Hey folks, this is probably one of the more ambitious edits I've done. I've been working on this for about two weeks on and off, dreading coming back to it because it's a lot of work! But I think I'm nearing a "I'm sort of happy with it" state, seeing as final tweaks on two different days led to almost identical results.
These are the two almost identical results. I would love to hear your feedback, especially on color matching, light hitting the mountain, overall tones, and believability. And also, which do you prefer, and why?
The mountain is from a blue hour evening shot, which I normally love but it was just kind of boring in this case. And the sky is from 2am on another trip. The sky was also above a big mountain and across the lake, but an entirely different and significantly inferior scene. So, I decided to blend the two mediocre images into one hopefully good image.
Believability is low for me, Yuriy, as the stars are too bright, and the reflection too bright compared with its origin. BTW is the image theoretically plausible given the geo- & astrophysics?
The darker foreground is better - but IMHO you're sweating the small stuff a bit here, my friend! Had to A/B them after loading into my viewing software again to even tell the difference. Not that I advocate being sloppy. ;-)
Fair points about brightness! And I agree about the darker one being better as well. Overall I am very much on the fence about the image, despite putting in probably 15 hours of work into it. Curious, what is your opinion of Cath Simard's mountain nightscapes, particularly the ones from Perou? That was my inspiration here.
As far as plausibility, the milky way was in a similar position above the peak in the original image. Looking at milky way images from this location, which is quite popular, I'd say this is not too far off from reality, thankfully.
Just looked up those images of Simard's from Peru. Very Fstoppers, I'd say. Spectacular, beautiful, but OTT and not my thing at all. Since you ask, that's how I see this issue. We all have our "line" and for me, appealing photography is generally either very highly stylised (say monochrome Hiroshi Sugimoto or Michael Kenna), or a plausible rendition.of the world. Not something I might wish I'd seen but never did. For me compositing is generally a step too far - painting does a better job.
I do sometimes compliment work here by calling it painterly. Alan Brown, a very fine Fstopper, has evolved an ICM style that can be very painterly, and claims that he cannot paint well at all. The medium is only a means to creative expression.
Totally subjective - me, not right. So I refrain from criticising people who labour to produce such images as Simard's. I labour plenty over mine, like you. Maybe not 15 hours... ;-)
Always interested in your posts, Yuriy - you're thoughtful and thought-provoking, and have a vision and a refined style of your own, with an eye for an image and for composition.
Ahh, very interesting! I checked out these photographers you mentioned -- I can see where you're coming from now.
For me, I'm gravitating more and more towards fantasy art. Painters like John Howe and other LOTR art, and also digital art from games like Witcher 3, Skyrim, etc. So, a very different direction, I would say! Haha.
It's always good to hear your perspective as well! And it's great to hear that you think my style is refined -- I am honestly still working it out. I mean, we all are always still working it out, but I really am still in the early stages :)
I mean that, Yuriy. There's a refinement and sense of completeness about your posted images, including these here, even if I wouldn't personally pursue the same aim. When I go to a gallery, I expect to like about a third of what I see, but still value seeing all of it, and usually have some sense of the person behind it. I find creativity and the creation of art fascinating - even art I don't like! And I certainly wouldn't say I don't like your imagery. I feel compelled to look closely at it. Keep doin' what you do.
Thank you so much, Chris! That really means a lot!
WOW. Those are amazing. I agree with Chris though, the bright one looks well, too bright
Thank you! :)
No Problem!