The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I found this little side alcove in a wash and was immediately struck by the sense of time and the process of erosion that led to these formations. The cap rock on the hoodoos were once part of the top layer of the surrounding walls, around 5-6 foot thick, protecting the softer sandstone from erosion. These hoodoos are now 40-50 feet lower than the top of the canyon walls, and a few of the hoodoos are almost totally gone. The hoodoo on the right has lost its cap stone and now appears to be melting away into the landscape. Even the harder capstone is disintegrating into little gravel chunks littering the floor of the alcove. I also liked the green sandstone at the base and the white walls turning orangish-brown as you go up the walls.
Specific Feedback
Any comments are welcome, the chance for other sets of eyes to see something I didn’t is always enlightening. Specifically, I would say composition was my main focus point. I originally tried cropping some off the left, but felt it was more unbalanced. I was also originally concerned about the relative emptiness of the lower right quadrant, but liked the sense of flow that it gave the image, as well as the gravel being part of the story of the erosion process. Sometimes I find it hard to take something out of an image that is part of the story the image holds, even if it artistically or compositionally not the best. So for this one I thought it was more important for the story telling.
Technical Details
Canon 5D Mark II, 16-35L @ 29mm, f/16, 1/125 sec, ISO 200
Scott, it’s a terrific set of rock formations and you photographed it well. It looks like a very interesting place.
The bottom half of the image is much bluer than the top half. Even if that’s how it was, I find it distracting. You might want to consider desaturating the blues and cyans.
Scott, the capstones are scattered very well throughout the frame and the pillars below them are wonderful. The capstone’s color stands out from the more pastel colors. I am struck by how blue the lower half is, but like the color shift between there and the vertical walls at the back.
Thank you for your comments Don. That is the natural coloration of the sandstone. I like the added color from the normal white and orange/reds and is part of what attracted me to the scene. To me, that is what is so fascinating with sandstone, the wonderful mix of color, patterns, and texture, but I can understand what you are saying, I reposted with it reduced. The green coloration is usually a result of forming in oxygen-deprived ancient coastal swamps, or it was originally red/orange but the iron oxide was washed out by reducing groundwaters and it turned pale white or green. The white walls are Estrada sandstone, with the caps being a harder Dakota sandstone, made up of coarser sand and pebbles from a Cretaceous period beach.
Thank you Mark , part of the coloration is due to the pale green sandstone present, and looking at it more carefully I think some of the blueness may be a result of the foreground being in shade while the walls behind are in sunlight. I did repost of the foreground area with the blue tinting taken out. Not sure if I like it, but would be curious to hear what others think.
Nicely done. Personally I find your crop just fine. I’ve always been fascinated by the formation of these structures. I think I prefer the less saturated blue one.
Scott, I think the repost looks “about right”, especially with the green/turquoise. Yes, blue sky reflected in shade can be a challenge. Our eye/brain combo automatically takes out that blue, while the camera picks it up…what is “reality”?
The composition is really good in my opinion. It’s complex yet holds together nicely. I would reduce the blues even further. I might also deal with the bright areas in the upper left corner and the upper edge further to the right.
Hi Scott,
Your crop works just fine for me as I like the implied downward flow from left to right. I find the hoodoos to be fascinating formations and I like the fact that their height varies through the frame. IMO the repost with the blue reduced somewhat looks better to me; of course you are the photographer so you do what is comfortable to you. Very nicely done.
I think that lower right looks just right Scott, it has a nice diagonal flow that leads to the hoodoos behind and I think it all comes together nicely.
Do these ever get golden-hour light? I’d be curious to know if shadow play would help those hoodoos stand out from the background.
John, they are in a small alcove, with the sun behind me. I don’t think they get light until the sun rises higher. There are another group of much larger hoodoos nearby that do get light at dawn, with the nearby canyon wall in shade, and it does make for a nice shot.
This is wonderful artistic work for me, Scott. Maybe the blue cast in the second version is enough to show a most interesting color contrast, thereby matching better with the luminosity of the upper part. The second version has better overall balance to my eye.
