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Image Description
Early sunrise strikes the most distant badlands formations near Book Cliffs, rendering them golden, while the closer formations remain relatively unchanged and the foreground is predominantly in deep shadows.
Technical Details
Canon EOS 30D; EF 70-200mm @ 70mm; f/18 @ 1/25 sec, ISO 100; Gitzo tripod, RRS BH 55, remote trigger.
Hi Bob,
I like the colors and composition. I’m little bit contemplating with myself about the negative space on the foreground, but coming to a conclusion I like it, the shadow area balances out the rest. But I might try tighter crop, less sky as there’s nothing interesting going on and also portion of the shadow area.
This is a lovely image! The 5 broad levels of light work really well.
I’d be interested to see a version with a little less FG - it feels to me like there’s a bit too much space there that makes the mountains feel more distant.
Update after reading your description - great vision and execution capturing this, I assumed there was some difference in colours due to mineral composition.
Thank you @ Matt Newman and @KasperiS for your kind remarks and suggestions to improve the image. I decreased the visible amount of both the sky and the shadowed foreground by simulating a much lower camera angle/position.
Hi,
I agree with the above in that the crop enhances the image; and might even crop just a fraction more from the base to accentuate the track on the lower RHS which then helps leads the viewer into the image.
Lovely subject, composition, and light.
I hope this helps,
Nigel
Love the yellow-purple-blue colors! I like the cropped version better (though it was the original that caught my eye and I like it too!). I’m not sure of your vision (haven’t read the blurred text) but since the colors really spoke to me, I wonder if reducing the exposure in the sky just a bit to make a slightly brighter blue would further accentuate the color contrasts.
I like the dramatic light, colors and tonalities here. For me, there is too much FG in the OP – lightening it a bit could help, but I think some crop from the bottom (and maybe a bit from the top) would also be good. I also like the second version, but the base feels too artificially heavy – just a bit lighter could be good. Lovely find!!
Thank you @Nigel_Downes@Cathy_Proenza @ Diane Miller for your suggestions. I found that cropping the bottom shadowed area more makes it look like an accident. I accentuated the diagonal line/trough by slightly increasing the brightness/contrast over that part of the image. I opened the sky slightly by lowering the blue saturation and increasing the lightness. Any more manipulation begins to make the sky appear artificial and reduces the contrast with the golden hills, making them a bit flat.
