Backlit steam

[Mike Buckley]

I captured this image at sundown and couldn't wait to post-process the warm backlit colors. I hated the color version of this one and all of the others that I took at the time. Much to my surprise, I much prefer this black-and-white version.

The scene is a power station in the Myvatn region of northern Iceland that is harnessing the earth's geothermal energy.

This is not typical of my shooting style, so your C&C is especially welcome.

[Sergio M.]

Mike, nice job of capturing the back light the way you did. You can actually see detail within the cloud. You also get a sense of the energy being harnessed by the way the steam is billowing out.

Thanks for sharing.

Serge

[Mike Buckley]

Glad to see that it has those effect for you, Serge. Thanks for the feedback!

[Donald]

Lovely, Mike. I would love to have seen some more roofs of buildings like those that do appear, but that may not have been an option.

This sort of shot just always work, in my view. You've done it very well.

[RockNGoalStar]

I agree with Serge,I think you've managed the exposure and the light very well.

I just wish I could see a bit more of what is producing the steam and maybe some more of the surroundings to help me put it all into context. As it stands I am not exactly sure what I am looking at, other than a large cloud of steam.

Cheers,

Tommy

Edit : looks like Donald beat me to it somewhat.

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, everyone!

I captured other shots of the building and steam using side light but they didn't work for me. For some reason, I wasn't able to control where the steam went.

I agree with everyone who expressed a preference for more buildings or for displaying the buildings more prominently. There is actually only the one small building with two pipes leading toward or away from it (not sure which). That explains why I made the image more about the steam rather than the relationship between the steam and the building.