Go west, young man! Photo

Photographer’s Note

At least that was the advice in the early days of my country to those seeking their fortune. They didn't have I-64 to get there, though. This highway starts on the east coast in Virginia. It runs through the mountains of Virginia and West Virginia, past the thoroughbred farms in Kentucky, on to Indiana and west to Missouri. I like this view though.
(it would appear this is one of my shots I "fixed to death")

japiey, mortijo, gunbud has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

linask (2813) 2007-08-20 12:00

Cloudy sky looks nice, but there is too much post-processing here. As a result colors of the clouds do not look natural anymore, and there is a clearly visible bright line between the sky and the hills. It was probably very aggressive shadow/highlight adjustment.

Linas

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jurek1951 (26162) 2007-08-20 12:02

Hi Shelly,
nice landscape with strong and beautiful colours,light and composition.excellent.
Georg

nemesiss (2631) 2007-08-20 12:03

Nyce composed image:
- Green forest, blue sky and white of the clouds.
Greting, Iulian

chrisnet (20376) 2007-08-20 12:04

Hello Shelly,
I'm ok with the precedent comment, there is here too much post-processing, it's a pity because the sky is splendid!
Regards
Christian

japiey (9521) 2007-08-20 12:17

Hi Shelly.

Fantastic imaginations..maybe a little wild...
Yet this stands great in visual sense..

The clouds balance the beauty , and it's a lovely feel riding there...

Good composition..
Salutes, dear friend.

jean paul

Wandering_Dan (3297) 2007-08-20 12:21

I have to agree; the white line along the horizon just jumped out at me. I've never had much luck getting rid of such artifacts, so I would recommend starting over and using a lighter touch. Watch for artifacts in the preview and come in just below where they start. If you're using full Photoshop, you could select the sky and then use feather and smoothing (Refine Edge) to minimize the halo effect.

Hope this helps,
Dan

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mortijo (12416) 2007-08-20 12:46

Hi Shelly, I am afraid Linas is right, you sharpenend too much! There are tell tale white line around the outline of the trees. Otherwise it is a nice composition and the title is well chosen. Don't giveit up though!!
Regards, John.

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dougie (2920) 2007-08-21 3:33

Hi,
Yep, overcooked that one. The w/s is pretty good as it is. A polariser would have done the trick but you may have been arrested for fitting one while driving? :-) Nice open view tho. Thanks.
Dougie.

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gunbud (28165) 2007-08-21 17:12

Hi Shelly,
Excellent POV that leads the eye down to the big bend in the road that beckons us to the dramatic western sky with its lovely cloud patterns. Excellent bright colors and sharp details. Hoarce Greeley from East Poultney Vt., is credited with the phrase "Go West Young Man." Even though he never got further west than New York City.
Regards, Tom

Dpbours (220) 2007-08-21 20:38

"Go West, Young man". That's a bit of a combination of the Pet Shop Boys and the Village People :-). I'd go for the Pet Shop Boys if I had the choice.

(Go West) Life is peaceful there
(Go West) There in the open air
(Go West) Where the skies are blue
(Go West) This is what we're gonna do

Okay, I'm having a nostalgic moment...
Yes, have to agree with quite some comments on the post processing. I'd think it was heavy unsharp masking. But yeah, I forgive you since you kept the hands on the wheel and didn't put on a polarizer and ended up crashing into another car ;-).

Thanks for sharing!
Dennis