Fire in the Sky

[theosus]

Before you say - "There's power lines in the way!" The original intent of the shot was a much lighter version with fog and mist down the powerline, with the sunrise behind the clouds.
After messing around in my raw editor I was able to produce the firey sun effect, and the rays coming out. Its all from Canon's RAW editor, nothing in photoshop or other PP with layers, etc. I really liked the fire look. What do you think?

I drove to a field two miles away with a clear view of the sun and cloud formation - but when I got parked and got out, the sun and clouds had shifted enough I could not reproduce the effect there.

[4ndrew]

I've got to say it: there are power lines in the way.

I know that you intended to have them in the shot, but I think they are a distraction. IMHO, the sky and colors are the more powerful subject, and the power lines look like they're in the way.

To answer your question, I do like the way that you've made the "fire in the sky." I just think that overall the picture doesn't work with the power lines interrupting the view.



andrew

[navcom]

Andrew's right...the power lines are distracting. The problem with power lines is they are just that....lines. And lines are a powerful compositional element. They draw your attention and lead you around the image. In other words, they become a subject of the image. And they are usually placed in a composition so as not to be very interesting or compelling and end up distracting the viewer.

I know your intent was not to capture power lines but to capture a beautiful sun. Unfortunately the power lines demonstrate another landscape photography truth...sunrises and beautiful skies by themselves do not usually make very compelling images. Beautiful? Yep. Compelling? Not usually.

My analogy for sunrises and beautiful skies is to treat them like frosting on a cake. Frosting alone is very sweet but most people don't like to eat it all by itself. Put it on a cake and it makes the cake sing.

In other words, you usually need another main subject in an image to pull off a compelling sunrise/pretty sky photo..something the sun or colors can shine down on.

In your case, it is the power lines...which unfortunately aren't that attractive or inviting.

All this being said, it doesn't mean it isn't a pretty picture. It is! And it doesn't mean that power lines never have a place in photographs. It's just that on both accounts, they need to be placed in an appropriate context to make for a truly compelling image.

Hope that helps!