Processed Cows

[major_clanger]

We went for a wander around Sutton Park today; now that we have a car we're doing more exploring around the outskirts of Birmingham, and we quickly discovered this wonderful great chunk of countryside within Birmingham's suburban sprawl.

I had my DSLR with me and tried to get some interesting shots of a small herd of cows we met. I've done my best with a few minutes' work in Photoshop to bring the picture a bit more to life and I'd be interested in comments on the processed version vs the original :



Left: original, taken with Canon 400D and Canon 17-55 f/2.8, 1/200s at f/7.1, ISO 100, shot through neutral density graduated filter. Shot in RAW and small exposure tweak added.

Right: slightly realigned and cropped, layer overlays used to boost contrast and saturation.

Comments

[major-clanger.livejournal.com]

I've probably fallen foul of the MAKE THE SKY LOOK ALL DRAMATIC style that tends to permeate a lot of photography these days. I've wound it back a bit and also shifted the colour balance to be a little cooler; is this better?

[kake]

Ooh, yes, that looks a lot better.

(I forgot to say this before, but I love how the foremost cow is looking grumpily at the camera. The clouds in the sky seem to go with the mood there.)