I’ve sat on this image for about a week now and feel like I could benefit from some constructive feedback. I spent that night near this overlook in hopes of catching the first light hitting the edges of the cliff edges. There were a few clouds off in the distance that blocked the more intense light, but overall it was a pretty decent, but windy, morning. I shot a few images from the cliff but so far this one I felt has the best composition with the best light on the cliff for what I was going for.
What technical feedback would you like if any?
Any any all, especially pertaining to processing.
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
Any and all. More specifically though, does this image do anything for you as a viewer? Does it tell you any sort of a story or have any meaning to you in any way?
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
Sony A7R2, Sony 16-35 f/4, ISO 100, f/14, two images focus stacked
You may only download this image to demonstrate post-processing techniques.
Welcome to NPN! What a grand first post! Excellent near/far composition that you’ve captured in very favorable light and conditions. Easy to see why you like this one.
The image does take me there - as if I were standing there (of course I have vertigo so that makes it real enough for me! Although this isn’t as scary as Toro Weep or some other vantage points.)
The sky/clouds is complimentary and the light striking the foreground rock AND the butte/formations at mid ground really make the image. Well done!
Processing wise, you’re already well within what looks like a very well processed and presented image. Which also means you have room to do things here, which are strictly personal preferences and not a good/bad, right/wrong kinda thing. I was thinking you could even take the warmth of the light a little further, maybe even squeezing a bit more punch. But then again, the moment and experience may not have been that. Not sure if I’m making sense.
As presented, this is quite wonderful. Thanks for posting and we look forward to more and your participation!
Thank you Lon. I really appreciate that. I’ve actually been going back and forth on pushing the warmth a bit and like you said, trying to increase the punch a bit. I only hesitated due to trying not to overdo it too much as I was trying to keep it close to how the location looked.
I’ll have to play around a bit more and see what it feels like with the warmth though as you’re probably on to something. Thanks again!
Welcome, Clint! This is real nice. You have a wonderful curve in the foreground that leads me through the image all the way back to the buttes and the sky.
The idea to warm it up just a bit is a good one. Either way, you might consider brining down the brightness of the rock getting direct light. My eye tends to hang there somewhat.
Great first post, and we hope to see you around here more.
-P
Welcome, Clint. This is a great first post, certainly better than mine years ago.
First of all I would like to congratulate you for not pushing the colors of the sunlit rocks. So many people do and it often looks fake. This has a very natural beauty. If something is beautiful, why overdo it?
You weakest element is the sky. There’s too much of it. In fact, it’s brightness makes the distant mountains look darker than they are. I would leave just a strip on top so that the distant butte doesn’t look too crowded.
There’s also some bird poop on the rock. Some people don’t like that. You can easily take care of that as well.
Welcome Clint. This is a really fabulous first image! Very well done. I look forward to seeing more of your work. It’s a very strong composition and I think the amount of sky is perfect. In the strictly “personal preference” category mentioned by Lon, I took the liberty of trying out my preferences, all changes done in ACR: slightly decreased the highlights in the brightest part of the sky, and in the golden reflection on the foreground rocks, and slightly lightened the shadows in the distant mountains. Because that made the mountains seem too cool, I also warmed them up a bit by increasing the yellow temperature. Not sure if I like it better than your version…it’s just different.
I think Tony is onto something, Clint. I felt a need for more of that great light on the distant buttes, and he’s headed in that direction.
I’m pretty sure I know this spot and have struggled with it due to light issues on each of my visits. Your results amply point out that I need to consider an overnight stay on my return! Well done.
@Tony_Siciliano Thank you for edits. It’s great to see what everyone is talking about before jumping in and trying them all out and now I can get a far better idea of what I’m shooting for. Initially I had wanted that light on the foreground rocks to stand out and am realizing now that pulling them back just a bit has a better visual impact. I’ll have to look at your version on a larger screen as I’m liking the results I can see so far.
@Hank_Pennington I would highly recommend an overnighter at the location. It was my first trip there and while it’s an amazing location visually, the light was ten times better at sunrise. The wind this particular morning though was killer. I’m not sure if that’s a typical thing though, so watch out for that. I was trying out my 4x5 camera and had to worry about it getting blown off the cliff.
Oh yeah. The thermals rise up the warming rock faces all around, and the wind can be a factor even if it dies down later. It’s about an hour and a half from our place, so just enough out of the way we never seem to get there before daylight. There’s an area not too far away we enjoy boondock camping, so something is pulling together here.
I’m aware of this location from other images. Not sure I have seen this approach, so congratulations on a different comp. The warm cool tones are wonderful!
