French Alps before/after

[doug61287]

I just got photoshop this weekend and this is my first attampt. This was taken about a year ago and was not RAW, so editing is limited from what i understand. Anyway, am looking for some comments and advice as to what i could do better next time. Enjoy.

PICT0958.jpg

This is the original shot taken in the Alps near Mount Blanc.


panoramic mountain.jpg

After a few minutes of messing around on photoshop (croping, adding black & white, changing brightness), this is what i came up with. Any advice?

[dlaf]

I think the conversion to b&w is striking, but I would just crop out anything other than "mother nature." I'm glad there's people like you to climb high so scaredy-cats like me can see this other part of the world!

[candleman]

nice job..

as above.. i think a pic without the sign would be good.. i like that you included the yellow hiker (and kept him that colour)

[cmeadows]

I actually like the sign in there. It gives it more depth. It also makes you realize how much we've made footprints on even the most beautiful landscapes.

This is really stunning, the b&w just makes it striking.

[doug61287]

Thank you all! i will definitly take this advice in to consideration.

[Father Bob]

Awesome shot.
I too like it with the sign. I kind of like the original shot but with the high dynamic range you've lost a lot of highlight detail. Good candidate perhaps for an HDR processing

I did a very quick edit in CS3 to bring out detail in the highlights and shadows. Used 2 curves layers with masks, one to bring out shadows and one to bring out highlight detail.