Invasion

This image was captured during a spectacular sunset high up in the argentine andes. The light got even more intense a few minutes later. I surely will post more shots of that evening in the future.

Specific Feedback Requested

Well. I know this shot is very much about the light, but the question is - is that enough? What about the comp? Does the image speak to you, or is it just a great sunset?

I tend to become attached to images of unique conditions like these and to overlook their weaknesses…

cheers,
joerg

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Hey Joerg, I’m going to be completely honest! I normally am not interested in wide angle landscapes that mostly emphasize colorful clouds, but of those I think this one does pretty well. There is a good sense of depth (as opposed to wide angle images that are just foreground and background), the composition is pretty balanced, the textures are interesting, the reflection is nice, the defined beams in the sky are interesting.

Just curious, did you crop the top at all? A couple of the edges of cloud layers are really close to the top and I wonder if just tiny bit more breathing room would be nice.

Joerg, this one works for me. It is both beautiful and fascinating, with the shapes and textures in the fore heading out to a beautiful horizon and sky. No suggestions here, looks great.

Joerg, this has such a foreboding and ominous look to it, the dark mood works well. I like how you sculpted the light in the foreground via dodging and burning.

It’s interesting that you are wondering if this is just another great sunset. Because if anything I’m with @Brent_Clark, I’d like to see more breathing room at the top, and a bit more of the sunset clouds. Not much, maybe just adding 2 or 3% to the image height. With that said, for me the mood and emotion in this image come largely from the moody foreground, so to me this is not really “just another sunset”.

I like the image. It speaks to me. Even with the red sky, I get a feeling of moodiness and coldness. Great FG. My only small suggestion is that the image could benefit with some focal length blending. The wide angle makes the mountains seem like little bumps.

For me, the main story is the mysterious foreground. The sunset rays obviously catch the eye, but I keep going back to the foreground pool. I rather like the “small” mountains as it gives a feeling of expansiveness. Lovely.

Hey Joerg, I must say I quite like this shot in general. There are elements I like more and some I like less, but I feel overall it does work.

The positives. I like the concept and obviusly its an amazing sunset. I think it has been processed pretty well; especially in the foregroud. I like the sky too, but the central light splay comes accross as a little over saturated - obviously I wasnt there so am only juding from what I am seeing here.

I don’t think that the great sunset on it’s own is enough here. For me, the compostion could be stronger. FOr instance I feel that the water being cut off on the left is a distraction and pulls you away from the light and the main water body. Having the water isolated in the salt pan would make it hold your attentiopn more. The mountain reflecting in the smaller water body also draws the eye.

So, I think in answer to your question: light on it’s own doesn’t always make a great image but combine with an ace composition and you are onto something. Saying that, a good comp on it’s own can work without great.

This is a very stunning scene. For me, the middleground and oreground are the stars of the show, with the sky colors a strong supporting player. I wondered what if half the sky were cropped. Also wanted to bring the warm colors more toward the viewer.

The repost by Dick is better for me but I don’t think the foreground has enough interest and I find the Rays lines not natural…The pond is very nice, more sky, less FG for me.
If this is Full frame, I think a crop taking some off the left side and bottom would look good.

This is a really good image with a good composition. I like Dick’s small changes, especially how he warmed the edge of the shoreline as though the sun was still on it. That some warmth into the cooler lower section. I’m ok with the amount of sky you have now.

Fascinating variation of opinions above; I believe that is something that makes NPN so valuable.

For me, I LOVE the foreground, and think your original sky is fine. I wouldn’t mind more sky if you had it, but wouldn’t have sacrificed the foreground to get it. I do love what @Dick_Knudson did with the color.

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thanks everybody for the feedback! sorry for the late reply.

it was interesting to read the variety of opinions. basically most of the thoughts have at some point crossed my mind as well and i guess that’s the reason why i question(ed) the image. here’s my thoughts on the points raised

crop
@Brent_Clark, @Ed_McGuirk. unfortunately the shot is more or less uncropped and there’s no way of giving your suggestion a try. i remember that the sky was quite uneven above where i cropped.
@Dan_Kearl cropping from the BL does cut off the “water” even more.
@Dick_Knudson i had initially cropped a bit more of the sky (like you did) and decided to go wider. just because i felt the sky/foreground ratio was pushed to far. with the repost below i went somewhere in between and just cropped the top part of the sky.

processing
@Dick_Knudson i like the slightly warmed shoreline. thanks!
@Eugene_Theron i reduced the yellows a bit - they were crushed by the srgb export. once i’m happy with the processing i usually work on a master file that takes various colour profiles in to account.

the image
well, i conclude that this shot has potential to either be loved or hated. it might not be portfolio-worthy, but still interesting enough to be shown around.

for those interested - here’s the rework. not sure if that’s final though :wink:

thanks again for taking the time to comment.
cheers,
joerg