Posted on Jan.03, 2012, under Travel
(Nikon D700, 28-300mm at 28mm, ISO 800, 1/1000 sec @ f/11)
This picture was taken in Hawaii on the island of Oahu at a place called the Pali Lookout. The site overlooks the 985 foot cliffs of the Koolau Mountain Range and has a special place in Hawaiian history. It was here in 1795 that King Kamehameha and his warriors defeated the Oahu armies by sending them over cliffs to claim victor and ultimately unite the Hawaiian Islands. The site does provide an incredible view off to the north on Oahu’s windward side. The lookout sits in a gap in the volcanic mountains and channels the trade winds which blow across the islands, turning the area into something akin to a wind tunnel. The wind was so strong the day I was there that I was afraid that the wind would rip the glasses off of my face and send them into the valley below.
Process started in Lightroom where I created both a light and dark version of the original image. I wanted to bring up some of the detail in the vegetation in the lower left. I opened the two images as layers in Photoshop and manually blended them using a layer mask. I then used a handful of filters in Color Efex Pro 4 to bring out some detail in the clouds and elsewhere in the image. I then used Silver Efex Pro 2 to create a black and white version, but I set the opacity to 72% to create an image which has a tinted look to it.
Certainly would love to hear your thoughts on this one, feel free to leave them below.
Copyright ©2011-2012 James W. Howe – All rights reserved.