how a black & white conversion would look. On your X-Pro 2 there is a film simulation mode that you can bracket so you will get one exposure in three different film modes. I believe your X Pro 2 has Acros mode.

[lovelife65]

Sharon, very nice. Hard to get a bad shot in Montana.

I am wondering how a black & white conversion would look. On your X-Pro 2 there is a film simulation mode that you can bracket so you will get one exposure in three different film modes. I believe your X Pro 2 has Acros mode.

Thanks Paul David
Yes, there are several film sim modes for my camera, and I love using the Acros mode.... it's wonderful.

I can see about converting in camera, but mostly I was trying to capture the different colors (missed the best time of year for it by a tad).

[ccphoto]

Having traveled the same area in recent months, though admittedly when it was much hotter and much dryer, I can appreciate the overall look you were going for. Trevor's edit brought a different emphasis to the scene than I would choose in concentrating on the sky, which is relatively uneventful, at least to my eye.

I took an overall impact approach and placed my emphasis on accentuating the Palouse farmland with a simple mid-tones correction and diminishing the sky by cropping for a more panoramic viewing.

[MrB]

Perhaps enhance the contours of light and shade to bring out the rolling fields, hills and clouds.

Cheers.
Philip

[Digital]

Sharon, I like this scene, especially when it was edited. PP is an art, and I have far to go to be proficient at it.
I do have a question: who put the watermark on your pic in Chris' post?


Bruce