It was late afternoon as we drove through mid Utah, storms were brewing over these rolling mountains to the east. I exited 15 South into a tiny town of who’s name I’m unsure, pulled over in the outskirts and I made this frame on my tripod from the roof of our Ford. I felt a bit like Ansel standing up there, though I did go for a color. I rather like the mood of the clouds with the bold curvy lines of the hills. The scene seems to speak of coming storms, but is broken by the twinkle of blue from behind.
For Photographers. How it was made… This was a telephoto landscape on my 70-200 L, at 200mm, ISO250, 1/640. The question is how great this image really is. I really like it, the simplicity, the moodiness, but it’s outside the normal tone of my wide sweeping detail landscapes, so I’ve not yet decided if it’s a favorite. I do have the process the way I want, I just need to keep looking it. Maybe that’s a bad sign and maybe not.
The split tone process is also a bit unique compared to what I would often use in a landscape. I processed with Super Powers from PW3 as well as adding a little color hues with the Classical Fashion preset. There a bit if vignette as well giving the it an almost grungy feel that I like here. I finished in PS with some careful working the clouds and a crop off the top. I also applied a little extra burn and dodge work on the separating lines of the hills. Just a little. I experimented with defining them more, but when I tried to push it seemed faked and outside the mood of the landscape. I think this one may grow on me, but we’ll see how it looks in print… Gav
Great image. I love the blue sky in the middle of the frame. It doesn’t jump out at you, but your eye finally falls on it.