Palouse Fall Scene

[lovelife65]

Tried a couple different approaches, not sure this works, but none-the-less here tiz.

#1 softer and more mellow

Palouse Fall by sharonkay finley, on Flickr

#2 more processed

20191021-_DSF5009-6 by sharonkay finley, on Flickr

[Manfred M]

Great start Sharon - the biggest issue I have with the images are that they are quite flat and you need to work on the contrast.

[lovelife65]

Great start Sharon - the biggest issue I have with the images are that they are quite flat and you need to work on the contrast.

Thank you sir, I did actually have an attempt that was similar to yours but second guessed it thinking the tree didn’t stand out enuff. I always worry about pushing it too hard so instead take it too much the other direction :@

[Manfred M]

A good rule of thumb (unless the scene is misty or cloudy) is that more contrast is better.

Yes, one can overdo it, but in general people often do not push hard enough.

[Wavelength]

I too feel a lack of contrast; further the position of the tree as well as its size compared to the vastness of the land also creates some problem; only if you excuse, i have a rough edit for this...

[escape]

I too feel a lack of contrast; further the position of the tree as well as its size compared to the vastness of the land also creates some problem; only if you excuse, i have a rough edit for this...

I prefer Nandakumar’s crop. It looks more balanced to my eye, between the swirls in the corner and the tree.

[Wavelength]

I prefer Nandakumar’s crop. It looks more balanced to my eye, between the swirls in the corner and the tree.

Sir, Actually i had to move the tree a bit, because the original image has the tree in a difficult position to reorganize the image; then i adjust the contrast; that is all

[DanK]

I'll be more specific. In general, I think more contrast would be good, but there is a particular reason in this image: much of the strength of the image is the lines in the upper two thirds. I would use midtone contrast and probably local contrast (e.g, the texture slider, and maybe a light dose of the clarity slider) to bring them out more.

[pschlute]

Nice image Sharon. I am usually in favour of more contrast the better, but your first image has very subtle pastel tones which I quite like.

The top left corner does need to be edited as Manfred demonstrated.

[xpatUSA]

A good rule of thumb (unless the scene is misty or cloudy) is that more contrast is better.

Yes, one can overdo it, but in general people often do not push hard enough.

In Sharon's scene, Manfred, would that be Global Contrast or just certain levels of Detail or only certain areas?

[edit] Just now read Dan's comments on type of contrast[/edit]

[Manfred M]

In Sharon's scene, Manfred, would that be Global Contrast or just certain levels of Detail or only certain areas?

[edit] Just now read Dan's comments on type of contrast[/edit]

I cheated and threw the image into Nik ColorEfex 4 and used both the "Pro Contrast" and a ND gradient to tone down the "hot" areas near the top. I made a couple of local adjustments in Photoshop in the top left and bottom left corners.

When I do edits on posted images I try to use techniques that give a a decent result with just a few minutes of work. The Nik filters were global the way I used them and the Photoshop work was local.

[xpatUSA]

I cheated and threw the image into Nik ColorEfex 4 and used both the "Pro Contrast" and a ND gradient to tone down the "hot" areas near the top. I made a couple of local adjustments in Photoshop in the top left and bottom left corners.

When I do edits on posted images I try to use techniques that give a a decent result with just a few minutes of work. The Nik filters were global the way I used them and the Photoshop work was local.

Understood - thanks. I'm tempted to try Contrast-Limited Adaptive Histogram Enhancement which is quick to try but can take a while to process!

[xpatUSA]

Understood - thanks. I'm tempted to try Contrast-Limited Adaptive Histogram Enhancement which is quick to try but can take a while to process!

Not bad -from the first "softer" shot -One click with default settings:

[Geoff F]

I suspect, Sharon, that you can still have that nicely mellow tinted scene of your first image by cropping a little tighter at the top and right side. Giving the tree a little bit more impact without those contrasting and distracting field lines

[DanK]

I cheated and threw the image into Nik ColorEfex 4 and used both the "Pro Contrast" and a ND gradient to tone down the "hot" areas near the top. I made a couple of local adjustments in Photoshop in the top left and bottom left corners.

When I do edits on posted images I try to use techniques that give a a decent result with just a few minutes of work. The Nik filters were global the way I used them and the Photoshop work was local.

That explains the big change in saturation and color balance, I think

I got much less extreme changes in colors using ACR


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[escape]

I need a little help with this. If the tree was moved a bit to the left would it still work? I found the rule of thirds too prominent in this image. For me moving the tree to the left resulted in a more visually engaging image. I’m still explore my eye. That’s why I ask.

[lovelife65]

wonderful suggestions and fun everyone thank you. i should post the original. as so many suggestions make sense.

thanks for giving me things to think about

s

[Manfred M]

Moving the tree to the left does not work for me at all as it shifts the centre of interest of the image too close to the edge. I hesitate to say anything about the way that Sharon framed the image as it looks like she was near the edge of a hill and I don't see what was outside of the way she framed the image.

When it comes to the Rule of Thirds, let me quote something a locally well known photographer posted on a friend's Facebook pages. Harry Turner, the person that wrote this was the corporate photographer at the National Research Council and a long time photography instructor (40 years) at a local college. I've met Harry a few times and know the photographer he wrote very well.

"The Rule of Thirds has been frustrating fine artists since 1797 when a mediocre landscape artist named John Thomas Smith misinterpreted a reference by Sir Joshua Reynolds that in a work with areas of light and dark it is best that one dominate. The rule of thirds has become myth and a crutch since. In one of the very few scientific investigations on the RoT done by a university Germany, it was derived that in esteemed paintings and photographs there was diminished correlation to the RoT. It has been found that for beginning photographers the RoT may aid in developing a sense of composition however as artist become more accomplished and confident the RoT is less evident. That as the photographer develops and gains an intuitive expertise in artistic composition they depend far less of on such rules as the RoT. Which was determined as the reason they did not find it in predominately in high quality artworks and photographs. I have been teaching photography and photographic composition for over 40 years and have found dogged adherence to the rule of thirds is a pathway to mediocrity. The Rule of Thirds is built into the crop tools of Lightroom and Photoshop, camera viewfinders display it. The problem is the whole world is using the same cookie cutter and they all look just the same. The world is organic and doesn't mold easily to a grid. As Edward Weston said studying the rules of composition before taking a picture is like consulting the laws of gravity before taking a walk. With your experience it is time to leave the so called rules behind and follow your developed artistic sense. We try generally to offset the subject from the center but where and how much depends on your sense of composition and what feels right. It the culmination of a myriad of micro decisions. It come down to using depth of field, tone contrast and colour to create a strong figure-ground relationship. Is the subject the center of attention, does the viewer's eye go easily to the subject. Do other elements support or distract. Are there leading lines and how does the eye flow in the image. Are there shapes that help define the subject, like triangles which contain and keep the viewer's eye within the image and on the subject. All this to say don't keep trying to adapt your images to some preconceived convention. You are a good photographer so follow you intuition and sense of composition so the images look more like yours and stand apart from the rest. You know when it feels right young Jedi. You have this."

[xpatUSA]

wonderful suggestions and fun everyone thank you. i should post the original. as so many suggestions make sense.

Good idea, Sharon, and you're welcome.

What is the "main subject"? The Tree or the swirly harvester(?) tracks?

If the tree, I'd do a huge crop and place the center-of-area of the tree Manfred-knows-where.

[escape]

Thank you Manfred. Your response was very much appreciated. Daniel