Morning Light at Fairyland Point

[John_Freeman]

Critique Style Requested: In-depth

The photographer has shared comprehensive information about their intent and creative vision for this image. Please examine the details and offer feedback on how they can most effectively realize their vision.

Self Critique

I would have liked to get this shot a little earlier in the morning. I awoke a little too late to arrive exactly at sunrise.

I especially like how the shaded side of the Hoodoo’s are being lit by the light reflected off oi the canyon walls.

Creative direction

As a Giga-pixel Wall Mural photographer, I am always challenged to capture the mood of a location that is easily capture with a single shot. My goal was to capture the mood of the morning light in a large wall mural. This is a 10.87 Giga-pixel image that took several minutes to capture. It is hard to capture the perfect light when it takes that long a period of time to shoot the image set.

Specific Feedback

Aesthetic
Conceptual
Emotional
Technical

Technical Details

I shot this at 300mm focal length using my Canon R5 with 100-400mm lens. The short distances to the nearest objects from the overlook required me to shoot all but the top two rows of the images using focus bracketing There are 6689 individual focus bracketed images yielding 495 focus stacked images, 11 rows x 45 columns, used to create this shot. My settings were f/11, 1/800th sec. ISO 400. Focus stacking was done using Helicon Focus Pro. Stitching was done with PTGui and final post processing was done in Photoshop.

The original image is: 10.87 Giga-pixels, 65,162 x 166,967 pixels, 217″ x 556″ (18 ft. x 46 ft., 4 in.) 300 PPI un- cropped image size.

This link will take you to an interactive virtual Tour that will allow you to zoom and pan around the image to get an appreciation for the detail in this 10+ Gigapixel image.
https://abbascreationsphotography.com/Fairyland/index.html

Description

Oct. 28, 2024 - We had arrived at Bryce Canyon the previous afternoon. I had gone out that evening and scouted out a couple of locations and discovered Fairyland Point, a location that on our previous visit to Bryce Canyon I had not found. Photo Pills told me that the sun would be coming up almost directly down the valley to the east of the main overlook. The weather forecast called for overcast skies so I didn’t set an alarm. Luckily, I woke up about 6:30am and got up to check the weather conditions. It was nearly clear skies so I quickly got dressed and headed out to the point. When I got there another photographer was in the spot I wanted to shoot from. I had to wait a few minutes for him to finish and graciously let me take over the spot.

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[Pieter_Opperman]

Your photo is a beautiful representation of a unique landscape with strong compositional choices and vibrant natural colors. A few adjustments in timing, lighting, and focus could elevate the image, adding even more drama and contrast to an already captivating scene.

Strengths

1. Composition: The panoramic view captures the expansive nature of the canyon, allowing the viewer to appreciate the scale and complexity of the rock formations. You did well to include the foreground, midground, and background, providing depth and a sense of immersion.
2. Color and Texture: The warm tones of the orange rocks against the green of scattered trees create a pleasing color contrast. The texture of the rocks, combined with the varying light and shadows, highlights the rugged surface and intricate details of the canyon walls.
3. Natural Lighting: The lighting in the image is soft and even. It enhances the natural colors without harsh shadows, making the scene appear vibrant and inviting.

Suggestions for Improvement

1. Sky and Light Balance: The sky appears somewhat washed out, possibly due to bright daylight. A different time of day, like golden hour, might provide warmer tones, softer shadows, and a more dynamic sky. This would enhance the depth and contrast of the scene.
2. Focal Point: While the scene captures the grandeur of the canyon, a specific focal point or element might strengthen the composition. Including a striking feature, such as a particularly tall hoodoo in the foreground, could draw the viewer’s eye more effectively.
3. Foreground Detail: The foreground could benefit from slightly more detail or focus. The softer foreground makes it a bit less engaging, whereas a sharper foreground could help anchor the viewer’s perspective within the scene. [Edited: I had a look at the giant image and the foreground is pin-sharp. I don’t know why the posted image looks soft in the foreground?]

[Mark_Seaver]

John, I spent a decent amount of time viewing this image. I can easily imagine getting immersed in this as I’m sitting waiting or maybe eating. I have a couple of thoughts/suggestions. First, the shadows on the ground of the nearest hoodoos seem overly bright for the lighting conditions. They look to be 1 - 1.5 stops darker, yet you say this was bright sun. There also looks to be a shadow of that pine tree that touches the bottom that’s pointing into the distance, not towards the viewer. Second, I wonder about adding mid-tone contrast to the left hand 1/4 - 1/3, which is really about the shadows not “feeling” right.

[John_Freeman]

Mark, thanks for your comments. Regarding the shadows of the hoodoos, I think there are a couple of factors that are causing the shadows to be brighter.

1. Foremost, one of the phenomenon that was occurring that morning was there was a lot of light was being reflecting from the canyon wall back to the shaded side of the hoodoos. That was one of the things that impressed me about this location. All of the nearby hoodoos had this “glow” on the shaded side that normally would have just been very dark had it not been for the reflected light. I think that this reflected light also lightened the shadows quite a bit. Especially so on the left front hoodoo. During my post processing one of my goals was to bring out this backlit “glow” on the hoodoos.
2. Secondly, all of my large images are edited for printing. My primary sales are through VASTphotos.com gallery. Over the years, Dan , the owner of the VAST gallery, has coached me to brighten the darker regions of my images so that the peak of the histogram of my image is more in the center of the histogram as shown in the histograms below. This is because most prints come out significantly darker than the image appears on our monitors. Thus, when an image is edited for printing, shadows and darker areas may appear too light or washed out when viewed on a monitor. Photoshop provides for testing this with the “Proof Colors” function under the “View” tab. With this image open in PS, if I turn on Proof Colors the shadows darken significantly.
   
   
   
   
   

Regarding the pine tree, its shadow was being cast on a very steep bank. This creates an optical illusion that makes it look out of place. Right at the very bottom edge of the photo is a small portion of the shadow of the tree’s trunk. That part of the shadow looks normal.