Gloomy Day at Shiloh Battlefield: This log structure is a reconstruction of the church for which the civil war battle of Shiloh was named. Rain and ugly sky were not what I hoped for...

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

This log structure is a reconstruction of the church for which the civil war battle of Shiloh was named. Rain and ugly sky were not what I hoped for when I struck out up there, but it was what I got. Shiloh is an eerie place anyway, though, so maybe it fits.

Please offer C & C, suggestions for improving cropping or processing, and feel free to edit to demonstrate what you're suggesting. I'm learning a new camera so I feel like I'm starting photography all over again, all advice appreciated.

Frapha Loc: Tulsa, Oklahoma

minniev wrote:

This log structure is a reconstruction of the chur... (show quote)

What PP software are you using? Here's one option using LR5. Increased exposure & contrast, decreased highlights to give more detail to clouds, lightened shadows, bumped the whites up a bit, +10 on clarity slider, -7 on Vibrance, +10 Saturation, tinkered a bit with orange & yellow hue sliders.

ncswampfox Loc: greensboro, nc

Do you like this B&W overlay at 70% opacity any better?

Bmac Loc: Long Island, NY

Composition (great leading line), exposure, texture, depth of field, all presented nicely. The overcast sky lends a touch of gloominess apropos for a Civil War battlefield in my opinion. I like this image very much.

You do great work MinnieV. 8-)

PalePictures Loc: Traveling

Bmac wrote:

Composition (great leading line), exposure, texture, depth of field, all presented nicely. The overcast sky lends a touch of gloominess apropos for a Civil War battlefield in my opinion. I like this image very much.

You do great work MinnieV. 8-)

I agree with BMAC who's analysis is spot on.
The second edit with the exposure up a bit is different but not better or worse.
If you wanted to create more of a different feel to the image you could selectively apply color into the highlights or shadows as well.
Well done

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

Frapha wrote:

What PP software are you using? Here's one option using LR5. Increased exposure & contrast, decreased highlights to give more detail to clouds, lightened shadows, bumped the whites up a bit, +10 on clarity slider, -7 on Vibrance, +10 Saturation, tinkered a bit with orange & yellow hue sliders.

I have LR and PS, used both on this one. You've made it a bit less gloomy, so now I know that's possible. That does perk up the colors some. I appreciate your listing your processing steps, and I was interested in why you chose to lower vibrance and up saturation. I usually see people do it the other way. This works, though. Thanks for the input.

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

ncswampfox wrote:

Do you like this B&W overlay at 70% opacity any better?

I have never tried that b & w overlay. I've read about it but haven't done it. What did you do the b & w conversion in? It makes it more gloomy, which is a reasonable variation since it was already somewhat gloomy. Kind of spooky looking (Shiloh is spooky feeling). Thanks for your input.

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

Bmac wrote:

Composition (great leading line), exposure, texture, depth of field, all presented nicely. The overcast sky lends a touch of gloominess apropos for a Civil War battlefield in my opinion. I like this image very much.

You do great work MinnieV. 8-)

Thanks Bmac, you're too kind! Appreciate the comments and critique. Yes, it did feel gloomy, Shiloh has a haunted kind of feeling to it.

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

PalePictures wrote:

I agree with BMAC who's analysis is spot on.
The second edit with the exposure up a bit is different but not better or worse.
If you wanted to create more of a different feel to the image you could selectively apply color into the highlights or shadows as well.
Well done

Thank you for the comments and encouragement. The other edits are variations that take the photo in a less gloomy and more gloomy direction, but I'm kind of leaning towards staying in the middle. I will try a bit of selective color adjustment as you suggested, maybe in the darker trees, and see if I can get away with it. They are a little too boring. Appreciate the feedback and hints.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

OK, another lighten. But this one's not as extreme as Frapha's. And I tried to keep the colours strong without going over-saturated.

Did most of it using Levels. Shifted the top and bottom arrows out the way as far as possible, then used the middle one to brighten to the desired level. Also upped WB temp. slightly and did the usual tweaks with saturation (up 10%), contrast (up 15%).

The sky looked a bit noisy, so I de-noised globally then selected the sky, darkened it a bit and gave it a Diffuse Glow. Not perfect, but not enough noise to grab your attention.
-

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

R.G. wrote:

OK, another lighten. But this one's not as extrem... (show quote)

Thanks RG, I like the idea of using levels to lighten. I should pay more attention to levels in many of my photos.I'll work on the noise too, that's pretty straightforward. These old eyes don't always pick up as much as they should. I really appreciate you listing your steps and details, that really makes it so much easier to experiment with suggested solutions.

OnDSnap Loc: NE New Jersey

Well composed, I specially like the way (leading line) the fence creates and then the opening in the fence and how it lets you into the photo and then holds you there wondering about life back then.

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

OnDSnap wrote:

Well composed, I specially like the way (leading line) the fence creates and then the opening in the fence and how it lets you into the photo and then holds you there wondering about life back then.

Thanks for your comments. I am always attracted to split rail fences but usually there's nothing fenced except empty space. I was glad to finally find one that had a gate that actually led to something.

ncswampfox Loc: greensboro, nc

Did the B&W conversion with PSE 11 (Enhance). Little embarrassed because I am just learning PP.

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

ncswampfox wrote:

Did the B&W conversion with PSE 11 (Enhance). Little embarrassed because I am just learning PP.

Not shabby for a beginner! There's a lot of artistic fun in pp. I've learned a lot on this forum, and I've been fiddling with it for several years. Hang around and keep sharing. Thanks again, min