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RustyBug wrote:
Looks like a lovely scene to be enjoyed.
As to the stone wall / "V" (boss notwithstanding) ...
Lose the road, on the left.
Lose the symmetry of the two stone walls
Personal preference is to retain a portion of the wall on the right (maybe all), but lose a portion (maybe all) of the wall on the left.
Saturation looks okay, but the foreground looks a tad bright. I get that the lighting is coming over the top, and it is going to be brighter than down below. Actually, it looks pretty good ... EXCEPT, that it pulls us kinda to the FG / away from the main attraction. It might need just a touch more tweaking on the relationship of tonal value between the FG and the other areas ... subtle, judicious tweaking, maybe (i.e. nothing heavy handed / over the top).
I took a stab at shifting the color just a touch warmer to offset some of the cooler tones in the bend, and present a bit of the warmth. Tried to open up the "tree tops" down below, for some lighting that might have been "grazing" them. No effort to open it up widespread, just a kiss of accent to break up the darker mass a smidgen.
Fussed around with the crop a bit ... that'll be a preference call. My .02 was that I want to see into the scene, and still have just a bit on the right to let you know that you could go for a walk to further explore the vantage point. The road ... nixed it and most of the stone wall (leading us out or frame). Imo, this about me and being there (i.e. not getting there or leaving). I left just a smidge of the stone on the left (to get the trees), but not enough to pull us out of frame, and the lighter band of cliff (left side) picks up the (implied) line to guide us back in, as well. I might like to crop a bit more of the right side just a touch, but that's not critical (i.e. preference).
Mostly, I wanted to show you an an example of how changing from (ping-pong ) symmetrical to asymmetrical relationship between the walls alters the way you move throughout the scene. Your call as to how much (or none) you want to rebalance that relationship
Personal preference aside (and a yearning to open up the bend a bit more) ... a lovely scene with a lot of puzzle pieces. As always, S&P to taste ... and your desired message to be conveyed.
Btw, you might want to test print some sections for tonality before going $$$$ on the final print. Judging on monitor vs. judging print can be kinda diff. Ben & Scott can probably give better guidance in that area.
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Ok... Now this is getting scary Kent! Nearly everything you just suggested for tweaks I had already done almost exactly as you described. This is reassuring by knowing that some of what you folks have been teaching me is finally starting to sink in a little.
It sounds like I was on the right track but could push and pull things just a smidgen more.
I had reduced the FG brightness and brought up the bottom of the canyon a little and then did a little dodging on the tree tops down there to make them pop a little and give more depth.
One thing I did completely opposite though was that I cooled parts of the canyon because after I set my color balance things looked too warm and seemed like everything was melting together. A loss of depth or tonal separation if you will. I'll have to wait until I'm on a good monitor to study your edit. On my crap monitor right now I can't see much difference.
The scene was very dark when I shot this pano sequence and the canyon floor was nearly completely dark. This image is comprised from 35 separate frames. 7 sets of verticals each shot as 5 bracketed frames. I could have gotten by with fewer brackets but I wasn't about to take any chances as it's a long drive to make for a reshoot.
And the blends came out perfectly by not having large steps between frames. At over 1GB my system is choking just a little while processing this one.
I like the crop suggestion. I can't believe I never even considered just cropping the one side like that. Amazing how we can become blind to simple things like that. I suspect the boss might even like it.
I'll definitely be trying some small test prints before sending this out for print. I have a fear of prints not matching what I see on my screen and is the main reason I rarely ever print. I've even downloaded various print labs ICC profiles to try to soft proof but even those make my images look flat and dull.
Dave
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sbeme wrote:
Beautiful Dave! Definitely PrintWorthy.
I like the original but I can see why Kent suggested the crop. It encloses and reinforces the shape of the butte.
I would say the colors look natural. I would be tempted to bump the sat/vibrance a bit for more pop, but it is a stylistic choice.
I assume this is somewhere central NY state, Finger Lakes Region, but I am not aware of the beauty of this location. Close to your boyhood home?
Scott
Thanks Scott! Good to know I didn't overcook it and might even have a little more wiggle room.
Yes, this park is near the finger lakes which is where I called home until I moved south 20 years ago. Even after all these years, it still feels like home when I go back up there. I don't think SC will ever feel like home. My Mom and Dad are just a short walk from where this image was shot so it has special meaning to me.
Dave
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