(continued) Ansel Adams was a true master photographer who understood that hitting the shutter release was only the beginning. He spent countless hours in the darkroom sculpting the exposure and the shapes of the highlights/shadows to create an epic experience for the viewer. Post processing is an integral part of the craft, and thinking it's only used to fix mistakes is a massive mistake in itself.
>>3184593>you literally cut the dome off, the one thing in the photo that people want to see.To me the excitement of the image comes from the play of the lights on the street and reflected in the water. Including someone dull by comparison in the crop just because it's famous would detract from what I think is most beautiful in the shot. There are tons of epic images of the Vatican. I prefer to focus on what hits me emotionally when I saw the shot. To each his own though, feel free to crop it however you like. This is just what I'd want to look at if it were hanging on my wall, not a wider scene that includes an important landmark at the cost of minimizing the stunning foreground elements.
>>3184591>the bottom of those clouds look unnaturally pink mate.I agree that it's a little unnatural, but I've seen some crazy sunsets where I could believe the saturation in the clouds. In retrospect I'd probably tone it down just a tiny bit though. Maybe in this composition it's too strong, thanks for the feedback.
