Scotland Panoramics

Hi all,

Recently posted a panoramic I took while on a charity hike earlier this year ("Breathtaking"). Here is another one that I did but I have several versions and would like people's opinions on which they prefer.

There are 4 versions of the same image:

1) HDR version
2) Tonal contrast adjusted
3) B&W conversion
4) As shot (no PP)

Thanks in advance for and comments and opinions

beautiful scenery, rough...it reminds me torridon area which I visited 3 years ago....unfortunately the weather then was rubbish so I didn't take any photos

I like the last one most

The original one for me is the strongest..

The original for me as well

#1 is the best but for me it is overcooked. I think you need to get somewhere between #1 and #2.

For me, the original is the best of the bunch. I'm not sure what settings were used, but to me they all look a little flat and lacking in colour / dynamic range. Are they a bit under-exposed?

Regards
David

Good spot - It is in Torridon - the watercourse seen in the image is in fact the River Torridon

Thanks David - similar to the previous upload this is composed of 8 individual shots that I've stitched. I think I shot them on Aperture Priority at f/14 or f/16. I think they are all a little underexposed to be honest because the natural light was pretty rough because the weather was so changeable throughout the day.

What would be the easiest way to improve the dynamic range that you would suggest?

Hi Adam, there are probably a few things you could do:

- Shoot at a wider aperture; you don't need F14 or F16 for this type of shot unless you have very close objects that need to be pin-sharp. On a wide-ish lens you'll find that F7.1 or F8 is usually ample and this will help keep the ISO low - the lower the ISO the greater the dynamic range you can squeeze out, also your lens will perform better at F8

- Have you adjusted the levels to maximise the range?

- Did you use a ND Grad filter? A quality one will always help to balance bright skies and darker ground - take a look at PUMA's images and you will see what I mean

- A polariser will sometimes help, but the light probably needs to be a bit better than you had

Best wishes
David

I have to agree that somewhere between 1 and 2 would be my preference

I think that to get this to work properly you need to apply different settings to different parts of the scene. Which is a lot of work.

The clouds in #1 are spot on but the rest for me is overdone.

Copy the clouds to a new layer and hide it. Then do your adjustments to get the rest of the scene right (for me between #1 and #2) and finally put the clouds back in.

At least that's the theory. With my PS skills, it would take at least an hour!

I like #4 but would like to see the results of the suggestions you have been given regarding the images. I think #3 seems to have lost some of the contrast between foreground and background.