Post-Processing Decisions

Moraine Park Burn #15. RMNP, Colorado, 2013

Sometimes it is hard to decide which way to go with a photograph during post-processing. The above example is pretty much what I visualized when I made the capture–I wanted a very high contrast look, with very white whites and very dark blacks, but with the shadow adding more interest and pattern to the image. I do think I need to include more of that second tree from the left or take it out altogether–I cropped in too much from the top–as it tends to pull the eye to the edge of the photo. Anyway, I created about ten images of various burnt trees in the snow with various patterns, all in a similar style to what you see above…the idea was to create a series with all frames sharing the same stark, abstract, look.

Then, just to play around a bit, I took it to the extreme and eliminated the shadows and cropped it in much tighter. It then took on sort of a Japanese print look (maybe!?). I liked this version, too:

Moraine Park Burn #6. RMNP, Colorado, 2013

For comparison, here is the original, out-of-the-camera image with neutral jpeg settings. Note the color cast and underexposed snow:

Decisions, decisions. I think I’ll let these images sit for awhile, then come back to them. Sometimes the path forward becomes clearer when time passes and a bit more objectivity sets in…maybe I’ll go a completely different direction…or maybe I’ll even relegate them to the dustbin.

NOTE: As a technical aside, the top image was made using the High Contrast Smooth preset in the Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 plug-in with no other adjustments. The second image was processed with the Silhouette preset in the same plug-in, again with no other adjustments. I love using Nik Silver Efex, but it isn’t often that I just click one preset and don’t do anything else.