Here are some landscapes I took recently that I deliberately took and processed with the goal of creating more of an image than a photograph. If you don't like images that are heavily processed to give a certain mood or look or concept, at the expense of 'reality', you probably wont like these. However I do have plenty of 'real' landscapes on my FLICKR that are done traditionally, which I also enjoy. These were just something to expand my horizons.
This one is titled 'Decay'. It is a 3-exposure HDR processed to look on the realistic side. It is somewhat over-sharpened and the micro contrast bumped up very heavily. The idea is to emphasize the general decay and poor repair of most roadside structures in my area of Afghanistan.
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This one is titled 'I Stand Alone'. I wish I would have had a 400 or 500mm, lens, but all I have is 300mm. It is a high key HDR, done with 0 EV, +1 EV, and +2 EV. Way out there on top of this mountain was a lone Afghan Policeman standing up on top holding the Afghan Flag upright. Of course at 100% you can actually clearly see the man and the flag, but I can't do a 100% post of the whole picture here. I wanted to make it look sort of fantasy-medieval, almost like cover art for a 'lord of the rings' type feel. The goal was sort of a lone-citadel holding off the horde of enemy in an unforgiving landscape. A longer lens would have helped get rid of the buildings below without cropping, without letting the sky take up too much of the frame...but oh well, the best lens is the one you have right.
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This last one is my favorite of the night. This one is titled Afghanistan Dreamscape. This is a single exposure heavily processed to hold back the highlights and pull out the shadows, at 100% it is a tad noisy, but it is hard to do HDR and capture long-exposure motion with a moving convoy of vehicles all the way across the frame. The two techniques are in fact directly opposing. This is to me sort of what a deployment is like. Time goes by without really tracking it, days of the week become irrelevant, and when you look back on it, you often feel as though you have simply drifted through. Upon getting home or going on R&R, suddenly being set back down into the world where you started, but without having witnessed time passing there, it is as if that entire 12 months has disappeared from your life, as if it were a dream.
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Thanks for looking and hope you enjoyed, as I said, if you want "realistic" landscapes of Afghanistan, I have done them, on my FLICKR.
