I was fascinated with the cloud formation hanging over Home Island. The storm clouds just didn't move and with the sun reflecting and filtering through the rain it really gave an ethereal feel.

I've done minimal PPing in Lightroom, then in CS5 using the burning tool... however I still think that with a little more work it could have a more dramatic feel without making it too unrealistic. What do you think?? My PPing skills are very basic, so I'd welcome your suggestions, sample with explanation so I can learn more

D700 | 24-70 | F14 | 1/320

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Waving the flag for Nikonians on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and learning every day.

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Attachment #1, (jpg file)

Hi Karen, I think it's a very interesting storm front. It looks pretty good to me, post-processing wise. Might also look great in B&W.

Cheers,

Phil
A Canadian Nikonian
My portfolio: www.pjr99.500px.com

Hi Phil, thanks for looking and commenting. Upon your suggestion re B&W... here is my conversion. I used channel mixer, decreased the blue channel, increased the red channel and then decreased the contrast.

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Attachment #1, (jpg file)

Wow, good one, Karen! To me, it looks much more dramatic in B&W!

Phil
A Canadian Nikonian
My portfolio: www.pjr99.500px.com

:) Thanks Phil.. B&W is the go!

Best Fishes ~ Karen <*((---{

Waving the flag for Nikonians on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and learning every day.

Karens Cocos Reflections gallery

I like the B&W photo because it conveys a foreboding feeling of an approaching storm.

Matthew

Hi, Karen. Great shot of a wonderful spectacle of nature in action. I think your PP is just fine. As for the color/B&W choice, I almost always opt for color. It seems to me that the blues of the sky and greens of the sea would be a shame to waste. But that's just me. I know that many consider B&W to be the zenith of photography, but I just don't get it. When I look at a B&W image, I usually ask myself how it would look in color. I almost never ask the reverse when looking at a good color image. Heresy to many I know, but it's my story and I'm stickng to it.

I do have a suggestion as to composition. As a boater, I was instantly taken by the primitive nature of the launch ramp, and I thought that the storm and the boat told a nice little story. The boat being retrieved to seek shelter serves to dramatize the intensity of the storm and adds a bit of tension to the scene. Then there's the question of the boat in the distance. Is he going to get his turn at the ramp in time to escape the storm? To that end, I would suggest a crop. I find the flotsam and debris in the lower left of the photo distracting and not particularly pleasant. I would crop the bottom of the photo to remove this. If you wanted to keep the same aspect ratio, you could crop from the left as well, without losing critical elements of the image. To me this would boil the image down to the two elements that speak to me, the pleasure boaters and the approaching storm. I'm taking some creative license here, since you stated the storm was stationary and quite possibly poses no real threat at all, but without that knowledge, I think most viewers might infer that the storm was indeed approaching, and therefore posing a threat to an otherwise peaceful scene at the beach and ramp. Terrific image.

Russ

I'm on the same page as Russ with regards to B&W for this image as the colors are important in the image in my opinion. I also had the same thought about simplifying the composition prior to reading Russ' comments.

I like the balance in the composition and it tells an interesting story.

Dean
Phoenix, Arizona USA
Nikonians Team Member
Website: The Splendid Silence of Light

Recent Trips: Grand Canyon 2012 Glen Canyon 2012 West Clear Creek

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Hi Russ, greetings and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!

I love your views on B&W, although I must admit I do looking at a B&W image, maybe as you hinted, not in this case. Thank you for such a wonderfully concise explanation to the composition. I'll definitely crop as suggested to remove the debris on the beach.

cheers

Best Fishes ~ Karen <*((---{

Waving the flag for Nikonians on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and learning every day.

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Hi Karen,
I love the great color in your first image! Certainly makes me wanna be there!

Tom
D5000IR, V1, Oly OM-D E-M5
Nikkor Zooms: AF-S 18-105 f/3.5-5.6 VR, VR, AF-S 18-135 f/3.5-5.6
Nikkor primes: 24 f/2.8Ai-S, 28 f/2.8D, Micro 60 f/2.8, 85 f/1.4D, Nikkor-C 500 f/8 Refl.
Nikon 1 lenses: 10mm f/2.8, 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6 VR, 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6.
Voigtlander 58mm f/1.4, Sigma 70-300 Macro f/3.5-5.6.
Oly 12-42mm f/3.5-5.6, 12-50mm f/3.5-6.3, 12mm f/2.0, 45mm f/1.8, 75mm f/1.8.
Lumix 20mm f/1.7, 14-140mm f/4.0-5.8, 100-300mm f/4.0-5.6
Gitzo GT3541L, Manfrotto MT293A4, MP 680B
Markins M-20, RRS BH-25 Pro

Thanks Tom for your comment and preference. Seems divided LOL.

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Waving the flag for Nikonians on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and learning every day.

Karens Cocos Reflections gallery

I like both the color and the Black & White....each have their special feeling. The B&W is darker for sure in many ways! I really like the cloud formations.

jdroach, a Milwaukee area and sometimes Chicago area Nikonian.





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Thanks John for your comment and input - greatly appreciated

Best Fishes ~ Karen <*((---{

Waving the flag for Nikonians on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and learning every day.

Karens Cocos Reflections gallery

Hi Karen!

I love the general scene. For me, they're always WB traps, and I usually end up getting it wrong , so I admire your colour version.

But the BW, with the dark sky, is reminiscent of what you can see when high in the mountains, especially in winter, when in broad noon daylight the sky turns almost black by contrast with the white snow.

So for me, both version are keepers, each in its own right, the glory of the tropics or the same in BW. Just a matter of mood!

Olivier Rychner
__________________________________________
Jetez un oeil à ma galerie if you feel like it! And it's a bit void as of now, but I also have a Nikonians blog

Auta i lomë! And my Nikon's only awaiting daylight...

love more the color version a quick tip for clouds in PP is to go to expozure and then play a bit with offset and gamma

Hi and thanks for looking and comment. Greatly appreciate your suggestion with offset & gamma. I'll go have a play

Best Fishes ~ Karen <*((---{

Waving the flag for Nikonians on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and learning every day.

Karens Cocos Reflections gallery

Thanks Olivier Appreciate you looking and your positive comments on both versions

Best Fishes ~ Karen <*((---{

Waving the flag for Nikonians on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and learning every day.

Karens Cocos Reflections gallery