Fall storm moving through......

MoparFreak69 · 10-30-2009, 08:24 PM

Stepped out the front door and looked up and saw this. Beauty and Menace in one awesome package!

What do you think?

*Ash* · 10-30-2009, 08:58 PM

Good effort.
For critique, you'd be surprised how late into the dusk you need to be to get a decent exposure without clipping the bright setting sun highlights.

The main feature is clearly the colourful sky, and the horizon/foreground silhouette is there just to complement the photo. A striking form to the horizon certainly helps, but the colours also need to be brought out without loss of highlight detail (unless the sun itself is in the photo).

This of course is my own opinion and not worth more than what it cost me to post it on the forum...

*StevenVH* · 10-30-2009, 09:38 PM

Yeah, what Ash said. Basically, good shot but the highlights are blown. If you've got the RAW version you can clip the highlights or play with the curve. I'd crop the car lid out and probably a 3rd or more of the sky.

Hey! I used to live in Boise and went to grade school in Mtn Home (dad was in the AF)
I like that town.

cheers

MoparFreak69 · 10-31-2009, 10:40 AM

How much of the horizon do you think should be left? I took a few without horizon but it didnt look right. I agree the car roof should be cropped. I thought leaving more of the dark sky in would add some dramatic effect but guess I missed the mark. Oh well, theres always another day!
FWIW I adjusted the brightness and contrast so that the picture of the screen looked like it did outside (did a direct comparison). Yeah I know blown highlights arent great in a photo, but I was trying for realism because the highlights in the sky were blown to my eye.

Thanks for the advice Ash. I will definately try a shot later in the evening to see if I can get "proper" results with nothing blown terribly!

MoparFreak69 · 10-31-2009, 10:45 AM

How is the artistic aspect of the shot? I need more work on the art aspect than I do the technical aspect. If I can get the composition right, adjusting lighting and color values will come with more practice.

*wallyb* · 10-31-2009, 12:50 PM

Originally Posted by MoparFreak69

How is the artistic aspect of the shot? I need more work on the art aspect than I do the technical aspect. If I can get the composition right, adjusting lighting and color values will come with more practice.

Honestly in my opinion, it's a little boring. There isn't much of a subject going on, you see these kinds of pictures all the time. With that being said, it's hard to make a subject out of clouds, so you did a pretty good job with what you had.

*Ash* · 10-31-2009, 01:10 PM

Rather than trying to salvage this shot, I would do a retake with the suggestions in mind. Then choose a silhouette with a more interesting form to it to complement the evening sky.

*res3567* · 11-08-2009, 05:07 AM

Get rid of the top part of the sky. Leave just enough to were you see some of the blue at the point the sky turns red. Get rid of the car top.