I am looking for feedback on how the editing was handled.
I cropped the blown out sky and snow covered brush on the left. Does this composition work as presented.
ISO 100, 60mm, F11, 1/13 second
I very much like the comp and light conditions. Could maybe see vignetting the edges more to make the central element even more prominent and not letting the eye stray out of the frame.
I too was thinking a bit of vignetting and maybe a little more contrast or dehaze in the background would help. I could see a very slight crop of the left side balance the image a little more too.
Man, do you have any frames of just the background? It looks so amazing and I can’t help but wonder if that on its own would make an even stronger image.
Thank you for your thoughts Tony. Great suggestion to increase the vignetting, it was definitely an oversight on my part.
Brent, thanks for the comments. I debated with left and right cropping to find the right balance. I will look at cropping the left side again, I just dropped the ball on vignetting. I will also look at dehazing the background a little more.
I do have additional frames of a similar background but not his exact location. I am working on a few of them as well as the storm images. We were very lucky with the storm conditions, really an exciting and rewarding trip!
I also enjoyed this image. My eye is drawn to the line created by the near point and it being echoed by the canyon coming from the left and leaving the frame at the top. What would have added to this image (in my eye) would have been to move a little left to get in more of that canyon. I guess this would qualify as “pre” rather than “post” processing.
Thanks for taking the time to offer your comments Rick. Unfortunately moving left was not an option given the brush along the rim at that point. I needed some wings!
You couldn’t ask for a better background. Just amazing, and you’ve positioned the fg perfectly. I would question dehazing the bg because it will reduce the pop you’re now getting from the snow. That’s the image’s strongest feature, how the snow jumps out from the background.
Alan, really nice job showing off the beautiful conditions at the canyon on this day, you hit the jackpot with the weather. I like your processing of the foreground formations, the color and contrast look spot on. Regarding the background, I’m not sure de-hazing is the best way to go. In the real world things in the distance are usually lighter and softer than the foreground. De-hazing in Lightroom darkens and adds contrast. For me personally I find that hard to control, moving the dehaze slider only slightly can create big changes in the image.
I took at stab at reworking this. I added a vignette. To tweak the background, I made a TK Midtones 2 selection, and applied it to a PS Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer. I increased the contrast about 15 (adding contrast darkens), then added a similar amount to the Brightness. I then played with the opacity slider to taste. I then used Mask the Mask, and painted this adjustment into only the background. I find this approach gives me more subtle control than using Dehaze in LR.
Alan, sorry, in the prior post with my rework I uploaded the wrong file, here is a corrected version.
Igor, thanks for your thoughtful comments. What struck me while making this image was how the foreground popped and seemed to float in the canyon. I did revisit additional dehazing but I do agree with your thoughts. I was hoping the foreground snow jumped out a bit in the image, it was the highlight of the trip. Thanks again for your feedback.
Ed, thank you very much for your comments and detailed help with PS and TK. For me the background was the most challenging to edit, and as you correctly stated, using LR it was difficult to balance darkness and contrast. Your edited version definitely shows the subtle and positive results TK provides. I continue to work on my PS/TK skills.
Mother Nature was definitely cooperative during this trip and put on quite a show!
I really like the nice soft light, and how the foreground outcropping interacts with the canyon in the background. Upon closer inspection, it looks like there are some footprints in the lower left corner. There is nothing wrong with that at all, but it kinda freaks me out that someone would walk right to the edge of a snowy/icy rock. Stuff like that adds to the story of the photo. I do wish that I could see a bit more foreground to better ground the rock formation against the background, but I realize there were probably some undesirable elements that would creep into view. Even though you mention that the sky was blown out, it does make me wonder if having some sky up top (though with a good exposure) would help balance the photo and give a greater sense of space. The end of the rock ridge with the trees is reaching up into the composition, then the perspective of the background canyon walls sweeps the eye up and out of the frame. Some space up there would help keep the eye within the bounds of the composition, and probably make the bottom of the composition feel a bit more natural. Again, it is really tough to pull off with a blank sky, but if it was properly exposed and the processing was handled well, I think it would enhance the sense of depth within the composition.
I like the subtle and soft early light, and the canyon of Bright Angel Creek in the background. I would consider a crop off the left to more of a 3x2 . The snow covered outcrop of rock stands out very nicely against the softer, less contrasty canyon
This is very beautiful, Alan. I like the way the foreground ridge seems to point up the canyon. Processing looks good although I agree with adding a bit of vignetting and perhaps a bit of de-haze. Although not much because the softer look of the background adds a sense of depth.
Thanks for your thoughts Ben. Yes including the sky would have been nice but it was really white and featureless and I felt very distracting. I had to cosy up to the edge between brush to compose this shot and including more foreground was not really an option. I spent a lot of time and moved several times trying to find a better angle but IMO this was the best of the bunch. Thanks for your positive comments on the processing.
Doug, thanks for your feedback. I am working on a revision with a left crop.
Thanks for your suggestions Dave, I have added the vignette and am incorporating some very minor dehazing changes.
Your composition works well and gives a very realistic depth and size perspective to the canyon behind. I wouldn’t change anything. Like it as posted.
Patricia, Thank you for taking the time to offer your comments.
