# Vast Midwest Majesty



## NJMAN (Jan 13, 2008)

I challenge you to say that 10 times fast.  

I remember thinking when I was out here shooting, now this is something that really makes me feel small.  C&C welcome.  Thanks for looking, I really appreciate it! 







Thanks for looking. 

NJ


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## RKW3 (Jan 13, 2008)

Holy cow!


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## photo_guy (Jan 13, 2008)

Thats a very good picture. I really like the sky. Is that one exposure or is it an HDR?


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## RKW3 (Jan 13, 2008)

I'm pretty sure this is an HDR, 'specially since NJ loves shooting HDR's. (and the viewers love looking at them, haha)


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## Sideburns (Jan 13, 2008)

Wow.  Really good.  Reminds me of the Windows XP theme thingy.


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## meganc (Jan 13, 2008)

I absolutely love it 
Very nice.


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## TATTRAT (Jan 13, 2008)

effin gorgeous! Makes me want to see the mid-west.


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## hawkeye (Jan 13, 2008)

Wow!!  Thats the best I've seen lately.  I love this picture...

whats with your avatar though??


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## bhop (Jan 13, 2008)

No C&C necessary IMO .. It's too awesome for that.


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## NJMAN (Jan 14, 2008)

RKW3 said:


> Holy cow!


 
Thanks!



photo_guy said:


> Thats a very good picture. I really like the sky. Is that one exposure or is it an HDR?


 
Yes, this would be an HDR. Thanks so much for the kind words! 



RKW3 said:


> I'm pretty sure this is an HDR, 'specially since NJ loves shooting HDR's. (and the viewers love looking at them, haha)


 
You are too kind Robbie! And yes, I love shooting HDR's. You know me too well. 



Sideburns said:


> Wow. Really good. Reminds me of the Windows XP theme thingy.


 
Thanks Sideburns! Really appreciate the nice comments. 



meganc said:


> I absolutely love it
> Very nice.


 
Many thanks.



TATTRAT said:


> effin gorgeous! Makes me want to see the mid-west.


 
Thank you much for the taking the time to leave such a nice comment. 



hawkeye said:


> Wow!! Thats the best I've seen lately. I love this picture...
> 
> whats with your avatar though??


 
Hey, whats wrong with the avatar??  Its better than the firey guy I used to have, I think. Thanks for the very kind words. 



bhop said:


> No C&C necessary IMO .. It's too awesome for that.


 
I appreciate that, thanks so much!


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## zendianah (Jan 14, 2008)

amazing NJ.  Your new avatar is pretty cool!  You haven't posted people shots in awhile... I miss your people shots.. I think you are very talented and your work inspires me!


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## Robstar1619 (Jan 14, 2008)

Excellent:thumbup:


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## Heck (Jan 14, 2008)

Lol you should think about teaching a class on HDR. Great work.


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## dbrandon (Jan 14, 2008)

Sideburns said:


> Wow.  Really good.  Reminds me of the Windows XP theme thingy.



I was thinking that ! 

But seriously, what an amazing image. Absolutely spot on, and what an intriguing place !


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## AncientSnapper (Jan 14, 2008)

Wow - more like a painting than a photo - great


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## Tighearnach (Jan 14, 2008)

Terrible photo. These people clearly have no idea what they are talking about. 

Your composition is TOO perfect i would say. 

And your exposure lacks any sort of mistake shall we say and your post processing was clearly performed by some professional company that you paid. 

Yeah thats it. Its a conspiracy. The American government were prob involved. Rumour has it they even called in Will Smith to ensure the job got done in style.

Yeah you have been caught out my friend..............






:hail::hail:


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## Baldieheidit (Jan 14, 2008)

Stunning work


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## Antarctican (Jan 14, 2008)

RKW3 said:


> Holy cow!


That was my exact response on seeing that pic appear on my monitor.  Wow!!!! I love the colours and sharpness of this shot.  (And yes, it is vaguely reminiscent of the Windows XP thingy, teehee)


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## Big Mike (Jan 14, 2008)

Great photo, well done.

There is something about it that really keeps the viewer's eye.  It's hard to put a finger on exactly what.  The rolling hills lead the viewer into the photo and the interesting features keep us looking.  The color and the great lighting really put the icing on the cake.


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## heip (Jan 14, 2008)

Vast Midwest Majesty, Vast Midwest Majesty, Vast Midwest Majesty, Vast Midwest Majesty, Vast Midwest Majesty, Vast Midwest Majesty, Vast Midwest Majesty, Vast Midwest Majesty, Vast Midwest Majesty, Vast Midwest Majesty. 
Sorry NJ, couldn't resist.

Great shot, Bravo!!


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## JimmyJaceyMom (Jan 14, 2008)

heip said:


> Vast Midwest Majesty, Vast Midwest Majesty, Vast Midwest Majesty, Vast Midwest Majesty, Vast Midwest Majesty, Vast Midwest Majesty, Vast Midwest Majesty, Vast Midwest Majesty, Vast Midwest Majesty, Vast Midwest Majesty.
> Sorry NJ, couldn't resist.
> 
> Great shot, Bravo!!


 

Hey!  Great minds think alike - cause that is exactly what I said!  HAHA.
NJMAN - I just love this picture, it must be great to have the ability to show something in a picture the beautiful way you saw it in person!


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## GeorgeUK (Jan 14, 2008)

Gorgeous photo. :thumbup:

Was this HDR made from 3 jpegs or 1 RAW (or 3 RAWs)?


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## partyaddict (Jan 14, 2008)

love the colours together perfect postcard


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## NJMAN (Jan 15, 2008)

zendianah said:


> amazing NJ. Your new avatar is pretty cool! You haven't posted people shots in awhile... I miss your people shots.. I think you are very talented and your work inspires me!


 
You are sweet!  Thank you for the extremely nice words.  I am actually planning on posting some pics in the Portrait gallery very soon, if I can find the time.   Anyway, you made my day! Many thanks. 



Robstar1619 said:


> Excellent:thumbup:


 
Thank you, much appreciated Rob.



Heck said:


> Lol you should think about teaching a class on HDR. Great work.


 
Hey, thanks so much Heck.  I dont know about teaching a class, but I would be happy to answer any questions if I can about my process.  Its really not all that different than just tweaking some controls here and there as you would in photoshop. But thanks very much. 



dbrandon said:


> I was thinking that !
> 
> But seriously, what an amazing image. Absolutely spot on, and what an intriguing place !


 
So nice of you to say brandon, thanks a ton!  Yes, it is an intriguing place. I would have stayed out there and stared at that scene for hours if I could. 



AncientSnapper said:


> Wow - more like a painting than a photo - great


 
Many thanks!



Tighearnach said:


> Terrible photo. These people clearly have no idea what they are talking about.
> 
> Your composition is TOO perfect i would say.
> 
> ...


 
LOL, that is hilarious!  When I read that first, I was like HUH??  Thats quite the story there, with Will Smith and everything.  HAHA!  Thanks very much.



Baldieheidit said:


> Stunning work


 
Thank you!



Antarctican said:


> That was my exact response on seeing that pic appear on my monitor. Wow!!!! I love the colours and sharpness of this shot. (And yes, it is vaguely reminiscent of the Windows XP thingy, teehee)


 
Thanks for the wonderful comments Anti, always a pleasure to hear from you.  Much appreciated! 



Big Mike said:


> Great photo, well done.
> 
> There is something about it that really keeps the viewer's eye. It's hard to put a finger on exactly what. The rolling hills lead the viewer into the photo and the interesting features keep us looking. The color and the great lighting really put the icing on the cake.


 
Hey Mike!  Thanks so much for commenting.  You are so busy, like a lot of the fine people around here.  It means a LOT that you stopped by.  Many thanks! 



heip said:


> Vast Midwest Majesty, Vast Midwest Majesty, Vast Midwest Majesty, Vast Midwest Majesty, Vast Midwest Majesty, Vast Midwest Majesty, Vast Midwest Majesty, Vast Midwest Majesty, Vast Midwest Majesty, Vast Midwest Majesty.
> Sorry NJ, couldn't resist.
> 
> Great shot, Bravo!!


 
HA! That copy and paste function is great isnt it, you goofball!   Kathi tried to get away with that one too.  LOL.  Thanks a lot my friend, I appreciate the kind words! 



JimmyJaceyMom said:


> Hey! Great minds think alike - cause that is exactly what I said! HAHA.
> NJMAN - I just love this picture, it must be great to have the ability to show something in a picture the beautiful way you saw it in person!


 
Well, thanks so much Kathi. I am very glad you like it!  You stay away from that copy and paste too...  



GeorgeUK said:


> Gorgeous photo. :thumbup:
> 
> Was this HDR made from 3 jpegs or 1 RAW (or 3 RAWs)?


 
Thank you very much.  Its actually 3 RAW files converted to TIFs.  I like to keep as much uncompressed information as possible when I am editing   It takes up more space on the PC, but I think it helps tremendously with the final product.  Thanks for asking! 



partyaddict said:


> love the colours together perfect postcard


 
Many thanks!


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## IndieMe (Jan 15, 2008)

Amazing shot! :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Would it still look this bright and colourful with out the HDR?

What is that anyway... I wanna try it lol.


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## NJMAN (Jan 16, 2008)

IndieMe said:


> Amazing shot! :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
> 
> Would it still look this bright and colourful with out the HDR?
> 
> What is that anyway... I wanna try it lol.


 
I dont think it would look as good as a single image, no.  Thats why I chose HDR, because I wanted to have a broader range of exposure.  

What is HDR?  Simply put, High Dynamic Range.  If you do a google search, you will be able to find lots of hits.  Even on this board, Im sure a search will yield several results.  The tutorial by woodsac is especially good: http://thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=79744.  

Thanks for the very kind words!


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## abraxas (Jan 16, 2008)

I hadn't seen this one. Very fine work!


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## M1M (Jan 16, 2008)

Unreal. :thumbup:

Awesome work, I am jealous of your talent  

lol


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## 3ashig (Jan 16, 2008)

wooo.
it is really amzing mate.
I like it the most


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## kundalini (Jan 16, 2008)

Splendid.


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## NJMAN (Jan 17, 2008)

abraxas said:


> I hadn't seen this one. Very fine work!


 
Thanks abraxas!  Seems like it wasnt too long ago when I was posting pics of corn cribs, bees, and butterflies.  You were one of the first ones to comment on my photos back then.  Your comments are always appreciated! 



M1M said:


> Unreal. :thumbup:
> 
> Awesome work, I am jealous of your talent
> 
> lol


 
Hey thanks so much for the kind words M1M.  Truly appreciated! 



3ashig said:


> wooo.
> it is really amzing mate.
> I like it the most


 
Many thanks. 



kundalini said:


> Splendid.


 
Thanks for the nice comment kundalini!


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## woodsac (Jan 17, 2008)

Nicely done my friend 
Like Mike mentioned, the rolling hills help with the horizontal eye movement. Also, the contrast of light helps with the vertical presentation. You have the sunlit fg that fades to the shaded hills, that then fade back into the sunlit sky.


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## jasonkt (Jan 17, 2008)

WOW!  

And thanks for the link to the tutorials!  I can't wait to try this!



NJMAN said:


> What is HDR?  Simply put, High Dynamic Range.  If you do a google search, you will be able to find lots of hits.  Even on this board, Im sure a search will yield several results.  The tutorial by woodsac is especially good: http://thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=79744.


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## Cappahayden (Jan 17, 2008)

I don't see  anyone having the stones to C&C this... or at least the critique part...They don't get any more visually pleasing . In fact I'm just gonna put my camera back in the closet and ...pick up darts or something.....:hail: ... Stunning.


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## NJMAN (Jan 19, 2008)

woodsac said:


> Nicely done my friend
> Like Mike mentioned, the rolling hills help with the horizontal eye movement. Also, the contrast of light helps with the vertical presentation. You have the sunlit fg that fades to the shaded hills, that then fade back into the sunlit sky.


 
Thanks so much for commenting woodsac! You are too kind.  Really appreciated. 



jasonkt said:


> WOW!
> 
> And thanks for the link to the tutorials! I can't wait to try this!


 
No problem.   Thanks for commenting.



Cappahayden said:


> I don't see anyone having the stones to C&C this... or at least the critique part...They don't get any more visually pleasing . In fact I'm just gonna put my camera back in the closet and ...pick up darts or something.....:hail: ... Stunning.


 
Dont you dare put your camera back in the closet.  Ive seen your work, and its very good!  Thanks very much for the kind words.


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