The sky is one of the most important elements in landscape photography, whether it's the dominant part of a photograph or just barely showing. When it canopies everything below it, the sky sets the mood.
This week, we asked you to show us your most magical skyscape photos. The 550 submissions we received ranged from beautiful sunrise and sunset shots to photos of monstrous clouds and pastel colors in the sky.
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Guest curator Andreas Wonisch, a landscape photographer based in Germany, selected the 18 that are featured below.
"I was pleasantly surprised by the huge number and variety of submissions," he said. "I didn't expect there to be so many different creative takes on this one topic."
Take a look at Wonisch's picks and stay tuned for the next round of our Mashable Photo Challenge Guest Series on Thursday.
Guest curator says: Those are some crazy cloud formations. I like the composition, letting the clouds lead to the setting sun.
Guest curator says: Perfect composition. The pier is in just the right spot where all of the action in the sky is.
Guest curator says: The sky looks a little bit unspectacular at first, but then the faint glow becomes visible. The composition is a very relaxing one.
Guest curator says: Fantastic rays that really pop out due to the silhouettes in the foreground.
Guest curator says: The sky creates a very calm atmosphere here at the harbor.
Guest curator says: This is a perfect example how an interesting foreground complements a magical sky. This really brings out the "love" theme.
Guest curator says: I really like the contrast here between the crowded street and the beautiful sky.
Guest curator says: The sky nicely complements the impressive architecture.
Guest curator says: The photo shows only sky, but it looks really intense here.
Guest curator says: Looks simple at first, but it is very relaxing and almost a perfect composition.
Guest curator says: The grainy look works well here for me -- it really comes across as a snapshot of friends having a perfect evening at the beach.
Guest curator says: The sky adds to the grandness of the mountain landscape here.
Guest curator says: Another good example of how an everyday scene can look completely different with the right sky.
Guest curator says: Fantastic dynamic with the storm in the background and the ship moving ahead.
Guest curator says: The silhouettes give perspective to the grandness of the sky.
Guest curator says: The Grand Canyon is always great to look at, but with the right sky it looks even better.
Guest curator says: Great foreground, great composition and great sky. Can you ask for more?
Guest curator says: At first it looks like a "sky only" picture, but the sun with its ray then gives you nice anchor points.
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When guest curator Andreas Wonisch shoots skyscape photos, he makes sure to include part of the landscape as well. "It works wonders to show something interesting in the foreground to lead into the rest of the image."
When guest curator Victor Bezrukov photographs shadows, he makes sure to wait for the perfect moment to click his shutter. "The bicycle was already tied when I found it, but the challenge was to wait to catch the strong light of the passing cars," he said.
When guest curator Marla Meridith photographs food for her food and lifestyle blog, she looks for the best ingredients and the most colorful settings. "Find the freshest, most vibrant ingredients," she says. "And don't be afraid to carefully color enhance!"
Guest curator Vivienne Gucwa uses Lightroom, the Nik Software Suite and VSCO to edit her non-mobile photographs. "Try to notice all of the editing functions that change for each preset," she says. "Then play around with each function to understand the effect it can have on your photography."
When editing his photos, guest curator Paul R. Giunta only tweaks the exposure, white balance, and contrast. "I never touch the sharpen slider or saturation," he says. "I want the photographs to represent exactly what it looked like during the show."
Guest curator Kim Landgraf uses Adobe Lightroom and Silver Efex Pro 2 to edit his photos after shooting in RAW. "The RAW format gives you much more freedom for editing afterwards," he says.
Guest curator David Gamboa takes amazing #jumpstagrams in unique settings. "Shooting from very low, at eye-level and high up can alter a photo in crazy ways," he says. "Try some of them out and see what I mean."
Guest curator Adam Senatori, who specializes in aerial photography, makes subtle adjustments to his photos before publishing them. "Adjusting color temperature and contrast are critical to any photo," he says. "But I use most adjustments sparingly, never overdo anything! Subtle is best." He also believes photos taken on an iPhone require different edits than photos taken on a DSLR. "For the iPhone I typically bump up the temp," he says. "I feel that native iPhone shots are on the cool side."
When photographing silhouettes, it can be easy to accidentally overexpose your scene. Guest curator Nicole S. Young uses specific techniques to make sure this doesn't happen. "If your metering mode is set to something such as 'spot metering,' then you'll end up exposing for the subject and overexposing your sky," she said. "So you will need to do one of two things: underexpose your photograph (this will make your subject black and your sky properly exposed), or pre-focus the camera and point it at the sky so it meters for the light in the sky, and not the light from your subject."
Guest curator Alex Koloskov specializes in splash photography. "To get a decent splash shot with only one light source, use clear water (or any other clear liquid) and highlight the background, not the splash itself," he says.
Guest curator Rose Sauquillo takes a lot of shots of walls head-on, but still manages to give them a sense of depth. "Depth can be achieved by adding a vignette, making a colorful subject the focal point, how you compose the shot, or through lighting," she says.
Our guest curator Zak Shelhamer says timing and composition are key elements in good photography. You can use wearable cameras such as the GoPro, the JVC ADIXXION, or the Sony Action Cam to take perfectly timed shots of yourself in action. "Your photos should be able to show viewers what you're seeing and what it feels like to be where you are," Shelhamer says.
Our guest curator Timmy McGurr takes hundreds of photos at a time, but is very selective when choosing his final few to publish. "Just because you shoot a bunch of images from a bunch of different angles doesn't mean you need to post it all," he says. "Learning how to edit and how to decipher what to publish and what not publish is just as important."
Dave Fung and Yena Kim, co-founders of Menswear Dog, use programs and apps like Photoshop, Camera+, Instagram and Hipstamatic regularly. "Effects can make a quirky photo even more whimsical by giving it a vintage feel," they say. "Any number of filters and effects in Camera+ and Photoshop can achieve this."
Guest curator Finn Beales does freelance photography often using just his iPhone. He uses Average Camera Pro and Slow Shutter Cam to take long exposure shots, and then VSCO Cam and AfterLight to add finishing touches to his photos. "Because of the long exposure time, you shouldn't hold your phone in your hands," he says. "Either use a tripod or lean it against something to get sharp results."
Guest curater Dylan Isbell makes sure to steer away from the obvious and capture the things that might be a bit hidden. "Look up, down… all around," he says. "Also look beyond the reflection of yourself to see what play in front and behind you."
Our guest curator Matt Lutton values consistency when he photographs. He uses the same programs each time he edits his photos in order to maintain similar colors and movement. "I try to be as consistent with editing and toning as possible," he says. "These two photos were taken months and hundreds of miles apart, but when next to each other they evoke the same feelings and emotions."
Our Mashable Photo Challenge guest curator Kevin Truong believes light is everything in photography. "Whether it's soft or harsh, from a window or a flash, when used effectively it can beautifully set the mood for the photograph," he says.
Our guest curator Liz Eswein uses two apps to apply filters and text to some of her Instagram photos. Liz says, "One of my favorite editing apps is AfterLight -- it provides such a great array of filters! Also, Over is one of my favorites -- great fonts and steedicons to use on your photos."
Guest curator Brian Difeo uses Snapseed to adjust contrast, sharpness and saturation on his photos before posting them to Instagram. Brian says, "I take photos in the iPhone native app, and I take a LOT of photos so I have many options. In the native app I'll tap the screen to adjust the focus and exposure, and take some photos in HDR too. This way I have variety of photos to choose from before I edit and share on Instagram."
Our Mashable Photo Challenge guest curator Murad Ossmann uses these smartphone photo editing apps to touch up his photos before posting them to Instagram.
Photo courtesy of Murad Ossmann
Murad Ossmann has an Instagram following of almost 270,000, and his feed is full of stunning pictures based on the theme "Follow Me." These photos put a new spin on the traditional travel photo: instead of only photographing landmarks, he features his girlfriend leading him around the world by the hand.
Photo courtesy of Murad Ossmann
One of our guest curators, Santiago PerezGrovas uses natural light to shoot his photos. What began as a limitation (he didn't know how to uses professional flashes) became his signature style.
"In a world of perfection, the production of the photos we see everyday is overwhelming, to the point that everything has to be flawless," says Santiago. "I limit myself to use a simple camera, a model and the available light at the moment."
Image courtesy of Santiago PerezGrovas
Santiago has more than 80,000 followers on Instagram. He posts regular updates around a central theme (shots of models and his friends). His signature style is instantly recognizable.
Image courtesy of Santiago PerezGrovas
The winner of the Photo Challenge Series Dan Evans, Jr., says to use Elements for basic adjustments like cropping, color, contrast and brightness. It is also sophisticated enough to creatively alter a photo without being too complicated.
Image courtesy of Jeremy Cabalona
Homepage image: Pedro Carmona Santos