It is very cold today, so I was reading some articles on photography in winter. The article stated that if your snow appears to be blue you should have adjusted your white balance at the time of the shot. I followed editing instructions on a shot which my wife said had too much blue in the snow. I am not sure, though, that I like it better.

Please tell me what you think.

Original shot:







Here is the adjusted photo making the snow more white:







I am OK with criticism, so let me have it.

I like the entire first photo. but I do kinda like the water and snow of the second photo. definitely don't like the sky in the second photo.

the first photo gives me the feeling that it's cold, the skim of ice on the creek, the pinks, lavenders, soft blues of the sky feel like a cold winter day.

however, I do like them both. and I know less than nothing about the technical side of the camera.

Good question. I used to debate this issue with an old curmudgeon photographer on another photo forum. He said the blues needed to be desaturated, that snow is white not blue. He had done some winter photography but was from texas and not a lot of experience with low angle winter sun that we get. I started paying a lot more attention to my shots and what the true color was at the time of the shot. Your first photo is much closer to what I am guessing was reality.

I do think you could desaturate the blues just a little and maybe pull the reds up on the water a bit (leave the sky alone).

Nice photo though, there are lots of post processing things you could do with this one. You are the artist, you can make it look however you want. :-)

Thanks for the feedback.

I guess I learned what I already knew -- I have a lot to learn. Going out to take photos is a lot more fun than learning the technical stuff but I suppose I need to bite the bullet. It is the best time of the year to spend time in that way.

Here is my final attempt. I'm still not sure its an improvement. The colors seem better but it seems to have lost something that I can't identify.

I really think time of day has a lot of play here in the finished photo.
This appears to be shot late in the day under low light conditions. In that case snow will have a blue appearance with the naked eye, much less through the lens.
I was painting today next to a window overlooking my yard. The shadows from the trees took on a deep cobalt blue hue on the snow. I think that is what we are dealing with in this photo for the most part.

MP - you are right on the time of the day. It was shot at the last minute and two minutes later it would have been too dark.

It was my opinion that the snow takes a blue hue with that lighting and that the lens accentuated it a bit but didn't add it from nothing.

I think maybe its the contrast between the blue snow and peachy sky that I like in the original.

quote 3Ball: "Thanks for the feedback.


Here is my final attempt. I'm still not sure its an improvement. The colors seem better but it seems to have lost something that I can't identify.


"

The only thing I see missing is the sky...not so much the color but the texture. There is some texture there. I played with the first photo a bit and this is what I got. But I also played with the crop. Take most of the sky off there and I think it helps. You may even want to crop a little more from the left side to help with composition.

IMO the original is the best shot of the three.

Huh, the cropping does change it in a way that did not occur to me. It draws you more to the middle of the river and its color and less to the tail end. Thanks, I like that.

I know very little on the technical side of photography. I just look at the picture. I like the picture with the yellow tint to the sky. The reason is it reminds me of what the sky looks like when the sun sets through a very hazy light cloud cover or a hazy day in general. The snow looks more natural to me. I also think the color of the sky helps to kind of balance the picture. Like you and others I don't like the blue tint to the snow. Pictures like yours still make me home sick, after all these years!!

Nice picture...the snow is definitely a bit too bluish. I guess I would ask, which is the closest to the actual scene that you saw? In the second pic you lose some of the blueness in the snow and gain some drama in the sky. Guess i like that one better. When editing my shots sometimes I go for "what is the most accurate representation of the scene I saw" and sometimes I go for "what is the coolest looking but realistic artistic effect". Either is ok.

FWIW, I remember orange on the water. The sky is too much for me in the second photo in the OP. I need to learn to edit better so that I can better adjust the water without adding too much orange to the sky.

Thanks for all the opinions and advice.

making notes of the colors on some of these photos would help when it came to making a print.with shots like this that have tints and color that are not the normal red-blue-green you really need something to remind you of what it looked like in real life.
i will admit i have never done anything like that but my wife who does water colors from sketches will do that right on the rough work in the field.

You are correct, the photo needs a little editing, but so do most photos.
Here is what I would do with your very nice shot; just to give it a little life.

I scaled the sky back in the 3rd photo for a less dramatic look.

To quote you "I remember orange on the water. I need to learn to edit better so that I can better adjust the water without adding too much orange to the sky."

The water is only a reflection of the sky, so you can always always expect similar colors in both.... unless you edit them out with a filter.
You & Mooseplums are spot on about the blueish hue related to the time of day, but who wants a pictures 'whited out' by sun and snow reflection... Sunset is the best for winter shots. Frankly, I like some blue in my winter shots, which is why I only pulled out the necessary amount (IMO)
I think Hobbydog got the sky correct, frankly I like his sky better than my own.

I'm not tooooo knowledgeable on technical aspects, but I can tell you exactly what you can do to get rid of the 'blue'.
I did the following in Lightroom editing software (& a little more):
Adjusted TEMPERATURE to lower blue level
slightly upped exposure to pull in white
slightly upped contrast for a little life
lowered highlights big-time to pull color back into the sky & water

Then I did small personal things like: Clarity, Vibrance,Sharpening, Noise Reduction

I like your shot, and I think the more you start to enjoy the editing side, the more you will enjoy shooting!
Keep them coming!