The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
This image almost didn’t come to pass. I was sitting on the edge of the cliff waiting for sunset when the wind picked up and it appeared we were going to get hit with a thunderstorm. I started heading back up the hill to get away from the wind and rain when I looked back and realized that the storm was moving across the horizon and not overhead. I ran back to my spot and set up my camera to take an image every 15 seconds in hopes of getting some images with lightening bolts. In fact I got many images with lightening in them because the storm went slowly across the horizon. I selected this one since it was right over the peak of the rock. I am wondering if I have too much contrast in the clouds and if I should have handled the details in the red rock differently.
Specific Feedback
I would like any suggestions on better processing of the clouds and the texture in the rock and cliffs.
Technical Details
Camera: Canon 5D Mk III on tripod
Lens: Canon F4L 16-35mm
Settings: focal length: 16mm, ISO: 50, Shutter speed: 3.2 sec, Aperture: F8.0
Image processed using both Adobe LR and PS.
Hi Alexander,
That is pretty awesome to catch the lightning and to have it line up so nicely over the middle of the rock formation like it did. I think that you could reduce the contrast. I also think some increase in exposure overall of the photograph might be worthwhile. Great shot of an iconic location.
I agree with Cameron that this is a fine catch of the storm with lightning at an iconic location. Cameron’s suggestion of reducing the contrast and lightening overall fits with my feeling that there’s too much saturation in the blues and greens. (Adobe software adds saturation especially as the colors darken.) There are two dust spots towards the right, along the top. It is an excellent shot well worth turning into a wall hanger. (BTW, the posting recommendation is for 2000 px, long axis. That speeds loading while retaining detail.)
Thank you @Cameron_Wilcox and @Mark_Seaver for your critique. I have attempted to fix the issues you pointed out in a new image above. I reduced contrast, reduced saturation and brightened the image over all. In addition I reduced the size of the image to 2000 pixels on the long axis. I would love to hear back from you if I missed the mark on my changes.
The new version looks about right in terms of brightness and saturation. I do see a magenta cast, especially in the clouds to the right. The highlights in the clouds are now blown out. That has me thinking that you used the exposure slider to brighten. If you use the luminosity (white) tone curve in lightroom (or the RGB curve in PS) and pull up the middle slightly, you’ll see the view brighten with much less chance of blowing out the highlights. Here’s a quick try where I raised the luminosity curve, slightly decreased the blue curve, slightly raised the red curve and then desaturated and lightened the blues. It’s been almost 30 years since I was at Horseshoe bend, so I don’t have a good feeling for the actual colors… I think the rocks are close, but don’t know about the green at the bottom.
Thank you for the quick reply and for sharing those details! Did you make all those adjustments on the entire image? I did everything in PS. I made adjustments separately on the sky and the rock. The contrast was removed using the RGB curve and the exposure was increased using the exposure slider as you said. I think the magenta came in when i removed saturation and when i used the RGB to fix the green.
Thank you for your persistence here. I just submitted another version that fixes the purple in the sky, fixes the blown out sky, and fixes the dust spots.
