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Photo posted by Harry Lichtman in the Landscape gallery on 06/24/18 at 09:21 am EST
Registered on 09/17/10, 304 Posts, 3507 Comments
Post last edited by Harry Lichtman on 06/25/18 at 11:34 am EST
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Comment posted by Igor Doncov on 06/24/18 at 12:55 pm EST
Registered on 11/22/14, 189 Posts, 2733 Comments
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I really like the overall composition in this image. The large protruding rocks all seem to converge into the center where the centered peak rises. There's a lot of power and energy from this composition. I would have never guessed this was shot at midnight. It looks like a dawn or early sunrise image. In fact, that's going to be my interpretation. Don't know what recommendations to make as it is a knock out image. The sky feels a bit fuzzy. I wonder if a separate shot for the sky at f/2.8 and a faster shutter speed would have helped.
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"If you want to make more interesting pictures, become a more interesting person" - Jay Maisel. |
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Comment posted by Ian Cameron on 06/24/18 at 4:23 pm EST
Registered on 08/06/04, 1125 Posts, 3318 Comments
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That's a very cool almost surrealistic composition Harry. I probably prefer a little darker rendition but that's just me looking for a slightly more naturalistic approach never-the-less it is very very eyecatching so hearty congrats.
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Comment posted by Barry Ashenhurst on 06/24/18 at 6:33 pm EST
Registered on 08/04/09, 253 Posts, 455 Comments
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Works for me, Harry. Yeah, I like it. A combination of tech skills and artistry is hard to beat.
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| ARTIST'S STATEMENT: Wow, that's great! What is it? |
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Comment posted by Harry Lichtman on 06/24/18 at 6:56 pm EST
Registered on 09/17/10, 304 Posts, 3507 Comments
Igor - I backed off considerably on sky and mnt horizon sharpening for the web as the stars looked artificially eye popping. I'm OK with more of a twilight look, but will play with a darker look for more of a night. Just don't want a daylight look or a muddy dark look. I don't have much experience portraying the night sky, so still in the experimentation phase. Way too many stars to look like twilight, but the average image buyer may not care.
Thanks Ian, will play with darker versions.
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Comment posted by Igor Doncov on 06/25/18 at 12:17 am EST
Registered on 11/22/14, 189 Posts, 2733 Comments
If the intent is to make this look like a night shot I would remove most of the warm out of it. That's just my feeling about it. I see a lot of night images with warm tones in them, particularly from artificial light, and to me they look contrived. I particularly like the fact that the fg rocks look cool, despite the usage of artificial light.
Here is an image I made that's not nearly as good as yours but it reflects my feeling about the desert sky at night. It's all about stars and the land plays a supporting role. I'm posting to show how dark it really is out there and I didn't want to change that. As you say, there is no right way to do it. It's about what you're trying to say.
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"If you want to make more interesting pictures, become a more interesting person" - Jay Maisel. |
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Comment posted by Dan Kearl on 06/25/18 at 01:01 am EST
Registered on 09/02/13, 209 Posts, 1514 Comments
Very nice,
Excellent work, hard to see any noise, light is realistic.
Night photography at its best.
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Comment posted by Harry Lichtman on 06/25/18 at 11:33 am EST
Registered on 09/17/10, 304 Posts, 3507 Comments
Comment last edited by Harry Lichtman on 06/25/18 at 11:37 am EST
Click Image for Larger View
Igor, thanks for the feedback and the desert image. Regardless of the merits of the composition, your desert night post is a bit muddy and lacks detail, despite that it is much closer to reality. My feeling is that the purpose of night photography is to showcase the night sky, maybe using land elements to add some context. Essentially giving a feel for what the eye can't see. So, I'd rather show more detail than less - I think the white balance selection probably influences the feel of the scene. For this alternate version, I did a quick BW conversion and revealed a tad of the lichen rocks of the color version using layers and eraser tool. I guess I could have revealed more of the color, hard to tell much was revealed in this version. Maybe this feels more like night since the cloud warmth or airglow or whatever the warm areas is eliminated.
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Comment posted by Norma Tareila Matl on 06/25/18 at 9:56 pm EST
Registered on 10/27/16, 229 Posts, 393 Comments
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Harry, amazing technical masterpiece! Beautiful hard to believe it is a photograph. You really used the camera sensor to your advantage.
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Norma Tareila-Matley
Tewksbury, MA
Rangeley, ME
“Photograph: a picture painted by light.”— Pablo Picasso
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Comment posted by Ed Lowe on 06/25/18 at 10:02 pm EST
Registered on 02/07/04, 414 Posts, 7115 Comments
The B&W works so much better for me as it has more of a nighttime feel to it, but still has plenty of details. It just seems a little more realistic to my eye, but I also realize that it is very subjective and what you the photographer are trying to convey to the viewer. My brother Mike and I are just starting to do some night photography and it is challenging and exciting to try something new. Either way this is nicely done, Harry.
Ed
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Comment posted by Harry Lichtman on 06/25/18 at 10:29 pm EST
Registered on 09/17/10, 304 Posts, 3507 Comments
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Thanks Ed and Norma - Unfortunately, a compromise must be reached with night shots between looking like night and having the detail we expect in land forms in the photo. I can see where a silhouette tree or mountain ridge would work well dark, but FG such as this just do not. Exposure long enough to capture night sky colors are not our eye's reality to begin with, so it is just a matter of how far to go to show those other features. It's fun to play around, and liberties seem much more acceptable than traditional landscape shots.
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Comment posted by Aaron Feinberg on 06/25/18 at 11:50 pm EST
Registered on 10/26/09, 399 Posts, 2789 Comments
Very cool shot. Dig the processing all around too. BW is surreal. Way to get after it.
aF
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aFeinberg Gallery
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Comment posted by Doug Koepsel on 06/27/18 at 11:28 am EST
Registered on 04/01/10, 196 Posts, 1592 Comments
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The multitude of rocks set in the silvery blue water is what attracts me most. The long exposure had a very nice effect on the water.
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Comment posted by Neale Dyster on 06/29/18 at 06:26 am EST
Registered on 02/19/08, 94 Posts, 738 Comments
Beautiful work Harry. Love the colour version and then I saw the B&W, think I may even prefer it, but can't seem to articulate why. Both amazing
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Comment posted by gary phillips on 06/29/18 at 6:29 pm EST
Registered on 10/24/13, 185 Posts, 4136 Comments
This is really sweet Harry. I don't do night shots, but I like this a lot. The long exposure worked very well to my eye. I like your comment about the average buyer not really caring about the technical details. I love your vision here along with the technicals.
Great work.
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Comment posted by Brian Schrayer on 06/30/18 at 12:13 pm EST
Registered on 05/28/04, 114 Posts, 2890 Comments
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I like this, Harry. The layering of the foreground rocks adds a lot of interest to the scene and I like the glow on the water from the long exposure. I like your interpretation in the sky as well. Nicely done!
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Brian Schrayer
Nashville, TN
"The mountains sing your glory, hallelujah, the canyons echo sweet amazing grace. My spirit sails the mighty gales are bellowing your name, and I've got nothing to say." Andrew Peterson, "Nothing to Say" |
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Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on 07/04/18 at 12:14 pm EST
Registered on 09/27/06, 636 Posts, 10682 Comments
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I very much agree with your approach to night photography. Since we are dealing with the light capturing ability of long exposures, trying to make things look 'real' as what the eye perceives is not going to be fruitful. There's no doubt that even without the stars this was shot in at least blue hour lighting. The composition, rendering of the foreground rocks with the translucent water progressing into flat opaque water works very well for me.
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Comment posted by Tony Prower on 07/06/18 at 10:23 am EST
Registered on 02/05/12, 24 Posts, 167 Comments
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Amazing night scene. Real sense of depth along with those deep tones and well exposed stars - wall hanger for sure!
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