Gloom personified

I don't usually post to critique, but then I don't usually shoot landscapes either. Thoughts?

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That sky is SCARY! I don't know about the "land" part of this landscape, but the sky is awesome....I'd save a selection of just the sky to paste into other pictures you might want to make more interesting too!

It's very dramatic, and I like the composition, too.
However, the darker passages seem too dark, although I can see why you might be just going for a silhouette of those parts of the image.

I have to say that although I see it as too dark, it's the maker's prerogative to have it as dark as he wants it to be. I'm wondering, does it make a good print? Sometimes I think we judge an image here on the Web unfairly, in that a print often looks much better or much worse than the screen image for a variety of reasons.

I like it. and I don't think it's too dark. I agree with Bob though that it's probably a really neat print.. Sari.

i like the way it leads the eye from the bottom.. through the shrubs/ trees and then into the skyline.. was this the calm before the storm?

Robert is correct, it is much better in print although the focus shifts a little bit towards the foreground because you can finally see the detail contained there. I can see the argument about dark spots but the light was casting some parts in shadow and others in full light and I wanted to make that a prime component of the composition. I did accentuate this slightly in photoshop but certainly nothing that isn't true to the original exposure.

Meaty - Thanks for the comment. I try and keep my photos true to their original content, although anything else is fair game for post processing IMO. Not to say there's anything wrong with pasting a sky in, I fully agree with anyone else who wants to do it, it's just not part of my own philosophy is all.

Saravrose - Thank you.

madferrit - It was just a crazy day, one of those high speed wind days where you're in sun one moment, and dark dark shadow the next. I had a few shots on this bridge where the background was nearly pitch black with storm clouds and the bridge was cast in direct sunlight but the compositions themselves were terribly terribly weak.


As a side note that might have explained the mood for the shot, this was taken on the Bloor Street Viaduct in Toronto which was unfortunately the sight for over 400 suicides. It gives a moment of pause to look out over the same landscape that must have been the last thing some people ever saw.

http://en.wikipedia.or​g/wiki/Bloor_Street_Vi​aduct

Thank you for the input everybody

elTwitcho: it's nice that you took the time to explain the shoot and what you were trying to achieve. I agree with everyone else - great pic - beautiful sky!

Thanks for sharing

The sky is absolutely great! I see a lot of dark spots in the clouds, think its time to clean the sensor..?

Don't get me wrong: If you prefer keeping originals...well..orig​inal, then that's fine. I respect that. My creativity includes adding drama to shots using Photoshop to its fullest. (That sure upsets a few of my purist friends, mostly film photographers.)

But a sky like that would look fantastic with the land cropped out altogether IMO (or maybe just a little bit left at the bottom to see where the sky ends). The print must be really something.

Wonderful image. I like the way you've composed this using the road and path to guide the eye through the image. I think you've done especially well in giving the sky a generous 2/3 proportion because it is so dramatic. Well done.

Hemuni - you just ruined my morning pointing that out, haha. It's easily fixed with the clone tool, but it looks like I'm going to have to attempt my first sensor clean after all, I knew it was coming eventually...

Meaty - Yep that's how I prefer and as I said, there's absolutely nothing wrong with your approach. I don't change content because my philosophy is to try and show the wonderful things to be seen in the world around us we might otherwise look past and just think "eh, whatever that scene is there everyday it's nothing special". Creating scenes that didn't exist goes against that philosophy but it's something I work with personally, there's absolutely no reason someone shouldn't do that if it's what they want to achieve. I definately appreciate the input though.

ajbalazic - Thank you. It's wonderful to have it explained exactly what works in the image. I appreciate that.

Teejay - Thank you for your comments.

I can't help but come back to this picture for (yet) another look. The more you look, the more it seems to draw you in and the more detail it gives up and reveals. Really quite amazing.

Thanks

TJ

I was trying to think of a smart ass answer to your question - along the lines of 'well, don't', but gave up

I am liking what I am seeing, as per most of your work. I don't think you post hastily. You probably shoot either thoughtfully, or at a high rate and discard many.

Anyway, I fiddled with crops and really couldn't get any that made a point. I was trying to lose some of the top third as it contains little of interest, but wasn't able to achieve a 'better' crop.

I do like the 'darkness' of the shot. It takes the mundane into a new area.

Great shot, but even greater vision for shooting it.

Graham

Man, I have to tell you I love it. Gloomy shots exhibiting melancholic tones, really heighten my interest in photographs. Good Work.

Teejay, Andrew thank you very much.

blue-max - It's a little bit of both. I try and shoot more thoughtfully just because I find after a certain amount of shots I feel "done" and can't concentrate anymore. The less of my quota I take on crappy shots, the more good ones I have when I get home. I'm also brutal on my own slection process, because it's much better than having someone else be brutal for you

Thanks for the comment as well. I've played around a bit with the crop originally as well but even though the top portion isn't quite so exciting as the bottom two thirds, I think it balances the image well in that it says "yes there is something here" but also "it's not that interesting, look down". It felt a bit awkward and cramped to have interesting subject matter right to the edge of the frame IME with trying new crops on this.