Dartmoor Rock

[Lesley Jones]

I've been staring at this too long, I hardly slept last night and I know this is better not posted until tomorrow, but never mind. I was on Dartmoor looking for the famous photographer's tree. Having stumbled around for over an hour and accosted a group of passing orienteers, I decided this big rock was better than nothing. I set up the tripod and the wind was so bad I had to lean on it during the exposures. Just as I got some interesting shafts of light, I turned around and spotted the tree not more than two hundred yards away...

 

[Pete Askew]

Nice composition as usual Lesley. I do find the rock a bit light though. It almost looks like it has been lit by flash (as does the foreground a bit) and so does not look natural and I think, given the dramatic sky, that it should. It probably only needs to be half to one stop darker though.

 

[Lee Webb]

I agree with Pete to a certain extent, for this to look more natural the rocks need to be 1/2 a stop darker, however I feel that the image as a whole is slightly too dark. I'd like to see the rocks lighter if anything, but to do so without adjusting the sky accordingly would create a horrible HDR effect. Out of interest is it possible to see the original?

 

[Chris Dodkin]

What a sky though - stunning!

 

[Lesley Jones]

Cheers everyone! I've only popped in while getting the list of animal treatments today. It seems as though the final tweaks I made before going to bed were too much. I can't focus properly when I get too tired, which is most of the time these days. Lee - I bracketed, three exposures two stops apart, although I only used two of them. It's not HDR though as I blend by hand to avoid blocked and blown bits. We're introducing new chickens this afternoon so it's going to be a busy day, but I'll have another go later

 

[Julian de'Courcy]

Lesley I looked last night and this morning again. They do look different and I know the time of day/night can influence our perceptions. I do love the composition and knowing Dartmoor fairly well it
is a great representation.

 

[Lee Webb]

It's still technically HDR as you've artificially increased the dynamic range over the native dynamic range of your camera by using more than a single exposure. It's doesn't always have to look like a cartoon to be a HDR!

 

[Lesley Jones]

Well we've just finished the zoo for the day (without any kind of a break) and I've had another go. I really shouldn't try and work on images when I'm so tired, but there simply isn't any other time

 

[Aldous Lau]

stunning shot Lesley