Zion: Opinions on sky needed

jdryan3

This is another shot of the Patriarchs (well, 2 of them) at sunrise. Converted to B&W via LAB lightness channel, duplicated grayscale result, multiply blend mode and used mask to pick out shadows.

But the sky just seems...bland. Not a cloud in it, and I am loath to bring some in from another shot. I'm afraid if I make it lighter, it will be blown out or merge with the white stone of the peak. I could make it darker :dunno
Or just get over it. :crazy

It was actually very blue, since this was shot at about 6:30am.



Feedback appreciated

DavidTO

Post the color? I think that processing it so that you mimic what a red filter would do on an old BW camera would darken the sky and add drama. The patriarchs might pop out more then.

jdryan3

DavidTO wrote:

Post the color? I think that processing it so that you mimic what a red filter would do on an old BW camera would darken the sky and add drama. The patriarchs might pop out more then.

I actually used the first image here. It is the 'normal' exposure. The other 2 are the bracketed images. I hadn't stacked/blended them yet since I was more interested in playing with LAB B&W conversions. But the sky is pretty much the same across the board, even under/over exposed. BTW - these are converted straight froma RAW to jpeg - no tweaking at all.

Normal (but Cropped)


Underexposed (for highlights)


Overexposed (for Shadows)


Thanks.

saurora

I really like it as is, but I'm curious as to what other's will say. Nice sharp conversion!

Richard

DavidTO wrote:

Post the color? I think that processing it so that you mimic what a red filter would do on an old BW camera would darken the sky and add drama. The patriarchs might pop out more then.

I would try darkening the sky some. There's not much you can do about the flatness of the sky short of major trickery. On the positive side, the uniformity makes it a snap to select and mask it, then play all you want. It's a good shot as is, BTW, so you could also just let it stand.

Regards,

USAIR

What about sepia color or duotone

I would think you could mask the sky...shouldn't be too hard with those sharp edges and color and darking the sky.

I do like the B/W though


Fred

jdryan3

DavidTO, saurora, Richard and Fred: thanks for the feedback (and compliments). I didn't think it was worthy of a whipping post, especially since I was playing more with the LAB B&W conversion than anything.

I have used a number of the B&W conversion methods. I mainly use calculations, or sometimes channel mixing. They seem to give me the contrast/pop I am looking for. But I see great images from folks who use the LAB method so.... forever the experimenter!

I was thinking I would just stick with one and really fine tune my process, but I do like how this turned out, especially since it didn't take long.

pathfinder

You can probably darken this sky considerably before converting to B&W, without a mask -

Duplicate the image, convert to LAB, then use the Blend IF sliders in a Multiply blend mode which will darken everything. Use the Blend If sliders to exclude everything that is not blue in the B channel. There is probably not much blue below the horizon in the color version.

After darkening the sky, you can run through Channel Mixer or whatever you use to do your B&W conversion.

If you decide to do a selection of the sky, you might consider a linear gradient with the darker area at the top, decreasing as it approaches the mountains border.

jdryan3

pathfinder wrote:

Duplicate the image, convert to LAB, then use the Blend IF sliders in a Multiply blend mode which will darken everything. Use the Blend If sliders to exclude everything that is not blue in the B channel. There is probably not much blue below the horizon in the color version.

Thanks Pathfinder. That might work for this image. I had a post on that method about 2 weeks ago, because no matter where I did the Blend If point or split the sliders, it was highly posterized. But I was doing the red channel and there were red elements scattered throughout the image.

The only suggestion I got on several forums was to look at using a channel as an apply image mask. That did work actually.

pathfinder

Applying the red channel will usually darken the sky a bit. You can apply it as a darken or multiply mode also, instead of a normal blending mode.

USAIR

Another way is...
Choose Curves don't change anything just hit enter
Choose Multiply for the curve blend mode
Fill the curve mask with black to hide everything
Then with a white brush paint in areas you want to darken

Fred

jdryan3

USAIR wrote:

Another way is...
Choose Curves don't change anything just hit enter
Choose Multiply for the curve blend mode
Fill the curve mask with black to hide everything
Then with a white brush paint in areas you want to darken

Fred

I'll have to try that. BTW, I like your City Art and IR work a lot (not that the other galleries are shabby). My current focus is to put together a B+W gallery of the scope of your IR work. It looks like you have nailed it in yours. And I always enjoy your posts.

USAIR

jdryan3 wrote:

I'll have to try that. BTW, I like your City Art and IR work a lot (not that the other galleries are shabby). My current focus is to put together a B+W gallery of the scope of your IR work. It looks like you have nailed it in yours. And I always enjoy your posts.

Thank you

Fred