My minimalist tendencies aren’t just confined to snow. I loved this branch sticking out from behind some of the twisting granite formations at the Granite Dells in Prescott, AZ. I think Diane got a shot of this, too, but from a different angle and with a longer lens.
Specific Feedback Requested
It took me a while to figure out how to give this shot any oomph at all, then I hit on it. Thoughts?
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Handheld
Lightroom for a lot of the RAW processing - global adjustments for tonalities, texture & clarity. Local adjustments the rocks, but it still wasn’t doing it for me so I brought it into Photoshop to see if I could work any magic. Basically it was a lot of burning of the two big rocks on the outside and dodging inside on the V shape below the branch. The colors of the rocks are basically identical so deepening the exposure or lightening was the only way to work it. B&W was worse.
Excellent! I haven’t gotten to that segment of the trip, except for a first cull. There were some interesting trees growing apparently right out of the rocks, but the bright mid-day light was harsh and I have the impression it’s going to be difficult to make them special. You did that here!
I wonder about dialing back the intense sky a bit?
Hi Kristen … I really like this composition, and the v-shape between the rocks stands out nicely now after the work you’ve done in PS. I agree with @Diane_Miller that you may want to pull back the intensity of the sky a little. I photograph in the SoCal deserts and find that I need to mute the sky a little, minimize the amount of sky in the image, and/or try converting to B&W to allow the eye to be drawn to the texture and tones of the rocks and not the intensity of the blue in the sky.
The processing looks realistic. I like the intense blue and the deep gold. Did you consider a square crop? It feels a bit heavy on the right. With the way the tree is in the middle of the lighter rock, I could see making the outside rocks the same on both sides.
Wonderful use of diagonal lines with the tree and the rock face, Kris. The processing looks very natural to me with the blue sky and browns of the rock. This may not be your vision, but I could also see this working as a B&W with some cropping on the left and right sides. Just a different option.
I did reduce the sky a bit, but damn it was BLUE. Like really blue. When I saw the scene I wanted to present it like a grand landscape, but on a smaller scale so I didn’t crop, but a square or 4:5 crop might work here as well for a different outcome.
B&W doesn’t speak to me with this one, but I’m clearly in the minority.
I meant to reply with a suggestion and let it get away from me. The sky is a striking color but I think its intensity is partly due to the evenness of the tone. I lightened the bottom part a bit – it’s quick and not subtle enough but you can see the idea. I also did a subtle darker gradient at the bottom.
Looking forward to it! I almost never use a polarizer for a sky unless it’s a very narrow telephoto view. I was amazed years ago to discover how well I could replicate the effect digitally, and even better than the real thing. There’s a tutorial on my web site – old, but still relevant.
