Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
This photo was taken on the north rim of the Grand Canyon after a night of heavy rain allowed fog to form within the canyon. I admired how the fog flowed between light and shadow, creating a blend of warm and cool tones.
Specific Feedback
Any, it’s always good to have a second pair of eyes.
Technical Details
560 mm… can’t remember the rest 
Wonderful scene, with the fog/mist rolling through the dramatic rocks. I wonder about a version with lower contrast, though – that would seem to me to fit the mist better. The darks in the LR corner feel heavy – they are not crushed but the histogram falls off steeply there – and I long to see a bit more detail in the brightest areas of the mist.
Trevor,
Love the atmospheric drama here with the clouds/mist AND the influence of the sun/light. In fact I’m really enjoying the clouds having both the warm and cool tones - based on whether or not the sun’s rays are touching, or the clouds are in shadow. Very cool mix of tones and colors.
I agree somewhat with Diane and the comment on contrast -but for me I would only selective work on the rock feature in the LRC area; a little dark and contrasty. However, I’m quite enjoying the contrast of light/dark, warm/cool tones of the rest of the image.
I can imagine all the other possibilities you experienced, especially if this is at 560mm! Can only imagine the 100mm view - or 35mm viewpoint!
Thanks for posting!
Lon
That’s a treat the way the fog is mixing with the canyon wall, and the golden light it is catching add beauty. I think @Diane_Miller’s idea of bringing up those deepest shadows would make this even better.
@Lon_Overacker @John_Williams @Diane_Miller Thank you, everyone, for your comments. Regarding the lower right (LR) corner, I have two reasons for making it darker, and I’d like to explain why.
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At 560mm, this scene is quite compressed. In fact, the lower right corner is nearly 3 miles closer than the top right. Because of this, I found that adjusting the levels of black was crucial in highlighting the dramatic depth. The lower right corner is approximately 80% black, the middle is at 60% black, and the back left is at 40% black, decreasing by around 20% per mile.
Imaging above shows my use of level of blacks
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The second reason for darkening the lower right corner is to address a distracting element that I wanted to conceal, simplifying the scene and maintaining focus on the fog and rocks. When lifting the shadows, there’s a bald spot in the trees, and within that area, there’s a noticeable patch of red dirt
That’s a impressive distance! I misspoke about the contrast – I should have said in the mist and the dark LR corner. I was thinking to get more detail in the mist. Here’s a quick comparison, with the original to toggle back and forth. I did a quick mask of the red dirt area and desaturated red and magenta there, so didn’t have the limitation of needing to darken it so much. I reduced contrast there and lightened the darkest tones just a bit. Much better done in raw.
And the original:
I really love this image Trevor, its contrasts, colors, shapes all enhanced by the fog. Lon and Diane have said all that can be said. I just want to tell you how mach I love this photo.
