Pic(k) of the week 25: STORMY SKIES OVER FLANDERS FIELDS
One of the things, I appreciate when traveling to my home country Belgium, is the variety of the weather during the course of a single week, sometimes even a single day. In late spring it is quite common for thunderstorms to develop in the late afternoon.
While visiting friends in the Western part of Belgium one night, I noticed a very dramatic sky. The leading lines of a field just outside the house, made for a perfect frame. Looking at all the drama and contrast, I knew that the image would work best in Black and White.
Given the extent of the dynamic range, I bracketed three shots; beside the normal exposure I also shot one over and one under exposed. The images were then blended together using the Photomerge HDR function in Lightroom which generally does a good job in keeping the image realistic. Yes, I'm not a fan of images that have this unnatural HDR look...
Image details:
- Fujifilm X-E4 with XF18 f1.4 lens
- 3 image exposure bracket +2/0/-2EV
- RAW development and Photomerge HDR in Lightroom Classic
- DxO SilverEfex 2 for Black and White conversion
For those using mirrorless cameras, I highly recommend setting the camera in one of the Black and White modes so we immediately see in Black and White through the viewfinder. To me this is one of the main advantages of using a mirrorless camera!
Comments