The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
If you’ve shot Canyonlands, you know two things: 1. It’s a candy shop for photographers 2. It’s enormous, which means it’s easy to underestimate drive times, so you can’t assume the conditions will be right when you get to your target destination. Such was the case here. I thought I’d shoot Deadhorse Point with late light, not realizing the deeper canyons would be in full shade by the time I arrived. Still, it was thrilling to scramble around and try to capture the scale and detail together.
Specific Feedback
Some photographer friends say the photo’s subject, the river, is too dark to compete with the dramatically lit foreground, so the photo is a nice try at best. Try again earlier in the day, they said (except at Canyonlands, that means devoting a half day, the next day, to an already shot subject, instead of venturing off to new prospects!) I felt the river was strong enough to pull the eye down off the cliffs to the canyon floor – plus the shot shows the stark distances, and differences, between low and high in Canyonlands. Therefore, unusual composition, but a success.
Technical Details
Olympus EM1 Mark II, 14MM, F 5.6, 1/125th, ISO 500
I think the comp is very dramatic – makes me feel like I just launched in a paraglider or something. The shaded canyon works well for me – not too dark and with the blue a dramatic contrast for the lighted areas. I wonder about lowering the exposure on the near rock a little, but that might lose some of the drama. Might have been a good one for HDR.
Thanks Diane. Your evaluation is much appreciated. I’ll try toning down the foreground.
Won’t hurt to get back to Canyonlands and give it another try in any case.
There was some good luck on that day that I didn’t see coming: A full moon rose over the La Sal Mountains as I was leaving, and I was able to pull off the road at dusk and capture a few frames.
James, I think this looks very good. It shows off the rocks of the canyon walls very well and then…for a bit of a surprise…it puts those walls into context with the shaded river. Yes, some burning-in of the brightest rock would be good. You’ve the got the juniper and the red rocks well placed and well exposed.
Thanks Mark. Fun to have the shaded subject compete successfully with the dramatic ;it foreground. Need to get back there and work this unlimited area some more.
I like how the composition is clearly layered, but not with simple horizontal layers. It invites me back into the image to find the river. That feeling of exploration is often one I’m trying for in my dayhike photography.
Personally I’m not a big fan of this degree of dynamic contrast, though. I think it makes textures look cluttered and noisy, such as the scree slope at the bottom of the cliff.
