Into the light

[Brownbear]

Photographed into the bright sun and through haze... At the time the brightness of the scene and the faint view of the mountains appealed to me. I was going to delete these because they are hazy and one can't see any detail in the mountains but something about these images appeals to me. Minimal processing in Lightroom (sharpening, curves, vibrancy) simply because I didn't want to muck up the mood of the image.

I suspect that they should be deleted but I'm wondering if there is a way to process images like these or perhaps another way to photograph a scene like this so that I might learn from the experience and do better next time.

Or perhaps it is just a bad idea to shoot into the sun and haze? If this is the case I need to be told so I don't waste time trying this again.


Aperture Priority (300 mm focal length)

f/14 SS 400 ISO 400



f 14 SS 250 ISO 400 300 mm focal length



Thank you.

[Shadowman]

Christina,

If I shoot anywhere near the sun it's with a CPL or ND filter attached. As you don't have the sun in your image, next best thing is having the lens hood attached. Your target "mountains" are in there but will need a lot of processing to get them to be viewable. If you can do it (recover the scene) in editing then it's worth the effort.

[Geoff F]

Always tricky. If you have a definite foreground image and use the hazy background simply as a background it can work.

Your second scene would have worked if you had a more interesting foreground.

[Brownbear]

Hi John,

Thank you for advising. It is not so much that I wish to bring out the details of the mountains, I don't think that would be possible to do well because of the haze. Better not to take a photograph under these conditions, unless it would work with filters. A lens hood and CP was used.

It is simply that I'm wondering if an image like this with just a hint of the mountains, or perhaps just the silhouette of the mountains in the very bright photo ever works. I can see a dreamy artsy photo in there and which would keep the mood and feel with the mountains just a wee bit stronger or perhaps faded way more.

Perhaps it is just an imaginary image that just doesn't work.

Christina,

If I shoot anywhere near the sun it's with a CPL or ND filter attached. As you don't have the sun in your image, next best thing is having the lens hood attached. Your target "mountains" are in there but will need a lot of processing to get them to be viewable. If you can do it (recover the scene) in editing then it's worth the effort.

[Brownbear]

Thank you Geoff. I think you understand what I'm thinking. Yes, it is like photographing into the fog and yes, the interesting foreground is not there.

By any chance do you have in image of a similar scene to share so I could see what it looks like when it is done well?

If anyone else has a similar image taken into the sun and haze please post it in this thread. I would love to see what an image like this could and should look like.

Always tricky. If you have a definite foreground image and use the hazy background simply as a background it can work.

Your second scene would have worked if you had a more interesting foreground.

[Mike Buckley]

The first photo would work better as a minimalist photo for me if at least one of the layers had an interesting color. Doing so almost makes the image more of an abstract image than an image depicting realism. In other words, that style that includes fog or haze to diffuse the light can work.

The photo shown below uses haze as the background. Without it, there would not have been as much separation between the trees located around the subject and the trees located in the background.

[DanK]

I find it very hard to get interesting images in haze. Shooting into the sun makes it worse. Some people produce wonderful hazy or foggy images, but I rarely can.

In your top image, I assume that what you wanted was a sort of layered look. It's possible that you might be able to get that with enough processing. The first think I would do is get rid of much of the empty, featureless sky. I'd crop so the few lines in the image are in interesting places. Then I would greatly increase contrast, and probably increase clarity/local contrast. However, I make those suggestions as someone who isn't very good at this.

The image below I took years ago. I was standing in a drizzle on the Vermont side of Lake Champlain, looking over at the high peaks of the Adirondacks in NY. Between the clouds and the drizzle, there was very little dynamic range or contrast in the image, and it was pretty much monochromatic. I don't think it is great, but it illustrates the suggestions I made above.

[Shadowman]

Hi John,

Thank you for advising. It is not so much that I wish to bring out the details of the mountains, I don't think that would be possible to do well because of the haze. Better not to take a photograph under these conditions, unless it would work with filters. A lens hood and CP was used.

It is simply that I'm wondering if an image like this with just a hint of the mountains, or perhaps just the silhouette of the mountains in the very bright photo ever works. I can see a dreamy artsy photo in there and which would keep the mood and feel with the mountains just a wee bit stronger or perhaps faded way more.

Perhaps it is just an imaginary image that just doesn't work.

Christina,

There was a hint of mountain recoverable.



Used PSE quick edit, "Make Dull Skies Blue".

[Downrigger]

Great thread, Christina. Good, and useful, to get some input on this common problem. Your image is really pretty nice with "Make Dull Skies Blue", which validates the interesting idea you had in the first place.

[Downrigger]

Better not to take a photograph under these conditions,

I dunno 'bout that, Christina. I wonder if it is not true that until we have fully mastered PP, that one of the joys of digital photography is that we can bring questionably possible things home and find out whether we can fix them.

[Brownbear]

Mike... Thank you for your example. I just knew you would know and be able to offer an explanation. A very nice image of what looks like a special place!


Dan... Thank you for sharing. I especially like the way you captured the mountains in your image (layers, differing tones) and this is something that I could see while taking my images but not capture. Seeing your foreground is also very helpful. For some reason the empty featureless sky in my image appeals to me.

I simply wish to learn from this image so when I see such a scene again I can photograph it better. At first I thought that there might be simple way to bring out what I saw but I can see that is not the case, so I will save the post processing for a better capture.

John

A very pretty edit! A different image but thank you for showing me this.

Mark

Yes, John's edit is pretty, and I do love blue skies. However in this particular scene the way it is but somehow better is what I had in mind. Something about the look is different and just appeals to me. If I see a similar scene again, and look for colours in the layers and a more interesting foreground that will hopefully help, and/or with filters as John suggested.

[Brownbear]

Yes, indeed. It was so glaringly bright that morning that I could hardly see the mountains but the scene was strikingly beautiful in an odd way.

When I fiddled with these I was hopeful that I could keep the super light exposure and somehow make the beauty of the mountains stand out as a partial silhouette or something like that. Already I know of two things to look for the next time I see a scene like this.

I dunno 'bout that, Christina. I wonder if it is not true that until we have fully mastered PP, that one of the joys of digital photography is that we can bring questionably possible things home and find out whether we can fix them.

[FootLoose]

I like both of these compositions, Christina. The haze does seem to have rendered the first one a bit pale, and I would play with contrast and the shadows and highlights sliders using layers.

Similarly with the 2nd shot and also maybe try applying a gradient to bring just a little more detail in the mountain.

[TonyW]

I am very interested in this kind of image with pastel shades and I think the second one works very well, especially if the background is brought out a little more as John has done. Although with John's version, when I enlarge it with Lightbox I see more granularity in the foreground beach and grass that could perhaps be toned down or blurred out.

The first image needs something more in the foreground to catch the eye IMHO.

[chauncey]

There was something about the scene that caused you to squeeze the shutter...what were you seeing or hope to see after PP? That's what you want to work toward.

[Brownbear]

Greg, Tony and Chauncey

Thank you for your comments, feedback and suggestions. I will play with the images and see what I can do, and post later this morning. No doubt it will be a good post-processing exercise for me that will help me the next time around I take a similar image

[Brownbear]

My edits didn't work out.

Thank you to all for your help and advice. The next time I photograph a similar scene I will try a darker exposure.