A group of us hiked down a slot canyon in SE Utah and we came upon this scene. The reflection in the stream caught my eye. I underexposed the image due to the hot light. (I didn’t think bracketing would work because there was a breeze.) It wasn’t enough and required a fair amount of lightroom processing. I worked on the exposure, reduced the shadows, adjusted the luminance on and around the trees.
48mm, iso64, 1/60sec, f8
Interested in any and all reactions. It’s the best way to improve!
What technical feedback would you like if any?
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
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This is a beautiful scene with fascinating colors and a compostiion that invites the eye and mind to wander within it a bit. Nice work.
I particularly enjoy the S curve of the stream from the bottom then right into the arroyo hidden by the trees.
The bright areas attract my eye from what I enjoy, though : the tree leaves and the bright cliffs behind the trees. and the bright splash of light to the left of the trees. In the attachment, I tried to tone those down and burn some texture into the red bench on the lower left.
To my eye, you also have an intriguing reflection abstract in the lower 1/3, especially if you have another exposure taken a bit from the right.
How interesting. You picked up details that I completely overlooked on the wall and bench. I also wondered if the light on the trees was still a little too bright. Thanks for your comments!
Really nice colors and flow to this, the BG rock wall is outstanding.
I think some dodging and burning this a bit would look nice.
Light is so even overall that it could use some drama.
Maybe darken the creek bank a tad…
This image has a lot going for it, nice reflected light on the sandstone, rich color, and nice reflections in the water. The composition works well, the stream makes a great leading line. So overall, it’s a very strong image. This gets somewhat subjective on my part as a viewer, but I agree with @Dan_Kearl, I think the image could use a little more snap or mid-tone contrast. With nice backlit leaves like this, I think you could push the contrast and luminosity slightly. Here is a rework reflecting my comments. I used a TK Midtones 2 luminosity mask to add some more contrast, while increasing the brightness of the midtones too.
The golden yellow in the reflection is wonderful. I definitely like what Ed has done; it makes a great image pop even more. My only other thought is that the dark vs. light leaves seem a little disconnected. I’m not sure if there were any options in the original for reducing that effect, but if the darker ones could have a bit more luminance and contrast I think that would blend better. (@Ed_McGuirk’s version does that to a certain degree, which is good.)
These suggestions are very helpful. They made me realize that my initial processing attempt wasn’t as well balanced as it should have been. I was primarily concerned about reducing the hot light on the leaves. Now that I’ve stepped away and had other eyes on the image, it’s easier to be more objective. Apply some tweaks. As an aside, on our way back the sun had dropped enough that the light was completely gone. Just an excuse to return next year! Thanks again Dave, Dick, Dan, Ed, and John!
