Another Fall scene from Utah. I discovered this section of the slot canyon on my second day of the weeklong trip and fell in love immediately with how the tree looked as if trying to reach out to the light. As always, any inputs and critiques are very much appreciated. Thank you in advance!
Nikon D750, 86mm, f/18, 1/6, ISO 100
Used luminosity masking to separate the leaves from the canyon wall:
@adhikalie
Beautiful light and scene. You may want to pop the leaves a bit to stand out from the wall a bit more? You also may want to google the title of this image and consider a new name? 
I have been thinking about this, Harley. Any recommendation what’s the best way to select just the leaves?
Oh-My-God. 
This is embarassing… Done.
All, I am looking for a new title, too. All suggestions are most welcome!
I really like this . the lighting is exquisite. Would someone please clue me in on the controversy over the title? I googled Pocket Of Gold and all I came up with was an album by Vince Gill that was actually titled Pocket Full Of Gold.
Selecting the leaves will likely be tedious, as I am unware of a way to easily grab them. Since the back wall also has a lot of yellow, any selection will have to be narrowly done on just the leaves. Maybe someone else knows a good way to do it?
Pocket of Gold works and is a significant improvement. LOL!! Golden Glow?
I will let Adhika field that one!
Adhika, this comp is beautiful. The lower rocks and bushes create a nice base to the image, and the swirling in the rocks nicely mimics the central bush.
If you can get any more detail in the highlights in the upper left, that would be helpful.
I agree with making the leaves pop more. If you use luminosity masks, it is possible. Using Tony Kuyper’s TK7 Rapid Mask I used a luminosity 1 mask and adjusted the lights and darks with the slider that acts like a Levels adjustment, and got this mask:
@Harley_Goldman. I see the title was edited before I posted. LOL
I like how this composition has the look of a vortex. The colors are very subtle, which is typical of your images. I tried to apply a magenta tint to this image in a very restrained manner and was happy with that. I feel that it would be good to bring down the highlights that exist on the ulc wall but was unsuccessful in doing it. I agree that greater separation of the yellow leaves from the wall would be a good thing.
Thanks, guys! I have added a rework in the original post to cycle through the changes.
Thanks for this suggestion, Tony! What a great idea. I did what you suggested and refined the mask with some dodging and burning on the highlights and the shadows. It seems to work really well.
Good eye, Craig. I like the idea. I tried a masked TK Dehaze at low opacity and I really like the effect. I ended making more adjustment all around. Let me know what you think.
I haven’t got anything that I really like with this adjustment yet, Igor. Would you mind sharing what you get?
Adhika, this is an image that does full justice to the beauty of reflected light, you have nailed the honey gold color of the canyon walls. I agree with @Igor_Doncov about it having the look of a vortex. With apologies to the SyFy channel, this looks like a Fire-nado… The rework is much better with the increased color separation of the leaves.
I would still try to bring down the luminosity and saturation of the ULC, for some better tonal balance across the top of the canyon wall. This was my stab doing that using a Lights 3 mask to burn the highlights there, and I also desaturated that area slightly.
I’m late to the party here. The rework looks good to me. The symmetry of the tree and the markings on the canyon wall along with the convergence makes this image work for me.
Adhika, the redo has just enough separation between the leaves and the stone. It’s a fine mix of golden colors and there’s a nice soaring feeling from the streaks in the wall.
Thanks, @Ed_McGuirk, @Nathan_Klein, and @Mark_Seaver!
I tinkered with the highlights in the ULC a little bit more and I end up with something in between what I posted in the revision above and Ed’s. @Igor_Doncov, unfortunately, I am still not feeling the magenta.
I really appreciate the feedback I get here. I am going to let the ink dry a little bit on this one and let the image rest a little bit in my memory and imagination.
