Here’s my version. Not quite happy with it at this point, still…
I added a lot of contrast in Sigmoid, then used a combination of a masked exposure instance and tone eq to balance the shadows and highlights.
Then a little selective colour grading to add a bit more colour to the foreground forest.
P1058305-.rw2.xmp (15.0 KB)
dpqcoxeas
I like this best so far. I noticed you used 5 different instances of CololrBalance rgb.
How did you decide where to set the sliders in this case?
You were changing things in progressive steps it seems.
What was the sequence you used for this image to get from point A to the finished image?
Thanks
As I don’t use DT, I spent most of the editing time here with ART simply trying to make it look like your example @Va3pinner → It is very good in my opinion!
After I “pretty much” got there (I like your sky better!!) , I moved to try to make it “more natural” and darker clouds like you asked ← I’m a ‘sucker’ for the natural view!
Hope I got it right, and thank you for the practice!
I’m also still finding my own style and don’t really have a “process” yet, or great understanding in what exactly I am doing. It’s a trial and error thing, and I think you’re doing very good @Va3pinner !
Though I like this version better with brighter sky, (no gradual filter)
Thank you Thomas, I’m getting there!
My ultimate goal with processing my images, is not to necessarily have the crispest-cleanest-sharpest image, but to convey the feeling I had, or the detail(s) that might have caught my eye.
Problem is, I still have a tendency to crank it up a bit too much from time to time!
Bruce
Great photo to play with! While generally I do not crank up the sliders, here in the PlayRaw section I love to exaggerate a little bit
@dqpcoxeas
I modified your work a bit just to see what I could do with it.
Used Tone Equalizer to bring down my burned out patches in the sky, It darkened the clouds a bit more but I still like it.
Used contrast equalizer preset Clarity, then reduced it way down to 0.22. It’s very subtle I think.
finally used Color Zones to just bring the lightness up a tiny bit. A bit more glow to the yellow leaves in the foreground.
thanks for the foundation to build on!
I like that one. 
Just for your info, you can tag users by adding a @ at the front of their username. E.g. @dqpcoxeas
Handy to ensure replies are seen.
thank you for that tip!
I like this one too. It was kind of a misty day. the Blue Ridge live up to their name!
Thank you everybody!
I will be contributing more images. this is a great learning experience. I liked all of them.
Bruce
Gorgeous photo; thank you for sharing both the image, and your thought process at the moment of composition—enjoyed reading your insights.
I centered my edit around exposing for sunbeams, attempting a gothic Edward Steichen look.
Thank you very much for your kind comment.
Forgive me if I am telling you something you already know.
In any module that contains a mask, when you click on the square that has a circle inside, you can see the zones where those masks are acting.
In each one of the instances I have decided to do a different thing, in one to lighten the foreground, in another to darken the sky, in another to give more luminosity to the sunny areas…
Depending on the photograph I have in front of me, I decide to do one thing or another. I don’t always move the sliders to the same point.
In short: you look at the photo in front of you for as long as you need to decide what you would like to achieve at the end of the development.
If you need one or more instances of a module to get to that result, the photo demands it.
I would like to add that sometimes you get the result you wanted, sometimes you surpass it and sometimes you don’t even come close… but you always learn.
Sorry for my English.
Best regards
Thank you for your reply!
I am familiar with DT masking, but have just started using it. You’ve inspired me to try and duplicate what you did from the beginning.
Before I start processing a RAW file, I do spend time deciding what I want the final result to be. First, what do I want to convey? is there something in the image I want to emphasize or needs to be reduced? how much contrast? What colors to work with.
I get this in mind either before I start, or as I go.
This RAW file was very flat. Almost no contrast at all. Different from others I have worked with. Probably because from where I took the photo, there was not a lot of contrast in the entire scene to begin with. I was standing in the same shadows as the foreground. mostly gray clouds in the sky, not a lot of blue anywhere. Only the bursts of sunlight in the distance, including sunbeams furthest away. That is what really caught my eye, and made this particular scene different. I exposed for the sky to preserve the clouds. I knew this would throw the foreground into deep shadow, but wanted to see if I really could bring this out, but I had difficulty figuring out where to start. Raising the exposure first blew out the sky, so I used different modules to enhance contrast & color. I can see where my processing went astray. Because I did not use masks to isolate the features I was working on, each change I made would affect everything before it, even slightly. I actually like what I did at first, but it did not convey the ‘natural’ softness I saw that day.I thought my first attempt was a bit too crispy looking. There was quite a bit of color in the foreground, I’ll see how I can bring that up a bit in future attempts, but it was softened colors, not like one would see on a bluebird sunny day.
All of the posted suggestions have given me ideas on how to proceed in the future.
I think I’ll be exploring masks quite a bit this year! I have some things posted on flickr under the name Va3Pinner. I know a lot of those will change from using masks!
thanks for the tip
And your English is fine!
