The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
Following up on my last post from Dead Horse Point State Park, which I made pre-sunrise, this image was created as the canyons below bathed in warm sunrise light. I had to essentially lay on the slickrock with camera in hand (no tripod!) as this is such an awkward little tree to photograph but it has such personality, it’s always worth the effort. I intentionally framed it to give the appearance that the clouds originated from the tree.
Technical Details
Sony A7IV
Sigma 14-24mm lens at 14mm
ISO 100
f/11 @ 1/50s
Processed in Lightroom Classic w/ finishing touches in Nik Color Efex Pro
Those clouds were a gift and you made the most of them! Fantastic composition, worth all the trouble! The processing looks fine to me with wonderful tonalities and colors!
The horizon appears to be a little off, assuming the distant gray land mass should be roughly horizontal. A slight CCW rotation will level both it and the top of the mesa behind the tree. It’s difficult to know if these areas should really be horizontal but the angle of the distant gray clouds adds an optical illusion that they are off so it might be good to minimize that by leveling them.
Hi Bret,
what a great landscape. That looks fantastic. I really like your composition with that beautiful tree and the clouds.
I agree with @Diane_Miller about the horizon. Sometimes a tilted or warped horizon is also created by lens distortions.
If I’m going to nitpick, I’d like to see a little more space between the rock in the foreground and the river bend. But of course, I don’t know if that was possible without destroying the composition with the tree.
I agree with @Jens_Ober about not seeing all the river bend, but I think it was probably not possible to fix, for the reason he suggests. That said, I still love how the amazing twist in the tree trunk is mirrored in the twisting river and cliffs - and there’s a lot else to admire in this shot, not least the gorgeous light.
That old juniper has some real character to it, Bret. The junipers are a neat find when they’re a bit isolated as this one is too. The monsoonal looking clouds are a real plus. In fact, the juniper and just the clouds do a fine job as a scene draw…
Not sure about the river bend confusion from this overlook. I have an image from this general area and seen MANY takes from this site overall. I’ve never seen an image where you can actually see the entire river bend. I’m sure the road down below would provide that “horseshoe” look with a super wide angle or fisheye maybe…
Bret, the clouds colapsing on (or originating from) the juniper work very well in creating a good sense of movement. The tree’s shape is nicely emphasized. The lighting in the canyon adds some good warmth. Since that’s a mountain range in the distance, I see no reason to assume it should be level. Overall, this is nicely different from the majority of Dead Horse Point views.
@Diane_Miller Thank you for your comments. The horizon at this location is a little wonky; the canyon rim to the right is level, but as it moves to the left it starts to fall off, which I think is exacerbated by the extreme wide-angle lens. This does give the image an appearance of not being level.
@Jens_Ober@Mike_Friel Appreciate the comments! Unfortunately, there is no viewpoint at Dead Horse Point that allows you to view the entire river bend. This is as good as it gets, until someone invents a camera that flies. Oh wait…
@Paul_Breitkreuz Thanks for taking the time to comment. I’ve been down on that road and stood above the horseshoe a couple dozen times, at least. That is the only way to view the bend completely unobscured and it does require a wiiiiiide lens to take it all in. I might just try to do that sometime soon.
@Mark_Seaver I’m happy to hear that you find this image unique when compared to others from Dead Horse Point. I always have fun trying to find creative ways to photograph these iconic locations.
Bret, I figured from the main overlook area it was impossible to see the horseshoe. For extreme wide I use my 37mm on my Mamiya RB67 ProSD. As long as it is kept level the fisheye perspective remains in check and just works as an excellent wide angle…
That’s my same experience with the Sigma. Sometimes, though…level just doesn’t work and then I get to try to fix it in LR. That Mamiya is lust-worthy. I’ve never shot medium format but have always wanted to. At this point, if I ever do, it’ll be MF digital.
