The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
A series of storms moved through Moab late last week and I took the opportunity to visit Canyonlands with high hopes of witnessing some dramatic conditions. As you can see by this photo, I succeeded. This is at Grand View Point. I’d already been out to this spot once and got chased off by an incoming storm dropping lightning, pea sized hail and heavy rain. Literally sprinted back to my truck to wait it out. Not visible in this photo are dozens of potholes full of water that were bone dry thirty minutes earlier. When the rain let up enough I came back to this spot and started shooting photos in ever-changing conditions. The first few photos had only light on the background cliffs but I stayed put and crossed my fingers that a few more rays of light might break through clouds and illuminate the foreground and mid-ground. That never happened. This is actually a time-blended composite of two images; one for the little spot of light on the canyon just below the mormon tea and a second image for everything else. I really wanted some light - even just a small spotlight - on the flat expanse of land between the end of the canyon and the sunlit background cliffs but alas, it wasn’t meant to be.
Specific Feedback
I’ve photographed Grand View Point at least a couple dozen times and never came away with anything great. This is probably my best effort and it’s still not what I’m visualizing. Does it work for you? Is there anything you’d change? What are your thoughts on time-blending; cheating or okay?
Technical Details
Sony A7IV
Sony 24-105mm lens at 26mm
ISO 100
1/160s @ f/13
Lightroom/Photoshop
Critique Template
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Vision and Purpose:
Conceptual:
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Composition:
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Technical:
Bret, I like the spot lighting and how it’s peeking through the storm clouds. Having the foreground lit adds to the strong sense of distance, with that green shrub adding life to what looks pretty barren. I wonder about a bit more contrast to show off the formations coming in from the middle right edge. Looks like a fine spot to revisit under different lighting conditions.
Bret, I think this works very well as it is, but I could see a little dodging of darker areas in the midground. Not much, mind you, just enough to pull a little more detail.
You had some challenging light to work with, and your solution is the best way to go. The composition is excellent.
-P
I think the light colored rocks on the left and bottom divide the photo in two, and distract the eye from going farther into the distance to pay attention to the star of the show, the footprints of water in the red rock. So I took the liberty of editing the photo: cropped away much of the light rock, expanding the sky up,
This is really nice, Bret. I like the layers/steps in the image. I feel like I’m stepping down into the distance. I like how the 3 large FG rocks lead us into the image and those small spotlighted ares in the valley. Works for me. Time blending? Go for it. No different than a long exposure to capture cloud movement or multiple lightning strikes imho. We blend different exposures sometimes for leaf movement when we’re shooting waterfalls. I would assume most Milky Way shots are time blends and not single exposures. As long as it’s from the same location in a reasonable time frame, no problem.
Thank you, @Tony_Siciliano. Your suggested crop is an interesting one. I do like the extra light on the mid-ground and will go back to my image and do a bit more work in that area.
@Michael_Lowe My feeling exactly. I’m trying a lot of new techniques (new to me) lately and having fun with the results. It’s so neat that these things are now possible. As a former film guy, it was one and done. You didn’t focus stack, exposure or time blend…you just took what you could get. It’s great to have options these days!
