It was nice to get clouds at least once on my Utah trip. Otherwise, it was blue bird sky conditions.
D850, 24-70mm
5 Likes
Nice colour and convergence here. The image has a strong feeling of openness to me which I think suits the scene well.
So you actually do own a wide angle ;o). These are some epic clouds and showcasing them is very effective composition wise. Similar to @Nathan_Klein I think the emphasis on the sky imparts an expansive feel which suits the scene. I really like the rich darker rendering. No nits here.
Harley, you have done a couple of these compositions in Death Valley where the sky is prominent. I think this is your best yet. The light on the butte is exquisite and the clouds are positioned in the perfect places.
hey @Harley_Goldman,
that’s some nice light on the buttes you caught here! a few things come to my mind:
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the obvious: do you have any closer shots of that scene? i’m thinking of a panorama of roughly the lower third of the image
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the luminosity in the sky feels a bit uneven for my taste.
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there is quite some visible barrel distortion.
here’s a super quick rework to illustrate what i see to improve the image.
again, the light is super sweet!
best,
joerg
Epic conditions indeed Harley, the light on the buttes is really sweet. The processing of color is perfect too. My suggestions would be to crop the top, and take this to 16:9. And I would darken the open patch of blue sky that is at 10 oclock to the central butte. I think this would enhance the spotlight effect on the buttes. Rework with my comments…
Thanks for the comments, @Adhika_Lie, @Nathan_Klein and thanks for the rework ideas @Joerg_Bonner , @Joerg_Bonner and @Dave_Dillemuth. Good feedback to ruminate on. Much appreciated.
Harley, I almost missed this one. Awesome image. Always a favorite area around Factory Butte. I usually hit there at high noon on past travels. The sky, parting clouds, and light really sets this one up nicely. Wonderful image captured and processed expertly too… 
Agree with Ed, 16:9 works very well. The blue patch at 2:00 seems bright, o/w exquisite editing. Well done.
Very beautiful image! It’s a joy to look at the clouds. I do agree, the imbalance between the darkness on the right and the lightness on the left bothers me just a bit. Rather than just lighten the dark clouds, I darkened the left side and very slightly lightened the right side. Here is my take. I’m not sure it is better, just different. It slightly reduces the magnificence of the dark cloud. Maybe my brain just needs to get used to imbalance…the visual world is actually not always balanced.
