Thanks for commenting.. I like the fact that the foreground and mid-ground both channel the eye towards the distant cloud beams and illuminated mountains. If there was a dramatic foreground element it would tend to become the main subject of the scene, and the eye would be inclined to stop there. As a consequence the foreground element would become an obstacle blocking the way to the rest of the shot.

The way it is, whatever part of the image that the eye stops on, there will always be that channelling effect to lead the eye deeper into the image, with that pleasant reward at the end. I think that's what Dave was referring to when he mentioned good depth cues.

I would say the skill is in adapting the effect to suit the image, which isn't going to happen with a one-click effect. That and knowing when to stop (when is that not a requirement... :-) ).

Thanks for the feedback, DWU. As long as the drop in resolution didn't cause any problems with editing.

That's a funny one, Shakey. Windows and Lightroom both recognised it as a DNG on my computer. Do you have your importer set to import raw files as tiff? I believe that DNG is classified as a type of raw.

Thanks for taking part, DWU. There's nothing quite like contrasty B&W for drama. Did you find the reduced resolution a problem at any point in your edit?

Thank you RB. Very moody, and there's definitely an increased sense of presence from the mountains :thumbup: .

Thanks for commenting, NJ. One of the things that I liked about the scene was that the shape of the gable was echoed in some of the peaks of the mountains. Again that's something that was clearer to me when I viewed it first-hand. Maybe with a re-shoot with better light for the mountains and some of the gable outlined by the sky.......

Going dark is something I hadn't considered. If I re-work it I'll probably give it partly adjustments and partly cloning over the stony parts of the beach next to the gable.

Thank you John.

Thank you abc. I think with the right sort of landscapes and the right sort of editing it's hard to go wrong. Flat lighting can be easily fixed in PP.

In your edit I think you got the vividness just right by taking it up to the point where any more would have been too much. Knowing when to pull back is essential for getting that sort of pushing to work. I think that's one of the shot's problems - the gable needs something to make it stand out but the rest of the shot isn't so tolerant of the extra processing that the gable would need.

People photography would be a whole new ball game for me. I'd have to work on my people skills in a big way. For me landscapes are the easy option.

I hadn't thought of going darker with the gable and darkening only some of it. It does seem to be a move in the right direction. I think you're right - the background to the right of the gable is bright and the background on the left is dark, so separate adjustments are required. Thanks for posting, Neil.

You're welcome, Al. Is that moody or what!

I forgot to ask for feedback in the original post regarding the DNG file. To upload it I had to condense it down by reducing the resolution and I would like to know if a lack of resolution was a problem at any point in the edit.

In the past I've used lossy compression for DNGs but it doesn't work with my merged bracketed shots. I suspect that the condensed DNG is better than the jpg for editing and the reduced resolution would only be a problem for large prints.

Crikey your eyesight must be good. You can tell it's a B&B from that distance!? :D .

I like to see how far my shots can be taken in the "vivid and detailed" direction because it wouldn't work if the data wasn't there. Thanks for taking part, Shakey.

This is streets ahead of the similar pre-set effects that can be done with a click of the mouse. It seems to me that getting the colour of the tint correct is crucial for optimum effect, and it occurred to me that you could use the same technique that's used for frames - select appropriate colour/s from the photo itself. Good luck with your experimenting. It seems to be working.

LOL. It looks like Loch Scavaig has its own monster :-) .