The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
We’re in the middle of monsoon season here in Moab and that means the odds for spectacular sunrises and sunsets are generally high. Such was the case on the morning I made this image, last week, at Dead Horse Point State Park. I’m about to publish a new eFotoGuide to DHP (along with a whole new website and several other new guides) and I needed to gather some information so I spent a sunrise here, and a day or so later, went back for sunset. I’ll post one or two of the sunset images at another time. In between swatting gnats I was able to create a few images, this one being my favorite. Love to hear your thoughts on it!
Technical Details
Sony A7IV
Sigma 14 - 24mm f/2.8 lens @ 14mm
ISO 100
f/11
1/5 sec exposure
Processed in Lightroom Classic and Nik Color Efex Pro
Bret, I suspect you have the area around Moab totally dialed in by now. This is another very fine image from the DHSP overlook. What a beautiful site…
Not sure I mentioned to you, but did to Guy Tal I’m sure, about my February morning at this overlook. I spent 2 full years traveling Alaska from Shemya Island to Point Barrow and all locations in between. Although severe weather many times it still did not match how frozen I was perched on DHSP overlook that morning for the one hour sunrise transition…
Thanks, Paul. Your Alaska trip sounds incredible! I was just in Barrow a couple weeks ago. I can’t say I ever need to go back. It is funny that you were coldest at DHP, though! I’ve stood up there shivering uncontrollably many times. The desert can be brutal!
Bret, did you get any pictures of all the trees in Barrow?..
Life has some interesting spins to it. One of my trips to Ft. Yukon I shared a flight on a turbo-prop F-27 with Will Rogers Jr. from Bethel-McGrath area up to Fairbanks. He was on his way to Barrow where his father and Wiley Post had crashed. It seemed like a smaller world back then…
A beautiful take on a classic scene. Your were rewarded with great conditions. The softly lit clouds stretching towards both sides of the image gives great motion to this scene. Thanks for sharing this. Makes me want to sit on the edge with a hot cup of coffee and just enjoy the sunrise.
Thanks, David. I took plenty of time to just stand there and appreciate the scene before me. DHP always makes me realize how lucky I am to live in Moab.
What an expansive view, Bret! The way the clouds fan out across the sky only reinforce that feeling.This has a wonderful sense of depth to it and I love the combination of warm and cool tones in the scene. Beautifully done.
Hi Bret, very nice image. I really like the foreground and the cloud formation fits really well. The soft treatment of the colors is very soothing.
I do find the sky a little bright in relation to the landscape and would darken it just a bit. This is such a classic location, and I have shot it several times. That is probably the reason for the one thing that bothers me, that is part of the gooseneck is cut off. The river curve and the cliffs in the center of it are for me the central subject of the scene, and I was drawn immediately to missing part of the water. I think it would have been difficult to keep that nice foreground and see the whole gooseneck without taking an 8 foot ladder with you.
Thanks for your comments, John. I’ve shot DHP dozens of times and have explored the rim in both directions, and I don’t remember ever finding a spot with an unobstructed view of the gooseneck in the river. I’d love to see a photo, if you have one!
Hi Bret
, it is great to see your work again on NPN. Such a beautiful image of a wonderful icon. My first impression was, it looks a little flat and the sky a bit bright, then as I looked again I realized that is because I have spent to much time looking at over saturated images on the web. I know you know the difference and I congratulate you for keeping your work real. I am looking forward to seeing your new site.
Hi Bret, I stand totally corrected, and apologize for my error. You are completely right. I looked back over my shots of the area, and they are just as you describe. The tip of the gooseneck is always hidden. Funny how our memory of an image seems to forget such details. A drone shot might be the only way to see the whole area, but I doubt my Mavic would even launch as it’s most likely a restricted flight area. Here’s one of my sunrise shots from DHP, and it seems like the same tree in your shot.
I enjoy your work and look forward to seeing more.
That’s a lovely image, John! I was actually hoping you were right and that I’d somehow missed it during my explorations. Unfortunately, drone use is prohibited at the overlook at all times of the year. There are a couple months in the winter when drones are permitted…but not at the main overlook.
It’s great to see you on here, Jess! You were one of the photographers whose work inspired me 20 years ago when I was still trying to figure out what an aperture was. I appreciate your comments on this image and agree, saturation has gotten way out of hand these days. I keep going back to this image and in retrospect, I think it might benefit from a slight contrast boost in the landscape.
This is such a lovely, quiet image, so fitting for the clouds! There is such a strong plane leading from the FG back to the distance, and then reflected in the sky. I wouldn’t change a thing
And nice to find you have the same impression I did of Barrow! Well back in the last century, we were tooling around Alaska and my husband wanted to see the Post-Rogers memorial, and since he collects airports we naturally had to land in Barrow. I immediately scratched it off my list. Don’t know if it has been cleaned up since, but it was a total dump! Everything that had ever been hauled in was right where it died, most of it leaking oil and the rest rotting.
Hi Bret! I’m so jealous that you’re in Utah! What a wonderful state and landscape. My sister in law has a home in Torrey, near Capitol Reef, and we’ve loved exploring from that perch, although it’s been awhile since we were able to.
I love the richness of the red rock in your image, and the tree is perfect. I think that I might have positioned it a little more to the left, but this does work. Also, it’s so nice to see Horseshoe Bend in the image. Part of me wishes that the rock wasn’t blocking the bend part of it, but even that works. It doesn’t always have to be a perfect, iconic view. The clouds are lovely. Did you try a longer exposure to see what would happen to them — soft streaks, or whatever. Just a thought! Overall, the photo is lovely and engaging. The detail in the red rock can’t be beat!
How cool is it that you were on a flight with Will Rogers Jr.? That’s such a cool story!