Sky Scrapers + RPs

Preston,
Those are my kind of skyscrapers!  Love the dark sky and the stark brightness of the tree trunks.  Nice.

Makes a beautiful b/w image, Preston.  I love scenes like this, but they are not always easy to convey the feeling of being there.  You have managed that very nicely.  My only suggestion would be to add a bit more contrast, not alot, just a little. Perhaps even darkening the trees and foliage to gain some separation from boulders and hillside. Really nice as is.

Gary, thanks for your suggestion! Here is a version with the contrast bumped a bit.

I would appreciate any additional thoughts.
--P

Preston,

It's amazing how folks can interpret a scene differently when they are viewing the scene side by side!  I recall you mentioning the trees and of course we were cloud watching, but I didn't realize how zoomed in you were.  I have a much wider view, which turned in to a very ordinary mountain landscape, which I won't be processing... ;-(

So kudos on this capture, I like this very much!  B&W is a fitting choice here.  And before I saw Gary's comments or saw your repost, I was having similar thoughts.  The repost is terrific! 

I have just one additional suggestion and a small nit. First the nitpick.  There's a bright rock right in the center of the lower third of the frame. It's not an immediate eye magnet, but once spotted, my eye keeps returning there.  I think maybe a %20 Harley clone might help there. 

The other small suggestion would be to continue working the white values in the clouds.  You could take this a little further I think - more towards an AA sky? But honestly, it's a personal choice at the point.  I think what you've presented in the repost works beautifully.

Lon

I think that the repost is noticeably better than the original so that was a good suggestion. For me the sky feels too dark and got darker in the repost. I'm just wondering if that type of treatment of the sky is always a good idea. I don't find this to be a very dramatic composition and so a dramatic sky may not be required? Just a thought. I also agree that further tone separation in the clouds could give this more clout because there are large sections of clouds that are fairly monotoned.

I often have a hard time commenting on your images because you include far more in your compositions than I would. In this case the image is about the large boulders in right center, the pine trees above and the clouds beyond that. The inclusion of the rest diminishes the message. I would crop out about 1/4 of the left and a tad off the top and bottom. 

Thanks for your comments everyone!

Lon: Your points are well taken about that rock and the tones in the sky.

Igor: I originally thought of cropping the left side, but doing so would have removed that nice downward-curving cloud which helps bring one's eye back toward the trees. As I mentioned in my original post, I did crop some of the clouds from the top to bring the trees further upward in the image. I do appreciate your thoughts, Igor.
--P

I like this, Preston, and I think there is interest throughout the frame, but I also agree with igor that the lodgepoll pines on the large boulders against the sky is where most of the interest and attractiveness is, at least for me. 

I tweaked the contrast a bit in the clouds with a TK lights mask. I also used Harley's 15% cloning technique to add a little detail to the bright boulder that Lon mentioned. I also dodged the cloud just above the ridge on the very right side. I decided to leave frame as is.

Does anyone have any additional thoughts on this re-post? Thanks!
--P

Subtle differences but I like like your last post best Preston.

The processing in the final version looks really good. While a solid image, it does not impact me as a PB portfolio image.