Elk Lake

[1ADAM12]

I was hiking in the Adirondacks on Saturday and we got a very early start. By the time we hit the Macomb Slide the sun was just starting to rise from behind Macomb Mountain.

So in the first picture (the original) the foreground is very dark and the background is almost perfect because of the lighting. In the 2nd photo I lightened it up a bit and the foreground looks good but the background almost looks washed out. Almost looks like water color?

So I guess my question is......Which photo do you actually like best and why?

Thanks,
Adam




This is the original photo.

This is the doctored version.

 

[nartreb]

Why compromise?

A little heavy-handed, but just to show what's possible:



(Started with first picture, applied contrast mask, plus graduated neutral density overlay)
(I think the cloud at top wound up too dark; you could brighten that back a bit.)

 

[Mark Schaefer]

Adam, you have a classic high contrast situation that is virtually impossible to capture with one exposure in the camera. And since you were climbing multiple mountains in the Dix range you did not have the luxury of waiting for the sun to rise higher to illuminate the foreground. A single split neutral density filter on the lens would not have fully corrected the situation as there are three distinct ranges of brightness (sky, sunlit lake, and shadow forground), and the separation of the foreground is not a straight line. So the correct thing to do is to capture a few images, exposed for the different areas of brightness. Then hope to generate an image as Nartreb nicely did using software and contrast masks.

If I had to choose between the two images you posted I would choose the first -- as Elk Lake is a more interesting subject than the slide. You could crop off the lower third of the image, creating a lower dark silhouette frame. And you correctly exposed the image for the most important highlight, Elk Lake.

As the slide is part of your hiking story, it is worth making the attempt to reveal it in the photo, but probably not at the expense of a good exposure of Elk Lake, nor the now very overexposed sky. That is where using a good photo editing software program comes to the rescue.

 

[NeoAkela]

I agree with Mark - a cropped version of the first with a close silhouette frame at the bottom would be my favorite - keeping the cloud and lake details whole, which are essential to the feeling of the picture.

 

[bubba]

Agree w/above. I like the contrast of the natural, dark framing that gives a feel of being "in" the mountains and looking out.

 

[Neil]

My Photoshop (elements) skills are pretty limited but here's what I would do:

Select the darker foreground and play around with the shadows and highlights (ie. brighten shadows, or even increase the brightness overall) and also if necessary try adjusting the levels. Then I would crop it and submit it to a calendar competition I heard about.

In trying this out the selection border looks pretty cheesy. I would assume some playing around with the brush's feather and hardness would be in order.

Ie: