Drama in the clouds
Drama in the clouds
I took this photo the other evening. The sun was still pretty high, but these clouds to the east were very interesting. I thought they looked like a giant bird swooping down on the land.
But, as is sometimes the case, no matter how you shoot the picture you miss some of the detail, or drama. So this photo was perfect for today’s After Before Friday.
Here is the original. As you can see, the clouds were not very pronounced, which is what I really wanted.
So I experimented with something. I have used the graduated filter in Lightroom many times before. But thanks to Stacey’s post last week on her After Before Friday, I learned that you can load some presets into the adjustment brush, or graduated filter. I found a preset that adds drama to the sky. So I used it first. It certainly made a difference, but I wanted a bit more oomph. So I applied another graduated filter on top of that one. I then brought the clarity way up. The sky was good then but the ground needed a little help. So I used an adjustment brush to bring out the color and clarity a bit.
That’s it. I am pretty happy with the end result. What do you think?
Yes it does look like a giant bird. Have a fabulous Friday.
Best wishes Molly
I agree with Molly – this looks like a giant wingspan, or even an ANGEL! And both photos reveal two beauties: the first shows such a deep blue sky, almost unimaginable for some of us, and the second really highlights the clouds. Oh Mary, you are having FUN! What do you have planned for this lovely Friday?
An angel is even better. I think I’ll have to get some work done today. But that’s still fun.
Yes, it does look like a giant bird, great images. I like both, the original and edited. Have a happy weekend!
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You did good Mary. Of course it goes without saying, the most important step was visualizing what you saw in the clouds at the start. Great job and thanks for the link to visual venturing.com. I just got a free trial of Lightroom 5 but I need to work on learning the ins and outs of it.
I love Lightroom and use it all the time. There are a lot of great tips on a site called, killerlightroomtips.com They have presets too which are great. Adobe also has some good tips and tricks for LR and photoshop.
That a beautiful capture of the sky, clouds, and mountain, Mary! Great composition.
That really does look like a giant bird! You find the most amazing photo ops!
How very pretty! The adjustments really helped perk up that photo and bring out those beautiful clouds.
Nancy
A nice lift to this image.
that is neat!!
Nicely done. The final image is quite dramatic.
All your photographs are wonderful, so this one is too!
Yes I see the bird in the clouds, nice job on the process, i will have to check out this presets being applied to adjustment brush, its a tool I rarely use but it looks like it has more capability than I realised :)
I really like the adjustments to the rocky hills, and the blue of the sky is lovely. I was hoping for a bit more white pop in the clouds though. I do like the shape the clouds made, really neat. :)
I think it’s absolutely gorgeous! Actually, I like both versions, but you definitely enhanced the clouds in the second one.
It does look like a bird!
The filter works so well.
It does look like a huge bird! I am heading over to read that post you referenced. What a pretty photo!
Both shots are gorgeous.
A very beautiful edit, the colors are so vivid and the mountains look very sharp.
Nice picture – the tools in Lightroom are great – and there is just so much to learn about it.
Cheers – Stewart M – Melbourne
I think you did a wonderful job with this! Sometimes it’s disappointing when a photo doesn’t capture what we saw with our eyes…so I love editing to bring back the drama. I’m starting to use it a bit more, though I have a lot to learn and need to get some good software.
NICE! I think I need to learn more about graduated filters!
Mary, I am soo delighted that you put presets to use in the LR filters! Isn’t it a great find?? And I love the drama that you recaptured in the sky. I also love how the hills look kissed in golden sunlight after your application of adjustment brush. What a great transformation!