Scottish Landscape

As usual, I was getting bored and so started on some editing of an image which I took in Scotland last year. This was taken in a place called Commando Memorial in Highlands. I just loved Scotland. Would love to go again if I get a chance. When we were there, it was raining pretty badly, but that didn’t stop me from getting a picture when it slowed down for a few seconds. See all those angry clouds up there? It was chasing us the whole day.

More than anything, I loved how there was a natural light just above the mountains and below the clouds. That small stretch of white before it was all engulfed by darkness. I used Luminance HDR to get the 2nd picture with some effects (does it look like a scene just before when the Dementors are ready to swoop down in that place in Harry Potter ? ) . Hope you like them 🙂 and my favorite is the first one.

Processing a Landscape

While going through the pictures, I saw this one and remembered the reason I took this. The varied colors. So I thought I will try to use this single picture and apply the HDR processing using Luminance HDR software I had installed some time ago. Since I am still unaware of lot of parameters associated with it, I gave a go with the various options and got this one close to my liking.

Landscape – Segovia

And then I played around a little more and I got this one 🙂

And then with a new equation, it gave me this one

Now I am like a kid in a candy store 🙂

But my favorite is still the first one, even though the 2nd one looks good for a spooky set with all those branches coming out very well. The third one is just too nice and soft for my liking.

And then again after sometime I tried it with Photomatix Pro for Tone Mapping and this is what I got. And now I sort of like this too. That is why I don’t like too many choices 🙂

 

Do you have a favorite among the three ?  what do you think of the fourth one ?

PS: For Earth Day yesterday, I shared a few photographs of mine in Google+ (a first for me). Just testing the waters.