Contrast (Click for larger view)

One gets a better sense of the grasses in this one and the proportions of mountains and sky do give a great sense of the majesty and space that surround you.  I wonder where the sun was positioned in this shot? 

Compliments! 

Alf 

Sun, you say?  What sun?  ;-)  It was such heavy cloud cover that there was virtually no light peeking through the clouds anywhere.  But for some reason the mountains themselves seemed to be enhanced by that cloud cover.  Normally these look almost white, but the cloud cover brought out the other subtle colorations.  The image info is incorrect (don't know why).  This was actually taken around the evening meal time, and the sun (if it had been out) would have been to my left.  Thanks for your visit (and for your email the other day......fascinating info on the eerie slaughter house).

In my answer to you (the part about the clouds pulling the color out of the rocks), I realized that in my original version the rocks barely had any color at all.  The sky was midnight blue, and the rocks definitely had striations of pink in them, so I worked up what I believe to be a more accurate representation of what the scene looked like.  Don't know when it will replace, but I just wanted you to know.  Thanks!

Many Thanks for furnishing me with further information relating to this image.

I should have known there was no sun as there are very few shadows. 

It would be very interesting to see the original too.

What RAW converter do you use?

BR 

Alf 

Sorry, I think I've confused you.  When I said 'my original version', I meant the original edited version I posted on Photo.net......not the original unedited file.    But I'll enclose the original unedited JPEG file anyway because I have a question to ask you about it.  I shoot in JPEG and RAW, ever hopeful that I'll figure out how to process RAW files someday.  When I download my images the RAW files appear to load, but not as a thumbnail image......there is an icon representing them.  I'm not sure how to access them.  Do I need a special program to convert them?  Thanks for your generous time!

That's ok, I am easily confused : - ) 

OK yes, you need a program that will recognise RAW files and one which will convert them to Jpeg after processing too.

If you don't have CS6 (which I don't) that has a RAW converter, then I recommend Adobe Lightroom  I have version 4.4 but I think the latest version is Lightroom 5 (I didn't upgrade because there are very few changes that would benefit me)

Roughly speaking, a RAW file contains 3 - 4 times more information than a Jpeg.

In real terms this means you can rescue more details from shadowed area's.  Regain some lost detail in highlights, have more control over colour and vibrance and contrast, and most importantly have a great control over white balance.  Overall you will have much more control as to how your image looks.

For instance with this image you could selectively alter the white balance of the mountains by applying a brush and moving a slider towards cooler tones,  or any combination of warm and cool tones.

It's relatively easy to use, and there are plenty of tutorials freely available, I would of course help out too where possible, and I am sure there are plenty of other who would assist to get you started.

The workflow is relatively easy to follow in ADOBE Lightroom, the sequence is logical and you just follow the controls (making adjustments as you see fit) before exporting the file as a Jpeg to a folder of your choosing.  My folder has the very imaginative title of "Processed RAW files" : - ) 

My advice........Stop shooting in Jpeg immediately, this will force you to make the step to RAW.  It feels like a big step but it really isn't and once you start shooting in RAW only,  and processing them, you will wonder why you never did it before.

I still shoot Jpeg with my P & S but if it had the facility to shoot RAW with it I would! 

Oh one more thing........you can upload a trial version of Lightroom and use it for about 30 days after which you have to purchase it or just uninstall it. 

Let me know if you need any other details.

Best Regards 

Alf