Boulder Beach Experiment
I was never 100% satisfied with some of my pics from my 2022 trip to Acadia National Park. I was only there for a couple days and the sunsets/skies were kind of lame the entire time I was there.
I've been experimenting with replacing the skies in a few of images from that trip. The sky in this is from a long exposure I did in the Outer Banks. I kind of like it. I've posted the original here as well so you can see the difference. Curious what others think.
3 Comments
I love Acadia National Park. You did a nice job blending the color temperature with the rest of the photo. I struggle so much with sky replacement. I think my only problem when I look at the photo is that when I look at the photo, by brain can't decide the hero - the rocks or the sky. I really love those rocks; so I guess maybe desaturating the sky a bit to get it in the background.
Sorry, Kyle - it looks fake to me, like so many sky replacements, even after you've modified the appearance of the foreground rocks to better match the new sky.
Maybe I'm kidding myself, as I admit I dislike the whole idea of sky replacement, unless e.g. you're a real estate agent and get one go at producing a sales brochure, with images that won't be scrutinised closely. I'd be interested to see the image from which you took the sky.
I have to say that I like PG I am impressed with your blending and toning, but after seeing the original I do prefer that as it feels more natural (although cold).
I am confident that most will prefer the first though (as would purchasers!), I feel I am just a little jaded nowadays.
Perhaps there is a middle ground to explore - warming up the original and making the sky less dramatic?