I don't know about this one. Just. Don't. Know. This field has always posed a compositional challenge for me, as I can never make it look interesting in a photo. (In "person" it's great. Really!)
It's days like this one that make me wish I could remember to buy a ND filter when I have the opportunity, as I have bruises all up and down my legs from kicking myself when these moments present themselves. I metered off the sky, which turned out rather well (although you can see some minor PS tweaks), but I had to perform some significant lightening of the foreground, which makes it look a little washed out.
The best thing about the prairies is the ability to watch miles and miles of weather happen around you. Rain storms are like one giant, unpredictable sprinkler system and you never know when you're going to get wet.
Stefan, if tinkerers of others' photos end up in a special level of hell, then I'll be there to serve cookies and lemonade. I always appreciate the educational efforts of others!
Your tweaked version definitely has more drama and punch (and highlights my sky fiddling, which I thought wasn't that obvious . . . I really have to stop PSing photos on bright days inside bright rooms). Personally, I think I'd dial it back to a 50/50 mix of my photo and yours. And if Santa Claus doesn't bring me a ND filter, then I'm DEFintiely buying one come January.
Tim, I agree some height would have benifited the photo. I'd probably have to invest in a pack mule, though, for the photo expeditions of the long hike variety.
Do they make inflatible ladders? They probably should.
I know that that is a good storm over there but what I saw first were really the two haybales. I think their golden color is what makes it stand out as you present it. I don't think that the foreground lost too much punch, in fact I think the grass looks pretty good... I love cloudscapes myself and could not resist playing with your image - a curves adjustment for the sky and a slightly less dramatic one for the everything else (for a more consistent satuartion overall). I know there is a special place in Hell for tinkering with other's images like this but I figure I already blew it... It may be that our monitors are showing these images a little different too. The version I show is a little dark but not excessively so (all IMHO of course).
It is very different to be in a landscape and to capture it successfully on film (all those choices, and no you can't have it all). I like this composition very well and maybe Tim is right that a higher elevation would afford a superior view, but as I feature this place, I think that you got as good a shot as one can find of it. The dried golden grass draws a nice diagonal and is repeated in the distance.
Since you like seeking out these kinds of scenes you should definitely invest in a ND grad filter, especially if you are going to shoot slides.
I like it, Becky. Maybe intensifying (darkening) and dialing down the blue of the sky would help. I think that grey clouds are more powerful and forbidding anyway. I like the scene and you're absolutely right that ND would do wonders. Also, if you ever have the opportunity to get a bit higher on a rather flat scene like this, say with a stepladder, I bet you'd love the compositional opportunities. Just a couple of feet difference in perspective can yield amazing results. Happy shooting! Tim
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