Mountain Light

I’m pretty content with this image but I’ll put it here instead of the gallery to see what a different set of eyes see that I’m missing.

I took this image while driving to see the Perito Moreno Glacier in Argentina. The mountains at the edge of the ice field were covered in clouds while to the east was clear, as the sun rose the thin clouds started to dissipate and the light in the mountains was spectacular. This image is a 9-shot panorama at 240mm (hand held).

What technical feedback would you like if any?

What artistic feedback would you like if any?

Pertinent technical details or techniques:

(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
panorama merge and global adjustments in LR. Local adjustments and sharpening in PS

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You may only download this image to demonstrate post-processing techniques.
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Jose, I would be content, too! Perfect light, perfect processing. Would love to have this on my portfolio. Congrats on a very well done job!

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Jose, there is a lot to like about this image, I don’t think you are missing much. The arrangement of the mountains and light within the scene are nicely balanced. Getting that high shadow on the right mountain was a stroke of luck, it really sets off the sunlit portion of the mountain below the shadow. I also like how you used a gentle hand on processing the shadow contrast, it creates a softer feeling that fits with the light in the sky.

I love this image as presented, it is marvelous. My only possible suggestion for improvement (you did post in critique, right :wink: ) is that in looking at the histogram, there is a lot of room on the right side of the histogram, I would pull that in slightly to increase luminosity of the highlights. You have to be careful how you do it, you don’t want to to add much contrast or you’ll lose the wonderful soft feeling you currently have. and I would mask this change into primarily the clouds, and not affect the sunlit areas of the mountain much. If you don’t mind, I took a stab at this myself.

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Very beautiful soft light and feel here and I really like the pano format that you chose. After seeing Ed’s quick edit I agree on the slight boost in highlights, that looks great!

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Jose,

What gorgeous light and conditions. I like how the mountain on the left is a bit more obscured by the misty atmosphere and the light on the right is more crisp. I think this is important in making this pano a successful one. Kudos on the handheld pano.

I like Ed’s subtle edits.

Lon

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Thanks all for the comments.
@Ed_McGuirk for suggestions like yours is that I prefer to post the images that I think are finished in the critique section instead of the gallery. This is the kind of things that I usually completely overlook, thanks!!

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Jose, while I consider myself reasonably competent at photography and post-processing, I find myself seeking that same type of input here on my own “finished” images. I think one of the best things about landscape images is that they are almost never truly finished products. For many images there are multiple ways to process and interpret a scene. While this can be both challenging and rewarding at the same time, it’s part of what keeps me engaged with landscape photography. I am continually amazed at how often the collective knowledge of the folks here at NPN Landscape Critique forum adds value to and improves “finished images”. Having the fresh and independent perspective of others is critical to making even “finished” images better.

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I like the drama in this, Jose. The colors are really nice as well. I too post mostly in Critiques. When I think “I’m done,” what I really am thinking is “I don’t know what more to do to improve this.” Enter the image critique forums! Maybe it’s a measure of my relative novice status or a need for external affirmation, I don’t think I have ever processed an image and thought, “Perfect…stop now.” It’s only when I get feedback and decide whether or not to apply it that I reach that point (at least I reach that point for a few years, and then maybe I go back and see if I see any new possibilities).

ML

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