Evil Sky + Reposts

Gallery: LandscapePosted January 19, 2012716 views26 comments

An evil looking sky on Traigh Mhor Isle of Harris on a Transient Light workshop. I am still going through my files from this wonderful trip and this one caught my eye tonight. The sky may be a bit dark but I liked the contrast. Thanks for looking and for any comments and critiques you wish to leave. I confess, I did bump up the contrast in the sky to give this a more menacing look. Does anyone see the face?

Canon 5DM2
Canon 24-70m f/2.8L at 25mm
ISO100 1.3sec at f/11
Polarizer + ND Gradient

Comments

26 comments

Comment posted by Chris Chamberlain on January 19, 2012 at 8:32 PM

Really great dramatic clouds and light here. Nice!

Chris

Registered on March 13, 2007, 500 Posts, 8365 Comments

Comment posted by Neale Dyster on January 19, 2012 at 9:13 PM

Your processing has worked a treat here Eva, and I love the light on the water and sand.

Registered on February 19, 2008, 94 Posts, 738 Comments

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on January 19, 2012 at 9:17 PM

Some really dramatic light going on here. The contrast looks pretty high and it's up to personal taste as to whether it's too strong or not. You lentil the sky but to me the effect in the water looks more unnatural. I would personally back off contrast a little to give the water and clouds a bit more softness. A great shot in any case.

Registered on September 27, 2006, 636 Posts, 10682 Comments

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on January 19, 2012 at 9:28 PM

A less contrasty version..... Thanks for your input Kah Kit.

Registered on January 4, 2009, 1015 Posts, 13229 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on January 19, 2012 at 10:30 PM

Eva, A very nice shot! I think you captured a dramatic scene here with this light and these great looking clouds. For me your repost looks even better. Both work quite nice but I enjoy the feel of the repost even more.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments

Comment posted by Phil Pogledich on January 19, 2012 at 10:52 PM

Everything works together here very well, Eva. The sky looks good...not exactly menacing to me, but quite beautiful. I also like the way the distant island on the right balances the composition a bit given the exposed rocks in the shallow water on the LHS.

Registered on August 24, 2009, 123 Posts, 3099 Comments

Comment posted by Vance Gese on January 19, 2012 at 11:12 PM

Love that menacing sky, Eva, and the nice color and motion in the water. I do prefer your original over the repost as I like the higher contrast, and the textures in the water of the original. Fantastic.

Registered on November 13, 2008, 298 Posts, 6629 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Chambers on January 19, 2012 at 11:13 PM

Love the FG, the water movement, and chosen shutter speed. My only nit is with the sky - it appears overyly processed to me (too dark - unrealistic).

EDIT: I just saw the repost - much better, but still a bit too dark (in the clouds) IMO.

Registered on April 10, 2005, 753 Posts, 21216 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on January 19, 2012 at 11:37 PM

That's stunning, Eva. Totally different colors than might be expected, and they work perfectly here.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on January 20, 2012 at 12:50 AM

The repost looks great to me, Eva!

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by David Edwards on January 20, 2012 at 2:06 AM

Very nice Eva. Love the oranges and purples mixed together. I quite like the mid-tone contrast of the original, but the shadows I think were too deep. I think opening them up in the clouds would reveal more shape and texture. Fabulous shot and wonderful light.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 142 Posts, 2623 Comments

Comment posted by Scott Miller on January 20, 2012 at 4:37 AM

That is one hell of a sky. Great light, nice balanced comp makes it end up a winner. I might brighten the very top of the image, especially on the left just slightly. But it works well as is for me.

Registered on May 9, 2011, 23 Posts, 322 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Baumbach on January 20, 2012 at 8:27 AM

I like both version. Each one has a different feel to it. It's your choice which version you like better.

- Dan

Registered on November 1, 2003, 473 Posts, 7980 Comments

Comment posted by John Williams on January 20, 2012 at 11:27 AM

Repost for me too Eva. There is some really rich color there, and the repost allows it to come forward a bit more.

Registered on September 6, 2007, 221 Posts, 5985 Comments

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on January 20, 2012 at 12:15 PM

Here is another, much less intense repost. Thanks all for your input.

Registered on January 4, 2009, 1015 Posts, 13229 Comments

Comment posted by Joseph Campisi on January 20, 2012 at 5:11 PM

Wow, that's some dramatic sky Eva! Great capture, and I like your shutter speed here.

The reposts are fine, but I think I prefer the higher contrast of the first version. It highlights the drama of the scene more effectively I think. Just my opinion. It's interesting how the different contrast levels visibly alter the mood of the scene!

Registered on November 24, 2008, 304 Posts, 3211 Comments

Comment posted by Tom Hilton on January 20, 2012 at 5:43 PM

Not a thing evil about those shots.
Beautiful scene very well captured and processed.
I wish I could get my clouds to look that good.
Nice work Eva.

Registered on September 19, 2011, 68 Posts, 668 Comments

Comment posted by Ian Cameron on January 20, 2012 at 5:47 PM

Beautiful Eva. I should know of course. The last soft contrast gentle colour version is most natural and looks to me to be the best.

Registered on August 6, 2004, 1125 Posts, 3318 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on January 20, 2012 at 6:06 PM

What a dramatic scene, Eva, and you've done a great job of capturing it (and stuffing it into a camera

) I prefer the last repost where my favorite part is exploring the bits of red/orange highlight just above and left of center.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Greg Lessard on January 20, 2012 at 8:16 PM

Eva, this is one of your best! I love it. Its quite a powerful image!

Registered on January 14, 2009, 38 Posts, 219 Comments

Comment posted by Kyle L. Krause on January 20, 2012 at 8:54 PM

Eva, incredibly strong image and with a beautiful composition. Excellent work!

Registered on June 15, 2010, 29 Posts, 605 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on January 20, 2012 at 11:06 PM

Almost haunting Eva. Certainly the original is the most dramatic, but for me I'm drawn to the reposts. The reason is that I find the sky in the first, while imposing, is too dark for the light values present in the water; in other words, the light areas reflecting the sky are consistent, but the sea isn't reflective the darkness of the darkest sky - does that make sense.

No matter how you slice it though, this is a dramatic and moody seascape. Hard to go wrong with that.

Lon

Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments

Comment posted by Anil Rao on January 20, 2012 at 11:08 PM

This has turned out really well. I am more drawn to the softer tones in the reposts but they are all gorgeous.

Registered on November 15, 2003, 234 Posts, 4923 Comments

Comment posted by James Fougère on January 20, 2012 at 11:16 PM

nice dramatic sky! The repost looks good. Well done Eva

Registered on October 25, 2010, 41 Posts, 831 Comments

Comment posted by David Edwards on January 21, 2012 at 5:07 AM

Really liking the 2nd repost Eva. The softness suits the mood so well and allows the light to glow.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 142 Posts, 2623 Comments

Comment posted by Shantikara Valuska on January 21, 2012 at 3:09 PM

Wonderful image! What a wild sky. Difficult to choose, but I think I prefer the stronger version.

Registered on July 25, 2011, 38 Posts, 451 Comments