Parting Shot 2 + Original

This is an amazing pic. Looks like something that could have been taken by one of the rovers on Mars I'm sure you could have a lot of fun and come up with some equally good versions just by selectively dodging and burning the dunes but as is, the processing looks pretty good. Great shot, wall hanger for sure.

First, let me say: View the Large Version, folks!

I think this is gorgeous, Bill! The shadows and the mid tones look very nice with good separation. You might look at bringing up the higher values in the dunes just a bit. The Moon looks perfect, to me. I love the composition, and the almost dreamy feel, but it also has a dynamism I really like.

Nicely done!

--P

I really like this shot, and I think it's a very good artistic rendering of the scene. You didn't really say how you created the image, but since you asked for brutal honesty, I'll say that I don't see how it could be anything other than a composite of two images at different times. With the camera settings you posted (and considering the lighting and phase of the moon), the dunes shot must have been taken in bright daylight. The moon would appear much fainter and with much less detail in daylight, like it does in your other shot with the moon. So it looks like the moon was shot when it was dark. I have no problem with combining images this way and this came out very well. I'd just say that in a critique forum, it's good tell the full process you used to capture the image. Unless, of course, your reason for asking for brutal honesty was to see if others could tell it was a composite.

Grant: Thanks for the feedback but this was a single capture. I did the conversion in CS5 using the channel mixer in a B&W layer and processed the moon as a separate layer. Here's the RAW original.>=))>

Wow. Wow Bill. Stupendous

Bill, this is gorgeous. At first I though too that this was a composite image. Seeing that it is not makes it even more remarkable in my view. I think that the original color version could work too if you can darken the sky and increase the contrast with the moon, but the B&W version is gorgeous!

I'm with Carey on this, just a bit of highlighting of the dune tops to help lead the eye to the moon and this one should be good to go. Looks like a comfort zone to me, Bill.

Otherworldly. I love it, Bill.

Ed

Fantastic, Bill. I wondered if it was a composite as well, but, man, well done! I think bringing up the lightest tones in the dunes slightly would improve an already outstanding image. Congrats!!!

Hmm, that's interesting how the b&w conversion can really make the moon stand out. I don't do much b&w either, but I played with one of my own in b&w and the moon can really pop if you don't include cyan in the conversion. I'm glad to be proven wrong since I learned something.

Cool shot!

I think I'd like to see the moon smaller and on the right side so that eye flow leads to it better. Also smaller so that my mind does not immediately think fake. Other than that maybe a little more contrast and slightly sharper in the land.

Absolutely stunning, Bill. Absolutely stunning. Fine art photography at its finest.

Beautiful image!! I would concur with Preston's suggestion, but minor stuff. Excellent image. Love the wavy lines leading out to the moon.

Where's the flowers? All kidding aside, awesome work.

what you did with the moon is remarkable. Actually the whole image processing is remarkable. I agree about lightening the dunes somewhat. very creative.

Extraordinary shot and processing Bill! I was surprised after looking at the shot to read "this is way out of my comfort/expertise zone", because I'd call the conversion pretty close to masterful. The raw file isn't very impactful but has a lot of "raw" potential, and I think you realized it 100%. I hesitate to suggest anything because I like it so much, but it feels right at the top to me and experimenting with adding a bit of black canvas would be easy, and on the bottom I would try cropping up a bit to eliminate the small dark area at lower left. Really great shot Bill, I'd be proud of this one.

This is wonderfully mysterious, Bill. The details in the moon are great and there's such a fine sense of flow (to the point of feeling like wave action) in the dunes and their shadows. I would try bringing up the brightness just a bit in the dunes, but am not sure that would be an improvement. Looking at the original, it's clear that your b&w transformation changes a pleasant scene into something special.

This is just fantastic, Bill. If I were you, I would go back thru the catalog of images and begin to look at converting a fair amount of them to mono. I'm not kidding. My love of black and white images started with not feeling the color image told the story I wanted to tell. It is a wonderful journey and I think after this image you will be irretrievably hooked. Beautiful job on this. Bravo

Unreal. SICK work.

aF

bill - intriguing image and it tickles me that people immediately assume that the moon is faked. Says something, methinks! I'm glad that you posted the original, raw image. my immediate thought, on seeing the raw image, is that this would look gorgeous as a high key image (such as those by Huntington Witherill - e.g., this one). There is such a temptation to ratchet up the contrast slider that I think we lose sight of other interpretations. I'd love to see how it turns out if you do try it.

This is a very strong image, beautifully processed. I like the feeling one gets of following the sand dune ridges up towards the moon, like something out of a fantasy.

Bill, Wow, I'm really enjoying this one! Great comp and I love the textures this has. A little crop of the bottom is all that I would do but just fine as is. Very nice work!

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

I really like the shot. Coll idea! I would like to see a bit more contrast and maybe the highlights a tad brighter.
The land looks a bit soft to me, though. It looks very artistic.

The chosen composition of the image is striking with the leading lines to the moon. Would like to see a little more tonal range in the conversion to b&w. You've hit a home run with this one Bill!

This is just brilliant Bill. The comp is so amazing that even the flat raw looks great to me. With that out of the way, what Stuart said, what Stuart said!

Here's my take
Im glad you posted the raw...cause if you hadn't I would have said "the moon is too dark relative to the lit portion of the dunes"--that's because I assumed this was a night shot, with the moon shining real bright and the dunes moonlit. As the raw demonstrates, it's actually a day shot... so I guess it all depends on your goals--if you want to create photo art, have at it! If you want to convey the real experience, personally Id process it with a subdued sky/moon cause that's how it would have appeared. I aint against 'manipulation'--in fact id 'add' some sky up top so it's not so tight--but it depends on you goals with the image.

The B&W version is so otherworldly! Very neat. That said, I find myself enjoying the original more than the B&W. Beautiful.

Bill,

The black and white doesn't work for me and I think it's mostly because the moon doesn't have the same degree of clarity as the sand and I see the moon as the main subject of the image - it's where my eye comes to rest.  However, I like the color version a lot.  The softness (low contrast) in the sands and shadows matches the faint detail and presence in the moon.  Great sense of mystery and nature magic as well as a superb composition.

pat

I really like this, Bill.  The conversion looks good to me.  As presented, I strongly prefer the b/w version, but that is partly because the color version is raw and underdeveloped, amd partly because I am personally in a b/w phase.

The moon looks natural to me, given the focal length, and the daytime exposure combined with b/w conversion.  Sometimes I think we photographers know the art and process so well that we critique the how rather than just appreciating the wow.  I get a wow out of it. and I like that.