The pages of history rise from the desert floor. Goblin Valley State Park. Green River, UT.
Composition, color conversion. Anything helpful really.
Is this a composite: No
Minor edits in Lightroom. Silver Effects for black and white conversion.
Canon EOS R
1/4Sec, @ f 8
200 mm, ISO 50
I was supposed to shoot Milky Way shots from Goblin last may but a small heart attack got in the way.
Sigh, but it’s nice to see such a lovely shot from that area even if I didn’t get to shoot it.
Lovely B&W Todd. The lighting is quite nice and the scene has a wide range of tones. My only suggestion would be a small crop or clone of that section of rock on the left edge almost at the bottom. I would be curious to see the color version.
I think that the b&w has been well used here for drama. There are some good deep blacks and opposing white. There is good texture in those cliffs. Suggestions: (1)I would lighten those cliffs in the back to spare them better from the sky. (2) I would create greater tonal contrast in the sky by raising the lighter tones.
BTW, this really needs to be seen large before critiquing. That’s something I didn’t do.
I agree with Ed Lowe cutting a section of the low rock on the left thus allow too reduce the forground and see better the nice geometrical designs of this splendid massif.
I think the composition is well balanced, and does a good job of showcasing this impressive formation. The textures and tones in the big formation are great, and I like how your processing creates a spotlight effect to emphasize them even further.
In terms of processing, I would agree with @Igor_Doncov points.
For me the clouds in the sky just don’t feel right, especially the big cloud directly above the butte. I think Igors idea to dodge the lighter tones in the clouds would add some more punch to the image. And if done carefully it won’t take away from spotlighting the butte.
