The beauty of Milford Sound

[matt]

Here's the first shot after we arrived at Milford Sound, during our recent holiday in the South Island of NZ.

It's really not necessary to say the scenery and scale of the landscape is amazing.

It's often quite an odd feeling being surrounded by so much natural beauty. It's as if you're in the middle of a living...breathing postcard!

This was taken within minutes of stepping on the cruise boat.

More pics to follow.

[Tamtarn]

A beautiful shot Matt of an incredible beautiful area.

[Dennis]

Hi Matt

A beautiful photo of a stunning seascape girdled by amazing mountain scenery – top shot and I hope that you are managing to appreciate the incredible beauty through your naked eyes and soul as well as the camera viewfinder!

I couldn’t resist trying to bring some shadow detail back into the dark foliage on the right hand side – so I hope you don’t mind my effort below!

Cheers

Dennis

[iceman (Mike)]

Incredible place to be. Lovely capture.

[matt]

Thanks all.

Dennis - no probs with having a go at a repro.

I thought about doing the same, but preferred the original. It's somehow a little moodier and has a little more atmosphere with the hint of what's hiding in the shadows. I also prefer the deeper contrast.

Cheers.

[Dennis]

Originally Posted by matt

Thanks all.
Dennis - no probs with having a go at a repro.
I thought about doing the same, but preferred the original. It's somehow a little moodier and has a little more atmosphere with the hint of what's hiding in the shadows. I also prefer the deeper contrast.
Cheers.

Cheers Matt! I’ve recently discovered the Shadow/Highlight function in CS3 so sadly, my world is now coloured by S/H adjustments…until I discover the next CS3 trick! Oh well, I guess its one way of learning this stuff!

Keep ‘em coming!

Cheers

Dennis

PS – apart from the Maroons flogging the Blues, you’re not missing much over here; the local weather has been atrocious recently.

[Octane (Humayun)]

Matt,

Makes me want to go back.

I'm not sure I agree entirely with Dennis' reprocess as the foliage on the right looks like it's being illuminated by moonlight rather than what your eye would have seen which would have been a dark green. But, it has an interesting overall effect.

I would have thought that your original may have been a good candidate for a careful black and white conversion.

Looking forward to more.

Regards,
Humayun

[matt]

H.

Spot on!!! When it comes to landscapes, I try to keep produce images which are as close to the scene which presented itself to my eye...as possible.

Sometimes I'll do little tweeks (dodge, burn etc) to emphasise or bring out a certain feature/s, but mostly I try to produce an image which is an accurate rendition of the scene. Sometimes, however, it's also nice to get a little 'creative', and I do that too.

And you're also right about the black and white potential of the shot. It does look quite nice when converted and some of the channels are adjusted. I just liked the colour image this time around

Dennis - I'm already back, and witnessed the horror last night!!!

We flew back in to Brisbane last Saturday morning.

Cheers all.

[Dennis]

Back already! Gee Matt, you’re an International Man of Mystery – jetting around the S. hemisphere! Glad to see you back safe and sound!

In my (quick & dirty) reprocess, I went for the Swiss chocolate box sunny and colourful look, so it does look somewhat artificial. I’ll have to learn to stop seeing the world through rose coloured spectacles and see what is really there; or even attend art classes so that I can develop that elusive artistic eye!

Thanks for the courtesy extended in discussing the post processing – I do appreciate reading about the thinking and approach of others.

Cheers

Dennis

[Liz]

LOVE Milford Sound ... great shot