Nice shot, Matt. I like the composition and the light on the snow and spires is great. It might just be my monitor but the shadows look a little dark and the histogram show some as clipped.
Terrific shot Matt. I have some great Bryce images that I struggle to crop – one of those great places where you can fill the lens with beauty but not always find a primary point of interest. Light, in this case, solves that problem. However, the lit tower and the slightly lit hoodoos at lower right compete for my eye. Cropping at right turns that area into more of a framing feature and gives the tower its deserved starring role. I also like the line of sister towers moving horizontally across the frame – arguably, a pano crop could make that whole line the subject. All that said , wonderful sense of place captured here. A case could be made for Bryce landscapes to always confuse the eye, as they do those hiking here.
Gorgeous image, Matt. I love Bryce. Of all the Utah Parks, it’s the one I felt I could visit repeatedly. It’s the intimacy of the canyon there, I think, and the ability to feel like you are a part of it. It’s so small in so many ways, but such an intricate landscape. I have yet to be there in the Winter, but it’s a goal.
As for the image, very nicely done. I tend to agree that the shadows were a bit dark in your original version shared here, but I’m also thinking a crop off the top might be good anyway. I keep being drawn up by edges, rather than down into the intricacies. Something alone the lines of this might work as a possible crop:
This is a beautiful scene. I like the composition. I think you’ve nicely brought my eye to the taller formation on the ridge and I love the way that ridge stands out from the darker background. This is just a personal preference, but what if you slid the highlights down, gave it a medium vignette with a full feather and then lightened the shadows a bit? It’s always a bit risky to mess with the photographers vision, and I dont know what your eyes saw, but here’s what it looks like when processed as I mentioned. Its probably not precisely what it looked like but I bet it did a few minutes later!
This is a pretty unique interpretation of these cliffs. I think the shadows and how they’re arranged make it so. There have been several reworks but I like @Marylynne_Diggs the most because she stays with your original intent of a sort of brooding Bryce.
Thanks, @Michael_Lowe. Yes, I really got lucky with snow.
The dark shadows are not your monitor. They are clipped. Sometimes I prefer them black, other times, not.
@james7 , thank you for your thoughtful and in-depth critique regarding the compositional elements. I saw some of the same things as you when composing.
@Marylynne_Diggs Thanks, Marylynne. I appreciate your kinship about Bryce. It was my favorite of the trip (Zion, Cap Reef, Escalante). It was so special. In the photo, I like the space above the lit tower because I like to fill the frame but not put things too close to the edges, and I agree with you that the top area needs to remain dark in contrast to the tower.
@Paul_Holdorf Thank you very much for your thoughtful revisioning of the photo. Its not my preference to lower the contrast because the greater contrast adds drama, and Bryce is a dramatic place, especially in snow. But your rework adds a different take to my vision, so thank you.
Matt,
This scene has some wonderful interplay of light and shadow and the snow is a definite plus and I love how the main focus of the light is on that larger rock formation. I do like my brother’s @Michael_Lowe rework with the shadows as they look a little dark to me also. Congrats on finally making it to Bryce Canyon; sounds as though you had a great time.
