Saras Head (Anacortes Washington) CC appriciated.

Trying to figure out how to make the landscape and sky stand out. How does this look?

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Its a cool area with some great wildflowers in spring (I used to live up there). For now I think this would work later in the day when the light creates layers in the islands. The dead trees on the left are a distraction. The water could use some drama or not so as to become an interesting layer

SeattleSpeedster wrote in post #16596967
Its a cool area with some great wildflowers in spring (I used to live up there). For now I think this would work later in the day when the light creates layers in the islands. The dead trees on the left are a distraction. The water could use some drama or not so as to become an interesting layer

Thanks for the advice. I need to learn to remove things like dead trees.

Nice exposure. Needs a more interesting foreground subject.

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SeattleSpeedster wrote in post #16596967
Its a cool area with some great wildflowers in spring (I used to live up there). For now I think this would work later in the day when the light creates layers in the islands. The dead trees on the left are a distraction. The water could use some drama or not so as to become an interesting layer

I didn't want to complete remove the trees because it looked fake. Not sure about what to do with the water so I tried the healing sponge to add saturation.

cerett wrote in post #16597163
Nice exposure. Needs a more interesting foreground subject.

Perhaps I will take my son there for a portrait, remove the tree and try to frame out the lower trees.

I wouldn't so much clone them out as next time you visit frame it so everything in the frame adds to the photo. That mass of leaves on the right feels like its blocking the vista.

WhidbeyHiker wrote in post #16597261

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I didn't want to complete remove the trees because it looked fake. Not sure about what to do with the water so I tried the healing sponge to add saturation.

Too much. The water is way too blue for the Northwest. I live in Seattle and this looks like Hawaiian waters
And definitely do not clone out the trees. The more natural the better.

While there are significants improvements that can be gained from photoshop, the most important thing is the image that you start with. Why spend time cloning out dead trees, if you could have eliminated them from the start by taking a few steps to the side? The front part of this image is out of focus and empty. Perhaps there was an interesting rock somewhere that could have added interest to the shot. And as SeattleSpeedster has said, the time of day is very important in landscape photography.