Submit Your Best "Backlit" Photograph Contest Entry by Walker Winslow

Walker Winslow

February 6, 2020

Photo of the U.S. Capital building in washington, d.c. at sunset. 1/400 of a second at iso 400. f. 11
a storm was hovering over the Potomac River on the other side of the mall and I was able to capture the clouds as they blocked the sun’s light.

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5 Comments

Josh Sanders February 6, 2020

There are parts of this that I really enjoy, but it feels a little too HDR and kind of like a 3D rendering. I think the radial filter around the flag and middle of the dome feels a little heavy handed too, and could probably be scaled back a little. I think a little more work on this to give it a more natural feel would improve the rating significantly for me.

Walker Winslow February 7, 2020 Josh Sanders

I agree that the image looks pretty unnatural, but I didn’t actually do a lot of post processing on it. I didn’t use a radial filter on the dome or anywhere else. I simply changed the tint, turned the highlights down, and added some clarity. The shadows and light on the dome are straight out of camera.

Josh Sanders February 7, 2020 Walker Winslow

Interesting--I stand corrected! I guess I just meant that the area at the center of the dome near the base seems brighter than the edges of the dome, which doesn't seem in keeping with the direction of the light here. Obviously, there are a number of different artificial light sources on the Capitol Building as well, so that's another posibility.