Variegated Twilight + raw

i love the scene and the layers here, each with distinctive interesting features.  it does seem to me that the processing may be a touch overcooked - the sliders pushed slightly too far? at least for my eye!  the contrasting texture between the sky and earth-bound features is also interesting and adds tension.  I wonder what the effect of running those clouds through TK's cloud sharpening magic would be?

The smaller version looks good to me but when I look at the larger, something just doesn't look right. I think the image is fine for me.

Beautiful comp, lots of interest throughout. Some of the shadow look like they might have been opened a little too much?  Maybe that is what the others are referring to.  Would also crop that very tiny slice of bright sky off the top, near the boarder. Pretty country out your way, and more snow than out east!

Soooo much to like about this one, but the absolute star are the patterns in the distant hills, they are amazing. But, as said, a lot to like about this one, and the sky is another one of those things. The only thing that I thought right away was that I would like to see some more detail in the rocks in the foreground, that would balance the overall tonality a bit more for me. Fantastic shot, Gary!

Very engaging B+W image, Gary. My initial nit was what Harry said about that sliver of white on the top edge. The FG shadow areas look just fine to me. However I might try burning those bare bushes in the MG to try and get some visual separation from the dark hills in the distance.

I like the composition and scene a lot. The bw processing looks good on the land - it has a vintage look for me. The land is rendered with such detail, it comes across as 3D, particularly the distant mountains, which is a good thing.
However, I think the stark contrast of the landscape makes a too sharp distinction to the softer sky.
I think this is what Jim refers to as "something just doesn't look right". To me, the sky (or land) looks pasted in. I am not suggesting you did this, but this is the impression the processing gives me. I don't know how to solve this - perhaps just trying to match contrast and sharpening of sky and land a bit more..?


 

Gary,
Stunning B&W image. Those clouds really add a lot of drama. If it were mine, I think I would burn down the bright sky areas just immediately above the peaks.  

I did this to be interestingly layered.  The sky is very soft and linear while the mountains are very sharp and defined.  The foreground snow with rock is once again less defined leaving the center mountain layer to be the target.  This works well as BW!

I did this to be interestingly layered.  The sky is very soft and linear while the mountains are very sharp and defined.  The foreground snow with rock is once again less defined leaving the center mountain layer to be the target.  This works well as BW!

Hi Gary,

This is a striking black and white image, and I really enjoy the details and contrast in the land area. I too like how the clouds in the sky create beautiful layers, and the soft sky creates some tension with the stark land.

Diggin it Gary

I am including the RAW jpeg here because it might help to see the image in color.  This is a 3 image focal stack with edges cropped from the stack.  I further cropped from the left and top in my presented image.

The B&W certainly has a lot more impact that the unprocessed color version, although I think that the color version has potential. Back to the B&W, I like the composition and tonality, but I do think that the image is a bit too sharp. This is not a problem on the small image, but the full resolution image is definitely too "harsh" - I would soften it (less sharpness) but increase the overall contrast - does this make sense?

Hi Gary,
I like the composition, but there is something  funky about the mid-ground.  I don't  think it's just over sharpening.  Maybe there is sharpening and noise reduction both?  it's super high contrast and low detail, which combine in a funky way.  It's worth taking another shot at it. Snow is tricky in b/w.
ML

Gary,

This is quite the grand landscape. You've got it all from the foreground interest, the expansive mid/far ground and the great sky.  I like this very much.

I don't agree that it seems over processed, "cooked" or perhaps even over sharpened, but there is something that I just can't put my finger on.  Contrast?  not sure, over sharpening? perhaps in the mid/far ground landscape.  Still, the large view portrays such a grand landscape and I find myself exploring every part of the presented image.  the more I look at this, the more I think what a fantastic print this would make.  It's almost like how I would like the brilliance of a color print to look, but it's b&w.  I'm not explaining myself very well.

Lon

Hi  Gary  I think  this stark  dramatic scene  is  made  for  , and benifits  from  the B&W version.   excellent  photography 

Albert Darmo
Canada

Gary, This really is a great looking landscape with so many elements to enjoy. I do agree that something seems just a bit off and especially through the middle (mid-ground) of the scene. Maybe kind of like a combination of sharp and soft at the same time. I guess that probably doesn't make much sense though. Might just be a contrast issue but i really don't know. Anyways, still a cool shot that I enjoyed seeing. I do think Lon might be on to something about this looking great in a print.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

I like this a lot. I think the issue with it is due to the high contract in the middle ground and mountains, it appears over-sharpened. It gives it a crunchy look to my eye, especially when the mountains are against clouds like those (look like they were moving fast).  Real nice image. 

Wow! Amazing detail in those hills. The soft sky really adds a nice counter to that. While to me, it does not look so much  like a photograph. It does look like a pencil drawing though. I like it a lot! I wonder if the clarity slider is contributing to that. I used to add clarity to every image I processed. A lot of my winter images had the etching/pencil sketch look to them. A while back, I started going the other way. Now, I reduce clarity in all but maybe 10% of my images. The main reason is for the soft slightly dreamy effect it has. I like what that does for the appearance of my prints.

Congrats Gary on the WP recently in the ever strong NPN Landscape gallery........