jonsommer Loc: Usually, somewhere on the U.S. west coast.

On my way back to LA after shooting the solar eclipse, I stopped in Alturas, CA and saw some interesting light on the silos, as I was sitting there watching, the weather started to change very quickly and the attached photo was the result, after, of course, some time exercising my very basic Photoshop skills, making changes to colors, crops and other enhancements. Have I pushed things too far, should I continue to push, or leave well enough alone?

I ’m pretty much a novice shooter so if you leave a comment, please be honest in a gentle kind of way.

(Download)

Shakey Loc: Traveling again to Norway and other places.

Your are becoming very adept with Photoshop. Well done. The image is striking and well contrived, but as a composite not quite convincing, almost but not quite.
Look at the trees on the left the white fringe is suspicious. Take a look at storm clouds and trees on Google images you'll see the difference. You would impress many non-photographers, but we pixel peepers are a picky pack of photographers. Keep up the good work.
BTW, your logo suggests that you are not the novice you claim to be. If you are sensitive, no problem, many of us are or were once upon a time.

jonsommer Loc: Usually, somewhere on the U.S. west coast.

Dear Shakey and your pack of picky pixel peeping photographers, thank you for comments and criticisms - I had never before though of loading an image into a different software program to check overall effects, so your comment is a very valuable suggestion, I thought the bluish light around the lightening strike area and on the trees gave the effect an eerie feel because they show the lightening colored light at the exact second of the strike, but I guess not. You didn’t say anything about the cranes or the guy ‘out standing in his field’ so does mean I got away OK with those two additions?

In regards to my logo suggesting that I’m not really a novice, I’ve seen comments suggesting that to master a skill like photography it takes 10,000 hours of instruction and practice, I’m sure I’m still in the hundreds of hours working on my first 1,000, and I feel I have soooo much to learn that calling myself anything but a novice wouldn’t be honest. In real life I’m a pretty hard-boiled serial entrepreneur and can deal with tough business issues on a daily basis, but when it comes to something as personal as exposing my artistic abilities to the hoggs, I think you are correct in recognizing that I’m still a little sensitive.

As a born and raised old Norwegian, I couldn’t agree more with your choice of destinations, the country is a photographers paradise, even if it is very expensive, at least compared to Southern California standards.

Shakey Loc: Traveling again to Norway and other places.

LOL! My ancestors came from Stavanger, but sadly no relatives there now. Yep, Norway is expensive but the folks are so kind it's a compensation of sorts. All the kids and many older folks speak English. In Stavanger old town I was grabbed by a bunch of young girls (I look harmless) and was employed as a native English speaker on whom they could practice their English. It made for an amusing hour and I was adopted as an honorary grandfather.
Back to the image. The cranes IMHO are gilding the lily. But the guy works well. It's just my subjective critique. Others will think differently, as we'll see.

jonsommer Loc: Usually, somewhere on the U.S. west coast.

Well, your relatives and mine probably knew each other as I was born and raised in Sandnes, just a handful of kilometers from Stavanger, and according to family genealogy, my ancestors lived there since around 1300 ad and my last name in Norwegian is Sømme, which is a place name of a area out by Sola airport.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Does this image represent just adjustments or adding / removing elements? It seems a bit contrived with human, wire, lightning and birds along with great golden light on the silos and grass. Excellent timing if all these elements did exist together at the same time...

A few technical elements that caught my eye immediately that you do need to address:

1) Sensor dust needs to be removed: see the dark circle directly above the lightning in the clouds as well as several above and below the wire on the right.
2) The grainy noise should be smoothed out.

If these did all exist together in the original image, I'd make a copy of the image and begin to subtract. First off, remove the diagonal wire. Next the geese. Next, all or most of the telephone wires and poles. I'd stop at each step and consider what else remains that takes my eyes away from the distant silo and lightning.

jonsommer Loc: Usually, somewhere on the U.S. west coast.

It always amazes me that I can look at an image for hours and not see something like the sensor dust spots, and another set of eyes sees them immediately. I also appreciate your comments about eliminating the wires, as well about removing the grainess. I’ll give them all a try. Thanks for commenting.

Shakey Loc: Traveling again to Norway and other places.

By golly, they probably did. My maternal family name was Knutsen, which, as you know, is like Jones or Smith in Scandinavia. No business sense but do love to travel.

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

Depending on what iteration of Photoshop you have, and I would not try this with anything other than the CC verision, is play around with the Healing brush. Cut out the person in the midground, and the guy wires going off to the right.

Revet Loc: Fairview Park, Ohio

I think I would have just liked the original photo with some PP (PS or LR). I love the warm foreground over the cool background and the lighting against the silo and grass, but I could do without the man, the wires, the sensor dust, and the fringing around the trees on the left. I am not crazy about that lightening brush you used(if that's what it was). I might go with one a little less busy as it might be more convincing. Not sure about the birds, I would have to try to look at it with and without them. Really cool shot though!! I would definitely work it a little more and I would love to see your final result.

yssirk123 Loc: New Jersey

Striking image - I like your vision of what this photo should be. Google defringing, as there are some easy fixes and youtube videos showing how to.

Wanderer2 Loc: Colorado Rocky Mountains

For the OP, I could not find anywhere you stating this is or is not a composite, although at least one poster referenced it as such. Could you please clarify? With all the diverse components in the scene I found this to be an amazing image.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

To my eye the composition should focus more on the main areas of interest, which are the lightning flash and the silos. The area to the right of the silos isn't adding much to the composition so you could lose most of it, and if you did you could accept the resulting loss of foreground which is a bit excessive anyway.

Usually it's not a good idea to have things obscuring the main subject, even if it's just partly. The guy line isn't hiding much, but it's an intrusion that the shot would be better without. And I think the other guy (the one in the T shirt ) would work better if he was looking towards the main areas of interest. As it is his direction of gaze leads out of the scene.

Bultaco Loc: Aiken, SC

It's an amazing shot, a little PP would improve it, I like the trees on the left.

Jules Karney Loc: Las Vegas, Nevada

Nice work.