3 Mt. Hood Sunset Thunderhead

[AlanL]

Last night I was shooting the sunset from over Vancouver and turned around to see an unusual thunderhead spreading across the sky from just over Mt. Hood. This is a 3 shot panorama using the 24mm lens on my Mavic 3 Pro. Cropped to get rid of empty skies above the cloud show.



Comments and critiques always welcome.

 

[michaeldallen1]

Absolutely suitable for framing and for sale! Awesome!

 

[akdrone]

Wowzer!

 

[Deleted member 77603]

Love it

 

[twickers14]

Brilliant shot. Well done.

 

[Jug's Life]

Tremendous!

 

[Dale D]

Last night I was shooting the sunset from over Vancouver and turned around to see an unusual thunderhead spreading across the sky from just over Mt. Hood. This is a 3 shot panorama using the 24mm lens on my Mavic 3 Pro. Cropped to get rid of empty skies above the cloud show.

View attachment 164448

Comments and critiques always welcome.

Since you asked for comments and criticisms

It is a beautiful shot and great capture. I would love to see more detail in the foreground which is blocked up a bit. I could be corrected easily with ADOBE AI in Photoshop or Lightroom using masking tool. Here is my workflow to do that:

Photoshop>Filter> (Camera Raw from top menu drop down)> Click on Masking tool>Click on Sky>right click on sky icon>click INVERT> use shadows tool to open the foreground. I did not touch the sky. Here is a version side by side
where the foreground details can be opened up. Click on each image to enlarge.

Dale
Miami

 

[AlanL]

Since you asked for comments and criticisms

It is a beautiful shot and great capture. I would love to see more detail in the foreground which is blocked up a bit. I could be corrected easily with ADOBE AI in Photoshop or Lightroom using masking tool. Here is my workflow to do that:

Photoshop>Filter> (Camera Raw from top menu drop down)> Click on Masking tool>Click on Sky>right click on sky icon>click INVERT> use shadows tool to open the foreground. I did not touch the sky. Here is a version side by side
where the foreground details can be opened up. Click on each image to enlarge.

Dale
Miami

Thanks for the comments Dale - you actually undid what I did to steer your attention up towards the mountain and away from the suburbs

If the scene hadn't been so wide I would have cropped it out entirely which is what I typically do with scenes shot from above my house like this one. In the original the suburbs have a lot more light than your edit. I cloned out more than a handful of the brighter buildings and water towers in the foreground as well as I felt they were too distracting.

 

[Dale D]

Thanks for the comments Dale - you actually undid what I did to steer your attention up towards the mountain and away from the suburbs

If the scene hadn't been so wide I would have cropped it out entirely which is what I typically do with scenes shot from above my house like this one. In the original the suburbs have a lot more light than your edit. I cloned out more than a handful of the brighter buildings and water towers in the foreground as well as I felt they were too distracting.

Alan
That is quite ok. There are so many ways to process- you did it for your taste but I prefer to have some details in my landscapes. Our problems with drone photos towards the sun are that the sensor always reads the brightest areas and underexposes the darker areas. Because of the news AI Masking tool I have been finally able to edit these problems easily.

Dale

 

[AlanL]

Alan
That is quite ok. There are so many ways to process- you did it for your taste but I prefer to have some details in my landscapes. Our problems with drone photos towards the sun are that the sensor always reads the brightest areas and underexposes the darker areas. Because of the news AI Masking tool I have been finally able to edit these problems easily.

Dale

Dale - agreed - the new masking tools are wonderful. This shot was an odd one since I am actually facing away from the sunset. The cloud and the foreground were what stuck out the most so I utilized 3 masks to work over 1) the cloud; 2) Mt. Hood which didn't jump out as much as I would have liked; and 3) the ground which I pulled back on to bring focus up to the mountain which appears as the origin of the cloud with this point of view (I am not sure it really was however).

I am a moderator on a photography forum so I see and comment on a wide range of tastes for what photographers like to do with their own work and what they think about what others do as well. Its all good in the end

Shooting waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge is a bad idea when the sun is out because most of the waterfalls are on north facing cliffs and you are always shooting into the sun. I wait for cloudy days with my drones because they have a lot of trouble with that scenario and especially during winter months this far north.

 

[Dale D]

Dale - agreed - the new masking tools are wonderful. This shot was an odd one since I am actually facing away from the sunset. The cloud and the foreground were what stuck out the most so I utilized 3 masks to work over 1) the cloud; 2) Mt. Hood which didn't jump out as much as I would have liked; and 3) the ground which I pulled back on to bring focus up to the mountain which appears as the origin of the cloud with this point of view (I am not sure it really was however).

I am a moderator on a photography forum so I see and comment on a wide range of tastes for what photographers like to do with their own work and what they think about what others do as well. Its all good in the end

Shooting waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge is a bad idea when the sun is out because most of the waterfalls are on north facing cliffs and you are always shooting into the sun. I wait for cloudy days with my drones because they have a lot of trouble with that scenario and especially during winter months this far north.

You do not have to necessarily shoot at the sun. The sky is brighter than the foreground so this under exposure due to the sensor being overwhelmed by the bright sky will always result in an underexposed foreground. It is a matter of less than a minute to correct these in Lightroom or Photoshop with masking tools now.

I am impressed by your position of judging photography as a moderator, so I know that you know what you are talking about.

Dale

 

[rhberg]

This is an excellent photograph—you caught the perfect moment for lighting Mt. Hood.

 

[QCopterCam]

Last night I was shooting the sunset from over Vancouver and turned around to see an unusual thunderhead spreading across the sky from just over Mt. Hood. This is a 3 shot panorama using the 24mm lens on my Mavic 3 Pro. Cropped to get rid of empty skies above the cloud show.

View attachment 164448

Comments and critiques always welcome.

Absolutely Beautiful! You motivate me to take more photos with my drones! Well Done Sir! My wife and are fly from Florida to Washington state to a special location for her to do photography of Eagles. Some beautiful areas around there! Thank You for the "Photo" motivation!

 

[MavicFlyer2]

Great shot, also my wife and I are going to Portland over the 4th of July.

 

[RodPad]

You do not have to necessarily shoot at the sun. The sky is brighter than the foreground so this under exposure due to the sensor being overwhelmed by the bright sky will always result in an underexposed foreground. It is a matter of less than a minute to correct these in Lightroom or Photoshop with masking tools now.

I am impressed by your position of judging photography as a moderator, so I know that you know what you are talking about.

Dale

I had to reread his post three times, I thought he said the Waterfalls where on the North Side.
Anyways, because of the Columbia, you need to be on the Oregon side. I never thought about tell know, but I bet some of those locations never get direct sun in the winter. I may look into that.

The wind is the largest challenge.

Rod..

 

[RodPad]

Just one more thought, I looked at the photo again, I wouldn't want to see the foreground, I would have cut it out.

Rod..

 

[AlanL]

I had to reread his post three times, I thought he said the Waterfalls where on the North Side.
Anyways, because of the Columbia, you need to be on the Oregon side. I never thought about tell know, but I bet some of those locations never get direct sun in the winter. I may look into that.

The wind is the largest challenge.

Rod..

You are correct Rod - there are several waterfalls on the Oregon side of the Columbia that rarely see direct sunlight during the winter months. I don't even bother trying to shoot the waterfalls in the Gorge on bright sunny days since the sun will be shining directly on your lens with a drone and your subject is on deep shade. Its almost worse to shoot the falls from the ground in the winter on a clear day if you want the top of the falls in your image since you will have to include the sky which is about 10 f/stops brighter than anything below.

I do wait for days with light winds. I have been up there with gusty conditions and you can hear your drone revving wildly trying to keep stable while hovering. When it really howls up there it can be challenging to just open your car door but by then the waterfalls are going sideways and your drone would turn into a projectile.