Mountain as silhouette

[JohnL]

Looking for C&C on this photo I took a couple weeks ago in the Whites.

Thanks
JohnL

 

[bikehikeskifish]

For me, the photo is more about the interesting clouds, and not so much about the silhouette. You might try a tighter crop on Monroe if that is what you wish the subject to be.

Tim

 

[Grumpy]

For me, the photo is more about the interesting clouds, and not so much about the silhouette. You might try a tighter crop on Monroe if that is what you wish the subject to be.

I agree with the first sentence, but would leave the crop alone. The silhouetted mountain, and aerial perspective provided by the mountain ranges in the background provide nice context for that great, dramatic sky.

What would help to make this one "sing" -- and it must be done subtly -- is to both lighten and increase contrast in the scene. This is especially so in the non-sky portions, which would become more graphic. If you have Photoshop, play around with Brightness-Contrast adjustments, as a starting point. Be careful not to blow out your highlights.

This is a wonderful shot with lots of potential. I look forward to seeing what some of the Photoshop whizzes here do with it.

G.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Perhaps I was biased by the thread subject - Mountain as silhouette, which, as I think my first statement says, is not the subject which immediately grabs my eye.

Silhouette is probably the wrong word here, as it is the darkest of a series of ridges in the increasing distance.

Tim Seaver recently posted a photo of a proper silhouette, that is, there is nothing behind it. (See http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=23403)

Tim

 

[nartreb]

I concur; the mountain is not the main subject. From this angle you get very little sense of height or bulk from Mt Monroe.

I have no significant criticism of the photo as it stands, but I also think it has some possibilities for tinkering.

I'm using a crappy monitor at the moment so I hesitate to comment on color and hue, but I suspect you could play with the Levels adjustment in photoshop to get a tiny bit brighter whites out of the clouds without losing any detail or the deep blue of the sky.

You might also try brightening the foreground; bringing up some details might increase the sense of depth and distance. (It'll also significantly change the emotional tone, so you may or might not like the results. You'll also have to decide whether a more visible hut constitutes a distraction.)

 

[Mark Schaefer]

I agree this is a very dramatic sky photo, and it works very well as that.

The sunlit green areas on the right flanks work against the silhouette effect. And I believe the high contrast between the dark shaded Monroe and the more sunlit ridges works against this image being a classic study of ridge lines. Neither of those is overly important as this is a photo of the sky.

The ridge lines are a bit unsharp. That is probably understandable given the low light and probable high winds (likely sufficient to topple any tripod). Hand holding was probably your best option.

It is an effective photo as is, and could improve with some sharpening and slight tonal adjustments in photoshop.

 

[kmorgan]

I really like it... as a matter of fact, it is now my desktop background! At least for a few days...

Kevin

 

[JohnL]

Thanks for all the input. I had not noticed the sunlit spots to the right of the Monroe summit. I'll blame that on too much sunlight in my office. I have been playing around with the contrast, brightness and blackness in specific areas but have not gotten it to where I like it just yet. Sorry if the impromptu photo title threw some of you off. I had intended to get C&C on the photo but not on the title. I'll be more careful next time.
Thanks again. You've been helpful and insightful.

JohnL

 

[Woody]

I like the picture, especially of the clouds. My only other comment would be that it appears that the saturation of "blue" was pushed a bit high.