Dusk in the moutains

[Lion]

I hope it's retranscribing the atmosphere of the moment. Hard to be objective for that shot so tell me what you think !
On a technical point of view, the sky was rather burn and the long exp time w/o a tripod isn't helping sharpness (during backpacking trip). I tried to reduce the exp time but it changed the atmosphere



ISO 200 20mm F/16 30sec (with 18-55 IS)

[Matt K.]

Ok, Lion .... here is what you did: ISO 200 20mm F/16 30sec. So the very first thing I would do is bump the ISO to at least 800, so my f-stop can get larger; f16 is not something I would choose in low light conditions, unless I want to blur the image out, as you have done. Such a tight aperture necessitates a long exposure, and that will contribute to motion blur on the things that move, like the clouds. Also, if you use spot metering on the darker parts, then you would get more detail in those. However, it may blow out the sky. That can be fixed in PS, or by using a graduated neutral density filter. Hope this helps.

[Lion]

Thx for you comment ! I wanted to have the lakes water blurry and to have everything in focus, that's why I used a so small aperture. Maybe F/8 would have been enough. I think a graduated neutral density filters would have helped here, maybe I'll considere purchasing one bud that'll be after a polarizer.
The 1€ (or 1$ ;p) question is it is working in your opinion ? Is it evoking emotion ?

[Lion]

PS: I tried to "recover" the sky in LR but it's out of reach, darkening it only bring strange colors..

[Andrew]

I think you might have better luck with this same shot in the premorning hours rather than at dusk. Instead of the sun in front of you overdriving the contrast I see here you'd have some supportive light coming from behind and giving some colour and depth to the ground in front and a darker sky which should blend in quite well. Good potential.

[Lion]

OK ! Thx for the comment Andrew !