Sedona averages one inch of snow a year. I happened to be there when it received 12" of snow in one day. It was a photographers dream!
I love the icicles and water on the red rocks. I also love the contrasting colors of white, red, and green from the trees.
Nikon D7500, 25MM, F/11, 1/125 sec
Janis, if you were dreaming, you struck a dream come true. What a joy to view this wonderful image. Your point of view and camera angle pull me right in to this beautiful detailed Sonoma spoof - snowy wonderland. The detail, comp, lines, and textures admid snow, rock, and green desert trees make a perfect image. You will always remember this one ā Iād frame it.
Thank you Larry. Iām humbled. I feel like it needs something but i donāt know what. Maybe a clear blue sky? I donāt want to doctor it too much.
Janis, this is a very nice composition. I like that you pointed the camera up and the snow helps carry the eye upwards. I wanted to try a few easy adjustments on your photo to see if I could add some more dynamic range. I hope thatās ok. The colors on the image seems a little dull and that might be why you say it needs something, but you donāt know what. I used a curve adjustment in PS to bring up the darks just a little, brought up the whites to get rid of the greys in the clouds and snow and then brought down the midtones just a tad to darken the blue in the sky and red in the peaks. This brighten the sky and snow. I cropped a little off the bottom to prevent the eye from hanging there. I didnāt want to crop up above the highest snow patch, so I cropped taking the two smaller snow patches out and then used the spot healing tool to take out the snow patch left from the crop. I burned the sun sparkles on the red stones at the bottom of the hill to tone that area down and also the bright kind of oblong stone at the very bottom right of the image. Itās the brightest stone. Finally, I did a light vignette and what I call a spotlight that brightened the middle area from about midway up to the top of the pillars. This will help send the eye right up to those peaks. I did a quick job, but you can get the idea and spend more time if you like how it turned out. If you donāt use PS and have any questions about anything I did, feel free to contact me. You should be proud of this image.
This is a very nice shot showing the unlikely contrast of red desert rock and fresh white snow, Janis! Good job with the exposure that maintains the detail and textures of the snow despite the bright sunlight. The upward view, following the stream gives the scene both depth and a good sense of the height. A little extra brightness & contrast on everything above the āVā (including the red rock towers) would give it a little more pop. Just fine the way it is for me though.
Thanks Donna, great advice. Iāll give it a try. Looks much better.
Thank you Gary!
Janis, you were definitely in the right place at the right time. The long upward view works very well and the dripping water at the bottom adds an extra detail to the story. Youāve handled the whites well. I agree with Gary, that a bit of dodging in the trees and the towers would provide a bit more āpopā, but that this is a fine capture of unusual conditions as presented.
Thank you Mark. I appreciate all the comments.
