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Ian Hayward's picture

It wasn't what I hoped for but this is what I got

Had hoped for more frost and some mist for more atmosphere but the best laid plans etc. Took this in pre-dawn light but not sure I'm satisfied with the image, what do you think? I know the bridge looks a little odd but the bank on the other side is higher than the visible side.

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8 Comments

I like it could make it moodier but not sure if your into overprocessing techniques the frost definitely helps convey the temperature in the scene I agree the fog/mist would have made this shot spectacular

Thanks Joseph. I'm trying to pull back from over processing my images as I think I've made the mistake of many newbies in the past by over saturating etc. Must admit I was disappointed about the mist but never mind.

Can't quite put my finger on it, the greens look weird, as if shifted towards cyan. Here's an edit I came up with. Moody shots need less contrast and saturation, not more.

It is what you make it.

That's a nice edit Thorsten, thank you. I can see you did a lot of work in PS. I only have an old version of LR and a lot of what you've done is beyond my knowledge and ability.

Here's what I did. Other than some cropping and a grad filter in the bottom left to bring the exposure down a bit that's the full edit.

I see. Reset everything. Use the WB eyedropper tool on the bridge, then pull contrast down a bit, say -20 (just guessing here, I'm at work). With an adjustment brush or a gradient apply dehaze (-20, experiment) to the to left corner, de-saturate (-20). No vibrance, no clarity. Pull the white slider to the right and the black slider to the left until the histogram fits in snugly. Sharpen carefully, you don't want contrast to creep back in.

Thanks for the tips Thorsten. I've had a stab at it and can see the benefit of your guidance. Unfortunately my version of LR is pre dehaze so I tried going left with the clarity slider instead - seemed to work a bit but don't know if this is a suitable alternative in your eyes. I think my technique with this is a little clumsy at the moment so won't post the result up here lol, but it's a good starting point.

"It wasn't what I hoped for but this is what I got" , this is what my wife said! ha!

Joking aside, I like this shot. The composition could be made stronger with possible cropping or maybe slightly adjusting your position when onsite, but what's here so far looks good, or at least a very good start to a moody scene and deserves a couple revisits if possible. I enjoy these types of captures. I also like how the bridge disappears behind the foliage, adding a question of "where does it lead?"

Just a thought I had reading your conversations above, aside from the color issues, you mention to Joseph about over processing, it certainly looks as though you did remain reserved in your processing adjustments when looking at the settings on the screen capture you provided, but if you like the direction that Thorsten is taking in his example (which is nice) then you can get very similar results with your version of LR even if it is an older version. I say this because you replied to Thorsten say " I only have an old version of LR and a lot of what you've done is beyond my knowledge and ability." You have good software, just need a bit more learning, understanding, and/or practice of the settings. Keep working it!

Thanks Joe. I'm using LR5 and I'm still quite inexperienced with it so couldn't agree more that it's more learning and practice required on my part.

I suppose I should clarify my comment re over processing. It does depend on what I'm trying to achieve, whether it's a natural looking landscape or something more arty but basically it's subject dependent.