Afternoon at Loch More

[Deemac]

Finally decided to take my first trek out to Loch More. Can't imagine how the clouds/sky could have been any better. Unfortunatley I had imagined that I'd be doing long exposure shots of water pouring over the loch dam etc. I arrived to discover that the water level was probably 3 to 4 meters below this level (serves me right for taking my first visit during late summer!!) Anyway, here are a selection of some images. C&C most welcome.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh116/deemac1965/40DA_3988_89_90Sm.jpg

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh116/deemac1965/40DA_4063_4Sm.jpg

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh116/deemac1965/40DA_4015_6edit1Sm.jpg

[Deemac]

And a few more . . . .

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh116/deemac1965/40DA_4057_8Sm.jpg

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh116/deemac1965/40DA_4069_70Sm.jpg

[psyberyeti]

Stunning photos Deemac. Absolutely stunning. :cool:

[wifie]

Sorry deemac - I like yer bottoms but no yer tops! The clouds to me look like Dounreay has done it's worst! The light on the water looks good but, to me, doesn't look like it belongs wi the sky either! You did ask! :roll:

[Deemac]

No sky replacements here Wifie (O natural!).

Only image treatment is the use of an neutral density gradation filter mounted on the lens (to stop down - darken - the sky brightness) and 2 (or 3) variable exposures combined to increase the dynamic range of the captures. (also mounted on a tripod - with spirit level on hotshoe mount and remote triggered).

O yes - ISO100, fully manual, f18 all the way on a 10-20mm sigma, 40D Canon.

[wifie]

Did not think you had replaced them Deemac - just footered wi them. Sorry tho they just dinna hold true for me - do like the light on the water tho! :)

[Sporran]

Well I like them all, especially the first and third photos, Deemac. My fave is the first one. It's extremely pleasing to the eye, and almost looks like a painting! :cool:

[North Light]

Deemac,
Some interesting photographs, I like the black and white very much, number four works well for me, but I would prefer a touch less contrast in the sky and number two I particularly like, but again there is too much contrast for me.
It's a great location and definitely is worth further exploration, I suspect the winter should produce some stunning possibilities.

[Raven]

You are getting the best results after a spell of rain, summer is not the time to do the longtimes hots that you are after.
Loch More make such a stunning portfolio filler and I love to go up there in each weather.
I too like the bw best as the HDR-ing in this not too obvious.
Your pics remind me a bit of mine as I have started out with this technique a couple of years ago.
I slapped up the levels to the max, but I have quickly gone off that. Meanwhile I am able finetune a lot more when using this approach.
But as I always say, do your own style, accept criticism and after that what you like best goes :-)

[joxville]

Great shots deemac and like Sporran I particularly like the first one. To my eye it looks as if the water has a very thin layer of ice over it.

[Kenn]

! and 3 I think are great, quite agree it's a great location and never miss a trip out there when I am visiting the county.

[Deemac]

Thanks for all the comments guys and taking the time to look.

I'm very pleased with the look of these shots myself. A few have commented on the look being too processed (or un-natural), and yes they are all HDR merges, but it really was just that fabulous looking out there. I really didn't do much to get these results!! Something about the dark heavy clouds combined with the bright sky/sunlight on the water etc.

Here is a shot with absolutely no processing what-so-ever (just converted from RAW to JPEG - without ANY alteration/tweaks) and scaled down to 800 pixels for posting on this forum.


http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/5757/40da4070copysmbc7.jpg

[North Light]

Deemac,
If I am doing HDR from bracketed exposures I would not use a ND Grad, instead I would do perhaps five exposures at 1 EV steps, ie -2 stops to +2 stops.
What make of grad are you using, is it giving you a slight colour cast?

I now regularly produce HDR images from a single RAW file by producing five different exposures from that file, whilst not as good as doing 5 separate RAW files, the results can be impressive.
This was produced in the middle of last week on my way back from Loch More.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3264/2833410582_ac047404d2.jpg
http://flickr.com/photos/north_light/2833410582/

[wifie]

Have to say I like the more natural pic Deemac - you are right the clouds are very unusual.

[Raven]

I'm very pleased with the look of these shots myself.

Now thats all that matters, isnt it?;)

[astroman]

Great photos Deemac - I love interesting clouds (except when obscuring my views at night of course :()

[Kenn]

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i316/kenliz/LochMore-1.jpg


From the far west end just for a different view.

[Kenn]

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i316/kenliz/LochMore3-1.jpg

Looking the other way.