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What is your initial reaction to the image, specifically the colors?
Other Information
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Image Description
This location has become pretty iconic but when I shot it in February of 2009, it hadn’t yet been “discovered” by the masses. I had it to myself and if I remember correctly, I camped out there. The first time I processed the image (16 years ago) I was far too heavy handed. I started over last week and am much happier with the result. I actually had to desaturated some of the reds/yellows/oranges as they were close to neon in that exquisite light.
Technical Details
Canon EOS 5D MKII
Canon 24-105mm lens at 45mm
ISO 50
f/11 @ 1.5s
Processed in Lightroom with finishing touches in Nik Color Efex Pro
Critique Template
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I think this is a great image! I like the colors, though the reds at the bases of the cliffs in the distance may be a tad intense, but not too overbearing. I like the blues contrasting with the reds a lot, especially the blues in the water. I think the foreground is super compelling as well, though it would also be awesome if the cliffs in the background were larger in the frame. Not sure if there would have been a way to compress the shot though, and still keep the stunning foreground. Overall I think its a well done image!
The colors grab my attention right away, I think because the shadows don’t show as much bluish tint I usually expect. But this is the way we see (they way our brains interpret) shadow color, so that’s fine. The view is dramatic and the sunrise color on the cliffs is intense but not overdone. And the partial reflection on the right is a wonderful extra.
I often find my older images are overdone – I think part of the problem is that our monitors were not as good back then.
This is a wonderful scene and there is so much for the eye to explore! The zig zag in the water really guides my eyes through the image and of course how could you not love the orange/blue (warm/cool) colour contrast?
I’m a little hesitant to comment on reds being too strong because I know that my monitor here at work isn’t exactly very accurate in terms of colour, so I won’t.
I remember the days before social media, before “everything” had been “discovered by the masses” and honestly, I miss them. I’m also grateful that I had the opportunity to visit and experience many places before they became so overrun.
@bryant Thanks for the comments! There really wasn’t a way to compress the FG and BG as I had to shoot wide at the edge of a cliff to get this view. I like that idea though as it would have given the background mountain and cliffs more prominence.
@Diane_Miller I appreciate your comment. You might be right about the issue of older images being over-processed. I think also, my tastes have changed and new tools allow us to make adjustments that weren’t possible before (or would have been very difficult to do).
@Tom_Nevesely I always feel like the old grumpy guy when I complain about everything being discovered. I think living in Moab for 20 years and seeing first hand how it’s impacted this area likely contributes to my general grumpiness about it.
My initial reaction is “swept in” Bret. Both the light and topography sweep my eye to Navajo Mountain. The color seems about right given the light you captured, and how the sandstone can glow in late light; my initial reaction is that nothing seems out of place.
I just wish I’d been there fighting for tripod space with you
Hi Bret,
The colors look just fine to me, The reds in the rock formation toward the URC are intense, but entirely believable IMO as I have had the good fortune to witness them many times at sunrise/sunset. I am loving the mix of warm and cool tones throughout the scene as well as that wonderful zig-zag shape of the water that draws me. My only suggestion; and this is being picky; would be to slightly dodge that FG tip of rock that butts up against the darker tones in the water as I think that would separate the tones just a little.
I hear you on being discovered by the masses. That is one of the reasons that I have not been back to Acadia NP for several years. Anyway, this is beautifully done!
Bret, the zig-zag water does a great job of leading to the sunlit cliffs. My first reaction was that the reds were too much, but in red rock country at sunset, the colors are possible. You got a great sky with it’s mix of clouds and the details in the shaded rocks are excellent. How sad about getting it “discovered”.
@John_Williams I love to hear that! It can be hard to create compositions that lead a viewers eye through the frame and I’m happy to hear this one does that for you. I wish you were there too, but there’d have been no fighting as we would have had the entire canyon rim to ourselves!
@Ed_Lowe I love the idea to brighten that FG rock a bit. I hadn’t noticed it but now I can’t unsee it. Thank you. I’m sad to hear that. I haven’t yet made it to Acadia but it’s on the list.
@Mark_Seaver I’ve lived in Canyon Country for twenty years and there are still times I can’t believe my eyes when the sun hits the sandstone just right.
Many of the southwest rock formations look incredibly vibrant and for people who have never seen them in person, the colors you represent here are pretty typical. They are not overly saturated in my opinion particularly if you view the image large. In the thumbnail they look a little colorful but that large image just works great. The composition is terrific and well balanced. You have some seriously great light creating shadows and depth. That reflection in the upper right corner is amazing. The clouds are just what you’d want for a scene like this. Not too overbearing with just enough wispiness to them. I’m not sure I can recommend any changes. Well done.
Being from Scotland I don’t actually know where this is, but to me it looks like a place I have seen in books called Lake Powell which I have always wanted to visit but never quite had the opportunity to do so. Either way it is dramatic and pleasing and echos colours I have seen made by Jack Dykinga at Lake Powell (I think thats how you spell his name), his images of it were beguiling and so is this. The cold and hot colours work very well together in a sort of juxtaposed harmony.
Thank you, @Ian_Cameron, this is indeed Lake Powell. Any comparison to the legend Jack Dykinga is a welcome one. He is one of the photographers whose work encouraged and inspired me to try my hand with a camera. I met him once, only a year or so after I started photographing seriously. We were both shooting the wildflower bloom at the Superstition Mountains in Arizona, and we happened to set up our tripods near one another. I didn’t realize who he was until he introduced himself as “Jack” and then it hit me, at which point I became star struck and probably babbled like a fool. That would have been around 2000 or 2001. He was a very friendly and amiable fellow.
