HOME | DD
Okavanga — Thukela Gorge Trail 1
#badweather #bergs #clouds #grassland #hiking #landscape #longview #mountains #southafrica #tree #montusii #royal_natal_park
Published: 2016-09-04 06:59:36 +0000 UTC; Views: 407; Favourites: 24; Downloads: 2
Redirect to original
Description
Happy HikingAs with weather the world over, the elements around the Drakensbergs can be very changeable; hiking in the region can be a pleasure on balmy, calm days, or a challenge of endurance on a grizzly grim day.
Our first day's hiking around Montusi Mountain Lodge in Kwa Zulu Natal, South Africa was undertaken in the most beautiful of winter days: sunny, blue sky, warm, slight breeze, beautiful long views, and just enough of the ups and downs to make a late lunch-time beer a welcome reward. We walked around the Wanhoop Loop, about 3 hours stroll, a couple of views being shown below. The long views so much need for the weary town eyes we had developed are clear to see. The whole area is criss-crossed with paths, mountain bike tracks, and lazy little streams and rivers providing idyllic picnic spots, and even swimming pools in the summer season. All these images are worth using the zoom in facility if you can.
Related content
Comments: 12
You said it, Sheri. Heavy weather!
Many Thanks
David
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Always very welcome David...such fine work...
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Dramatic indeed, love those clouds! And of course, the wonderful textures. Nice capture, David. 
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Looks like a little HDR treatment here, David? Love it, at any rate. You were mentioning textures, and we certainly find an attention to such here.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Yes and no re HDR, Brett. I use Nik's Colour Efex Pro 4 to make these images, and within that software there are two filters which, when used together, give this style and look. One of the filters is called Detail Enhancer and it carries out what used to be called Local Contrast Enhancement, and which Photoshop and Lightroom call Clarity. It emphasises the contrast between adjacent pixels, depending on the degree of contrast already present. Now, that happens to be a feature of HDR tone mapping as well. So, the result does have that HDR feel. The other filter is Bleach Bypass, an emulation of an old film technique en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleach_b… . I like that filter as it gives a moody effect. Overall, textures do stand out.
Many Thanks
David
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thanks for the info, David. Always appreciated. I do make good use of the clarity function, myself. Depends on the subject. The recent beach shots called for softness, though, so I stayed away from the clarity button, for the most part. Indeed, one has to know when to use, and when to hold back.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I use the Clarity tool, but not generally at a high level - perhaps about 10-15 on the scale, sometimes higher. I look for that slight tweak. Agree re the long exposure shots - softness is the key.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0