As the clouds parted...

[underexposed]

(Click picture for hi-res)
Canon Powershot S3 IS|F2.7 (Av)|1/1600s|36mm|-4/3EV

This is a cropped photo. I removed the foreground buildings from the bottom of the picture. Unprocessed.

Suggestions for improvement welcome.

[wulf]

I like the skyline along the bottom of the photo - it gives some sense of scale to the sky.

It might be worth experimenting with a "widescreen" version, cropping away some of the top of the image so it seems wider (I often use the 16:9 letter box ratio that is familiar from films) - that would make it more "cinematic" and I don't think the top of the photo contains much essential information.

Wulf

[underexposed]

Thanks.



How does this look? A 16:9 crop from the orignial. This is "wider" and has less stuff on top than a crop of the first crop.

Would you suggest any post-processing on this photo?

[yurik]

My suggestion: post, process the hell out of it.

A couple of suggestions on going about this..
http://digital-photography-school.co...1&postcount=18
The "Daily Dose of Imagery" style, I like alot

and
Sheep on a hill (heavy PP)
sheep on the hill style

..

Overall, I suggest you just play with the levels and curves. Get some deep contrast on the shot to make it look even better

[Murtasma]

Originally Posted by underexposed

Thanks.



How does this look? A 16:9 crop from the orignial. This is "wider" and has less stuff on top than a crop of the first crop.

Would you suggest any post-processing on this photo?

I think I like the first image better. I can't put my finger on it but, it has a greater sense of scale. As for post processing are you using Photoshop CS2 or better? If so try duplicating your background layer and user the Shadow / Highlights tool under Image > Adjustments and see what you can bring out in the sky. Try adding a golden tint to the sunrays with a selective color adjustment layer then mask off the effect. I think the image is pretty go were it is. It could use a little post processing tho.

[underexposed]

Thanks for the links, yuric. The second link has a photo similar to mine, but the "overview" is too concise for me to understand. (I'm just beginner, you know. ) I have the GIMP to work with and all my photos are jpegs.

[wulf]

I like the way that works - hopefully someone else will chip in with a second opinion.

If it was my shot and I had some time to play with it further there are a few things I would look at:

1. From the top right hand corner, following along the top edge towards the left, there is a triangle of white cloud in the "blue" sky, just before the main cloud formation. I think the picture might look better with that removed or at least toned down to a grey similar to the main cloud so it doesn't draw attention to itself.

2. I looked at the larger version of the picture you linked to and some of the roofs look like they could be made a little more horizontal - either your camera was slightly tilted or perhaps this is lens distortion creeping in.

3. Finally, I might play with the colour curves and white balance to see if that made the sky even more dramatic.

Wulf

[underexposed]

Originally Posted by Murtasma

As for post processing are you using Photoshop CS2 or better? If so try duplicating your background layer and user the Shadow / Highlights tool under Image > Adjustments and see what you can bring out in the sky. Try adding a golden tint to the sunrays with a selective color adjustment layer then mask off the effect. I think the image is pretty go were it is. It could use a little post processing tho.

Thanks for your input, Murtasma. I think I understand just a few parts of those steps, like duplicating the background layer. I think most of the basic options from PS are available in the GIMP.

Originally Posted by wulf

I like the way that works - hopefully someone else will chip in with a second opinion.

If it was my shot and I had some time to play with it further there are a few things I would look at:

1. From the top right hand corner, following along the top edge towards the left, there is a triangle of white cloud in the "blue" sky, just before the main cloud formation. I think the picture might look better with that removed or at least toned down to a grey similar to the main cloud so it doesn't draw attention to itself.

2. I looked at the larger version of the picture you linked to and some of the roofs look like they could be made a little more horizontal - either your camera was slightly tilted or perhaps this is lens distortion creeping in.

3. Finally, I might play with the colour curves and white balance to see if that made the sky even more dramatic.

Wulf

Thanks, again.

I think a tilted-camera could be the most-probable reason for those non-horizontal roofs.

[underexposed]

I'm playing with curves right now. I seem to get the "flashlight" effect, but the ground doesn't seem to be "illuminated" for all that light, and that doesn't look good.

[sybren]

I've cropped it and played around with the levels. How's this?