stepping away
by armelle

Comment by Zed Pobre:

Originally posted by armelle: Zed Pobre: I do like your color rendition! I'll have to try your steps later tonight (although I don't know if Elements has 'selective color' and smart sharpen?). BTW, the figure was some stranger in the distance and I think he was wearing a backpack :)

Hrm. It probably doesn't have Smart Sharpen, since that's new to CS2. You can buy a plugin called Focus Magic that does pretty much exactly the same thing, though. I don't know if Elements has a Selective Color layer, but that's probably my most commonly used adjustment after Shadow/Highlight. You might be able to get some similar effects out of Hue/Sat, but it's nowhere near as precise.

stepping away
by armelle

Comment by pidge:
I like your b&w version. Very nice! However, I must agree with the others that the color version is also very nice. The clouds seems to lose some texture in the pp version. Maybe selecting the sky out and fiddling with it on a separate layer?

stepping away
by armelle

Comment by armelle:
Thank you everyone for the helpful comments. I have more work ahead!

Zed Pobre: I do like your color rendition! I'll have to try your steps later tonight (although I don't know if Elements has 'selective color' and smart sharpen?). BTW, the figure was some stranger in the distance and I think he was wearing a backpack :)

And concerning your stab at it, I don't mind at all, it actually makes me want to play with the color version again (along with the other comments)... Thanks!
Armelle

stepping away
by armelle

Comment by Zed Pobre:
I've put together my own color rendition of this (I hope you don't mind):



Steps are in the image description. This may just be a matter of differing taste, however.

Cloud burst
by armelle

Comment by SJCarter:
Image is too dark IMHO. Also, the angle of the lamppost is a little distracting.

stepping away
by armelle

Comment by Zed Pobre:
I much prefer the original to this version, but I think that's because there isn't anything particularly compelling about the image as it stands to warrant the loss of color. The heavy white blown area in the upper left doesn't seem to be present in the original, so I can only attribute it to overdodging. One thing the shift did do is bring out the arcs in the sand on the upper left, but I suspect contrast adjustment might have done that in color as well. I may comment again later tonight after I've had a chance to play with this.

As a composition note unrelated to exposure, the posture of the figure in the distance is odd and hunched, which detracts a bit from the mood. Otherwise, the composition is excellent, with the ridgeline drawing the eye nicely into the distance and up to the clouds.

stepping away
by armelle

Comment by sheapod:
As I looked at the histogram of this shot it seemed a little too light. A minor levels adjustment of the black (40 points) really brought out the contrast in the footsteps in the sand.
As you mentioned, the blownout sky in the top left corner is a bit distracting. Maybe some burn there would help? I don't really know as I have a hard time with the dodge/burn tools.
I have to second Steve's comment. The composition is excellent. It's a great photograph.
- Laura

Cloud burst
by armelle

Comment by PoetryInColor:
Beautiful! I love the blue-lit clouds!

Snowed in
by armelle

Comment by dsidwell:
Fun contrasts here! B/W makes the lighted areas that much more important. Nice work!

Cloud burst
by armelle

Comment by Strikeslip:
That's one serious rain curtain, good catch. The lamp for scale is a good idea, and well-placed. I don't like the graininess.