Sunrise over the pond

[dvtldav]

I took this photo last fall and really like the way the sun rays show through the tree but was wondering if the exposure should have been different. Is it too dark? I did some PP in LR3 but did I do enough? Is the composition ok? Per the histogram neither the highlights nor the shadows are clipped after PP.
Any comments good or bad will be appreciated as I am trying to improve my skills. Criticism is greatly appreciated.



EXIF:

Camera: Canon XSi
Lens: 18-55 Kit @32mm
Exposure: 1/80 @ f/7
ISO: 100

[SwissJon]

If anything, the cloud is over exposed.. But I really like this, it's lovely, well done.

[EOBeav]

It's next to impossible to take a photograph into the sun and not have something overexposed. That said, this is a very creative shot and well executed. My only critique might be that the colors seem a little washed out for my tastes.

[dvtldav]

@SwissJon: I thought the cloud was overexposed also but looking at the histogram it doesn't show it as being that way. I tried darkening it a little but then everything else went out of whack.
@EOBeav: I used the gradient filter in LR3 to get it the way that it is and it was to the point when I changed one thing to make it look better then something else looked bad so settled on a happy medium. One of these days I will learn to use PS5.

Thanks for both of comments.

Dave

[navcom]

Might help if you increased the black point a bit to up the contrast. LR3 makes this easy...just a simple slider in the Develop section. That will help it pop a bit. Also increase the saturation on the foreground might help too. You can use the modification brush and pick "saturation" as the modifier.

The GND feature is pretty cool but keep in mind that it is not a substitute for a real one. It can only work with the pixels that have been recorded. In the field, a real one will modify the light before the pixels are captured and will produce better color and exposure. Just a heads up.

Hope that helps! Nice composition!

[EOBeav]

The problem with using a gnd--real or otherwise--is that objects in the foreground that stick up into the sky are going to be unnecessarily dark.

[navcom]

Originally Posted by EOBeav

The problem with using a gnd--real or otherwise--is that objects in the foreground that stick up into the sky are going to be unnecessarily dark.

Very true. But it is very image specific and in some cases can be minimized with a less powerful GND. If the mid area is already darker or silhouetted, it will work. If it's something that needs to have detail and proper exposure, it won't. A reverse GND can help as it pushes back a specific strip versus half and half. The strip can feel as though it's part of the sun rays or horizon.

There is no perfect solution to high dynamic range. HDR techniques can produce artifacts and change color (never mind the possibility of over-processing)...again, processing pixels versus modifying existing light before capture. GND's can be horizon limited and very obvious in some circumstances. Lightroom's GND feature can produce more grays and adversely effect exposure and color.

Each has their place though. The best bet is to get as perfect as you can at capture and then use post-processing to tweak versus creating the effect later when you have more to lose. My opinion anyhow.