Awakening + Repost

Sony A77II
Sony DT 16-50 f2.8 @ 17mm
ISO 100, 1/125 @ f8 (HDR of 5 images)
Yellowstone Canyon, YNP
On our first morning in Yellowstone I got up pre-dawn to be at the Lower Falls overlook at sunrise. I was with Phil Hodgkins and at 5:15 am there was no competition for spots. I got some nice shots of the falls but also liked this view to the northeast as the sun topped the ridge and penetrated the low clouds. All comments welcome.>=))>

You may only download this image to demonstrate post-processing techniques.
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Bill, a really fine view of the canyon in gorgeous light. Minor, but I might clone the cutoff leaning pine lower left. The sky looks great and the bare yellow area works for me. It looks quite natural in this scene. Very enjoyable.

Bill, this is a really unique view of Yellowstone canyon, and it is way more creative than the typical falls picture everyone takes. With the mist, light and clouds like this, your image has a wonderful mood and a lot of impact. I agree with @Harley_Goldman about the removing the leaning tree in the LLC, but I would do it via cloning instead of cropping, I’d want to retain all of the trees at the horizon in the ULC. Another suggestion might be to slightly pull down the exposure of the highlights in the sky, but not the clouds/mist in the landscape. This image has such magical light and weather conditions that it is worth spending processing time to take a good image up another notch.

Bill, What an impressive view and scene this is. The light and conditions you captured look wonderful. I agree with Harley and Ed that cloning the leaning in the lower left would probably make it even better but beautiful as it is. Really enjoy looking at this!

The light on this is marvelous :raised_hands:. This light adds to the depth of the canyon even though some of that depth is behind the ridge. Extra kudos for the early morning rise - nicely rewarded :raised_hands:.

Excellent. Nicely composed and some spectacular lighting conditions, Bill. PP looks good although I agree on the cut-off tree. I would either fully clone or crop 50% of it and clone the other half.

Bill, this looks like a tough exposure, but I think it worked out pretty well, and the misty early light was really in your favor. I like how the sun is nicely positioned right at the notch in the treetops. As mentioned, the tree on the LHS is kind of a bummer. When looking closely I noticed there was a closer branch blocking the top part of the tree. I think I would choose to do some cloning of the closer branch, and then depending on how it works, do some careful “pruning” and cloning at the top such that the tree top doesn’t exit the frame. Cropping I don’t think would work quite as well, because the rising sun seems in a comfortable position from the edge, and cropping might cramp it just a bit.

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Did some CA work on the offending tree. Better? Hmm, not sure where the saturation boost came from :thinking: Might have to rework the original instead of the posted JPEG.

Extraordinary light, Bill, beautifully captured. I like especially the handling of the low clouds - and the depth they suggest. The repost does look better re the leaning tree.

In many ways the rework is a great improvement. The added color infuses life into the image. The cyans below the horizon have become an issue. However, I think you’re aware of that.

Bill, this is a beautiful look down the canyon with it’s rising sun and touch of fog. I always enjoy the drama of this downstream view. The sun coming up and the glowing fog are great touches. The extra saturation in the repost are notable unreal. BTW, the leaning tree does not bother me in the slightest. It shows exactly what the canyon looks like, with it’s soft, often sliding soil.

Nice shot Bill. I really like the first the best in lighting saturation etc. and the second with the tree removal. Maybe something in between for the lighting/saturation?

Bill,

I think Ed coined it the best - this is magical. the combo of light and mist on an already grand landscape just really moves this up the scale of great and dramatic landscapes.

You mention you’re not sure what happened to the color/sat in the repost so I’ll assume it wasn’t on purpose. I actually like the increased color/sat, but agree with Igor the now bumped up cyan is an issue. Good job on the clone.

One of those times you were more than well rewarded for getting up early!

Lon