Another from my recent Utah trip, I came across this scene that reminded me of a bunch of Roman soldiers watching down over the their kingdom. Pretty abstract but, particularly the third rock in from the left looks like a soldiers face. It might just be me. Even if you don’t see the soldiers lined up at the top of the wall, it’s a scene that I wanted to capture with the soft light and blue/gray coloration of the eroded badlands typical of this area.
Specific Feedback Requested
Any and all feedback is welcome.
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
D 850, ISO 500, 150-600mm lens, 240mm, 1/80 sec @ f/7.1 processed in LR only.
This is a great scene, and yes I see the soldier. There is a lot to find using a tele lens! Your composition is very good and so is your handling of the colors. Nothing to improve here.
A fine look at the tortured landscape and colors of this area. Love the warm/cool tones and the comp works really well too. I can see the soldier (but never would have without your direction). No nits here.
Like @Harley_Goldman said, the warm/cool contrast works quite well. When seen full size, the depth of the image really comes into play. Nice work processing it too. Very subtle.
This may be your best image from that area. It’s actually very Guy Talesque. It’s also very OKeefe-esque. But she really pushes the colors more than you do. It’s beautiful either way.
I love the nice light and a very balanced composition.
I would try to boost a little the orange/reds from the top part of the picture, and try a little more contrast (or blacks) on the middle section.
(there are also two little nits that I would try to crop out - one small curve on the, say, 1/5 on the way up on lhe left margin, and one small rock on the 3/4 - left to right - on the lower margin)
This is certainly a wonderful find with the telephoto, David. I find this to be a very unique and interesting image and I do see the watchman you describe. The soft subdued light has created some nice textures and depth along with some lovely colors. My only suggestion would be to clone out the small rock along the bottom edge toward the LRC and the little curve of land along the left edge toward the LLC. I am really enjoying this!
I certainly see your interpretation and - apart from the suggestions of a tiny little bit of cropping above, that I agree with - it’s a wonderful landschape photograph with beautiful colours!
I agree with Joao’s suggestions. The red/orange/brown formations at the top are still receiving some nice light, and could see them a bit warmer and more saturated. And some added mid-tone contrast in the middle would add some more snap. The colors and patterns are so interesting here that I think you could easily get away with a slightly more aggressive processing.
Nice work. I echo the warm comments of others. It appears that the center gully and surrounding rubble is brighter than the rest of the slope, which pulls my eye there. From the terrain, I don’t see a natural reason for that. If the lighting were increased elsewhere, particularly on the right third of the slope, I would be invited to explore the image’s other lines, shapes, nooks, and crannies more easily.
Thank you @Ola_Jovall , @Harley_Goldman , @David_Bostock , @Igor_Doncov , @joaoquintela , @Ed_Lowe , @Ingrid_Vekemans , @Ed_McGuirk , @Dick_Knudson for your comments and suggestions. I went with a very subtle processing on this and several of you have recommended that I push it a bit further and take out a couple of rock intrusions into the framing. Thanks you for those tips. I have posted a re-edited version with the suggestions you all offered. Did I go too far on this? I added some color to the top, some contrast and a little bit of blue to the foreground and removed a bright stripe down the middle gulley of the frame that Dick caught. Thanks again for your tips and suggestions and let me know if this is improved or overdone.
I agree with you Igor that this is very Guy Talesque. It was recommended that I push the processing to bring more of the colors out so I’m curious what you think of the new version vs. the subtle processing that I had on the original. This is also one of, if not my favorite from this trip but I do have more to come.
I’ll go with the original but you really can’t go wrong with either one. The warm color are overwhelming the light blues and as a result a balance you had before is lost.
Wow, David! Very dramatic capture! Made more so with your rework. What you did with the second image seems to have created more depth to the scene making it look even more massive to my eye. Beautifully seen!
To me the touch up is well done and if I hadn’t seen the original, I would have said ‘wow’ to the reworked one without any further comment. Comparing them, though, I personally find the reworked one a bit oversaturated and would go for something in between. But from above comments I gather that’s just me
I looked at this quickly the other day, but did not have time to comment. This is really excellent, and the repost covers what I would have commented on, that being the slight crop. The color work in the repost takes this to another level.
The rework is overdone to my eye as well Ingrid. I like something quite a bit closer to the original but with just a bit of pop to it. Maybe 30% of the rework. @Igor_Doncov hits on exactly what I think the issue is with the rework. The Oranges just overwhelm the blues in the foreground.
It might just be me. Even if you don’t see the soldiers lined up at the top of the wall, it’s a scene that I wanted to capture with the soft light and blue/gray coloration of the eroded badlands typical of this area.