peter_daalder

Having spent a fair bit of time amongst tractor tracks, I can't understand how you got 'bogged down' with this particular composition, Doug...

Flipping it wouldn't make it any better, because you never allowed yourself enough room at the top to apply the amazing opportunities of "Daalder's Sky In A Box".

Seriously though, the converging v-shape of the tracks *do* draw me in towards the bottom of this image. That negates the need for any background sky...

Catherine, HDR stands for High Dynamic Range. It is a post processing feature that became available with the issue of Photoshop CS2, in 2005. You can also get specific software for the creation of HDR images, like Photomatix. If you have a look at this page, you will have a better idea...

Now, Doug.... I'm afraid that we have quickly reached the stage, where my people had better sit down and talk with your people.

You know, stealing intellectual property and all that. Or better, revealing state secrets which might compromise the security of Tasmania.

Either way, I will not step away from the fact that we live in the path of the 'Roaring Forties' down here. There is hardly ever a dull moment in our local skies. Day, or night, as we permanently live under the magnificent Southern Cross - a circumpolar constellation from Tasmania.

BTW, how much did they sting you for that beautiful piece of software, Doug? I'd just buy it for the box alone!

Thanks all, for the wide range of comments.

This was no HDR, but fill light was used during the raw conversion. A set of adjustment layers was applied, as well as, some dodging and burning. Overworked? Quite possible...

Still, this is my personally best liked version, that I have come up with.

Thanks again!

Yes, everything looks great here, Terry.

Excellent detail and superb presentation!

It was my pleasure, John!

I'm sorry that you considered this image to be: "not too well received".

Overall, it is still 'considered' to be a 'good' shot...

Or, were you referring to a lack of responses/feedback?

Thanks again, Doug.

Darkening that LH corner was an effective solution...

Challenging conditions made this a hard one to get right.

Still a personal favourite...

Hello John,

I have enjoyed looking at this view, several times, over an extended period of time (a couple of hours), before deciding to post a comment.

This image appeals to me, because it is exactly what would move me to record such a wonderful piece of scenery.

The attached image indicates how my eyes follow your leading lines into this composition, whilst wondering if the more remote visible roads are connected to the one in the foreground.

The only thing that I would have changed, is to 'get rid' of the bright spots in the sky, in the top left corner...

Being in the right place, at the right time...

An important aspect of landscape photography?

Where I once saw (your) footsteps in the snow going towards the end of the boardwalk and then - nothing - no point of return.

G'day Jeremy, I have been marvelling at the clean and crisp quality of this image for some time now.

It looks like you got everything right in-camera. I sense that you did very little (if any) post processing. In obtaining this excellent detail, I was wondering if you could elaborate on the role/significance of the 37mm extension tube in this 500mm lens and 1.4x tele converter combo.

I am interested in what kind of ISO setting and shutter speed you had to use, to arrest the movements of this little guy.

Also, how important was the availability of the IS function for this shot.

Furthermore, going by pricing alone, is this simply what you would (want to) expect from a $6000 - $9000 lens...

You have captured some beautiful light here, Matthew.

The converging lines always work well for me and the layering with warm and cool tones is very effective.

I sometimes come across comments that say: "this looks like a painting".

Well, this actually looks like a photograph, but it moved me to run a Dry Brush over it and turn it into a painting. Mainly inspired by the great display of clouds...

Only for you... Hope that makes it better...

Antoni, I used a Canon 5D with a 17-40mm f4.0 L, at the widest end and a Hoya circular polarising filter.

Post processing was done in Raw Essentials Premium and CS3.

Just a quick response to acknowledge your analysis, Doug.

I'm working today and will not get to my home computer until later tonight.

Your pathways through both versions are telling and may I add quite correct.

I don't like the flipped version at all, but more for the fact that it doesn't represent what I saw and recorded. Looking at it again, I can't believe how quickly my eyes also leave this altered scene.

The preview look enticing!

The first shot...

I did not see this farm dam from my car. My attention was drawn by the low altitude sunlight caressing the verdant hillside.

The very first shot was taken from the roadside, before climbing a gate and wandering towards my left, where I was fortunate enough to find these reflections.

Having said all that, I'm a sucker for simply recording things as I find them. Afterwards, during the post processing stage, I have the opportunity to 'improve on the aesthetics'. Given the fact that most of us read images from left to right, I wonder if a 180 degree horizontal flip might have been better? Keeping in mind the viewer, "as he wanders about the scene."

I reckon that bottom left corner problem would then be solved at the same time...

"unimpressive, smack-down, overhead lighting"

That just about sums it up, Doug!

It was just after 1pm daylight savings time. In other words, near noon and close to the December solstice (i.e. Sun near its highest point in our southern skies).

Couldn't find worse light, if you tried...

These dam(n) reflections always grab my attention...

How about you?

Matthew, Regina, Antoni and Maria; thanks very much for your impressions.

I'm grateful for your time and input!

G'day James! I'll have to ask you, at some stage, how you ended up in my Tasmanian portfolio...

My usual response (excuse) to your kind of observations is that, in an ideal world, we should all have the same (calibrated) computer displays, whilst viewing images on the Net. Secondly, yes you could be right...

I've always struggled to reduce a 4374x2917-pixel image (72Mb TIFF) down to a relatively small jpeg for the Web. It seems that this is especially hard with landscapes. Otherwise, there is something wrong with my digital workflow...

Cheers,

Thanks for your views and comments, Afriadi, Hussein and Ruud. Much appreciated!

Ed and Henri, the dramatic impact of the threatening clouds was deliberately intensified by a negative adjustment in both saturation and lightness of the cyan and blue.

I can still see some cyan/blue, just above the brightest patch in the clouds. But yes, it looks more monochromatic than a previous version of this shot.

Thanks also, to you both, for your input.

A belated thanks for your comments, Matthew. They are much appreciated

We are very lucky to have the poppy fields in Tasmania, and indeed, I'm very lucky for having access to these crops, for my photographic pursuits.

This was done with a 200mm prime lens on a 1.6x crop body, in order to get the 'compressed' telephoto look/effect.

This is also a slight crop from the original frame.

Cheers!

Cheers, Henri and Matthew.

As mentioned, I liked the fact that this made for a less identifiable capture.

Also, with regards to Pankaj's remarks about the clouds; I think that I would like to shoot this again under a clear blue sky. However, I'm not sure that these "pillars" will still be in situ, though...

This looks like a grand entrance indeed!

I really like the symmetrical approach in this composition.

Good work, Henri.