Sunrise and the Negev Desert in Southern Israel

[Gerry F]

#1
DSC07656 by gerald fraser, on Flickr

#2
DSC07647 by gerald fraser, on Flickr

[Rufus]

#1 is quite ethereal, but my preference is for #2 where the light is providing good texture to the landscape.

[Manfred M]

Gerald - I've never been to the Negev. but have had the opportunity to spend some time in other desert areas. Not having seen what the lighting was like, I can't comment on what you saw, but somehow the colours do not look right to me. Was the sky really that yellow?

The other comment, especially in the first image is that when you are shooting into the light, the scene is back-lit and internal reflections of the light that hit the optical elements in the lens cause softening called "veiling flare". This can be compensated for in post processing by adding micro-contrast (in Lightroom / ACR parlance, "Clarity: and "Dehaze") as well as normal mid-tone contrast.

I've done some quick tweaking to your images and have come up with the following:

#1 - Pushing the jpeg fairly hard is introducing some artifacts and halos. The image is not all that interesting




#2 - This is definitely the stronger of the two shots, in my view.

[tbob]

For image one consider a bit of a crop to remove the very bright area in the upper right. i was tried a crop (with my crude two pieces of paper on the computer screen) just above the hilltop to the right and it seems a stronger image

[Shadowman]

Nice set.

[DanK]

I think the second is a much more interesting image--well composed, with interesting lines and textures.

You're new here, so I don't know what you know. So, pardon me if this is going over things you already know. However, in case you don't, it might be useful to break down what Manfred posted. I'll show some quick-and-dirty edits that illustrate the steps.

First, look at the histogram. It doesn't quite fill the available tonal range. You can add more pop by expanding it. You can do this with several different tools, but in many packages, you can simply move the white point down and the black point up in a levels adjustment. That yields this:




Now, add midtone contrast with an S-shaped curve with a curves tool. (I left this in the default blend mode, so it also adds a bit of saturation.)



Finally, add local contrast. I did this with unsharp mask in Photoshop, but the clarity slider in Lightroom does something very similar.



I don't think the amounts of each adjustment are optimal, even for my taste, but they show the impact of these edits.

[JohnRostron]

I agree with Rufus that #1 is quite ethereal. I also think it is the more impressive shot. I find that Manfred's modifications have ruined the ethereal quality, converting it to something more mundane.

John

[Gerry F]

Thank you all for your helpful comments. #1 This was an early morning picture with the sun still low. I intentionally wanted the picture to have an ethereal feel about it. Is the hazy/ethereal feel due to the veiling flare that Manfred alludes to. If so, it is having a desirable influence, in my opinion.
#2 Dan - thanks - I like what you suggested, definitely improves the picture.
Again - appreciate your involvement.
Gerry

[Manfred M]

Is the hazy/ethereal feel due to the veiling flare that Manfred alludes to. If so, it is having a desirable influence, in my opinion

Veiling flare is generally considered undesirable as it introduces unwanted softening throughout the image. Lens manufacturers, especially on higher end lenses, use special lens coating processes to try to reduce this effect. Lens hoods also provide a means to prevent / reduce it. You can still produce images with that ethereal look without it.

The hot spot at the top right hand corner is the source of the softening. When I see this issue through the viewfinder I will either recompose to avoid it or will use my hand or something else to shade the lens even more.

[rpcrowe]

There are times when a lens hood or your hand is not quite adequate to screen your lens from a particularly invasive light source. I have used my hat but, my dermatologist tells me that this is not a really great idea idea in the bright sun, given my history of skin cancers...

https://www.adorama.com/flsll11.html

I received this lens shade from Adorama as a bonus when I purchased the Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS ii lens a few years ago. It fits quite well on any lens (despite the fact that it is designated for large lenses). An exception might be for, perhaps a pancake lens. It weighs next to nothing, folds flat for storage and fits quite well in my camera bag or the pocket of my photo vest. The shade is also quite handy when I am using square filters.

https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...r+any+slr+lens

Its quite good to protect your lens from light rain or snow. It will get wet but, being made of ballistic nylon, will dry without any great problems.

I am not sure that I would pay the list price for this accessory but, I am glad that I have it and I use it fairly often...