One more from my Utah trip earlier this year. This was taken with a 150-600mm lens early in the morning just as the sun was starting to hit the horizon creating nice cement blue shadows and golden light. This crumbling hillside reminded me of a castle in ruins. This was shot at 1/15th of a second and it’s the only one of my shots that came out sharp. It’s challenging shooting here with a short lens because of the constant 20 mile per hour winds but with a long lens it’s nearly impossible to get a sharp shot at 1/15th. I’m very grateful that one of them came out.
Specific Feedback Requested
With some of my recent posts from this area I have not added in a lot of contrast and the common theme seems to be to add in more contrast on a lot of those images so I’m wondering how you feel about this one as well.
Any suggestions to bring this up another level is always helpful.
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
D850, Sigma 150-600mm lens, ISO 500, 1/15th sec @ f/7.1
Oh I feel ya! From a technical standpoint, I assume image stabilization was on?
I think this is another home run from your trip. The lighting and vignetting are excellent. The overall feel of the image is very cool with a hint of warmth. Sharpness looks excellent. Only recommendation is to consider a ~10% crop from the top. The apex of the hill just touching the frame edge in the upper L corner creates a bit of visual tension that is distracting for my eye. I thought about whether a shot that included more rather than less would be beneficial, but I think it would require re-framing the whole scene and perhaps dilute your intended visual message. Excellent image!
Nice photo! I agree with the comments about the apex of the hill. And, I do think a bit more contrast improves it. I played with it briefly using Content Aware Fill and selective cloning in Photoshop, plus increased the contrast a bit, and came up with this (I realize this kind of fill isn’t everybodies cup of tea). I also cropped a small amount off the bottom.
Hi David, the colours and formations here are really interesting… I am guessing that the main point of interest that caught your eye here, is the main rock dead centre, with the smaller one underneath it, and also the loose rock formations on top. If this is true I was thinking that the bottom part of the image can be left out from the composition, to really bring up the main features of this image. I gave it a try and I upload it here, with some additional contrast to really bring up this nice warm directional lighting on the rock… In any case, this is subjective of course, and this image is mighty interesting in the first place… nicely done
Hi @David_Haynes. What a beauty. Those repeating triangle patterns are really neat. I saw a castle right away at my first look. I like the subtle yellow and blue/gray colors here, and I also like the alternatives others have already posted! I like the way Nikos’ crop removes the two dark vertical blue arcs dead center, bottom of frame. For me, those two dark arcs are a little distracting from the otherwise triangle shapes. But all personal, of course!
Congrats on getting this one in those winds!
David, Wow! What an amazing image. One of my first thoughts was a castle even knowing it wasn’t. I’m so glad you ended up getting a sharp image of this impressive scene. I like your original post but also quite enjoy seeing what Tony and Nikos came away with. You did a great job capturing this amazing image!
I like the original post as well. I think the level of contrast was just right as was the intensity of colors. There is good color balance here that matches the overall design within the frame. Of course without that light falling on strategic points this would be a different image. Had there been no sunlight then adding saturation would make greater sense to me.
Yes there is a cathedral like grandeur about the whole thing. Call it the Notre Dame of the Southwest.
Jim,
Thanks so much for the comments. Yep, Image stabilization was on but just too slow of a shutter speed to get good shots…except for one. I do understand what you’re saying about either cropping or adding some canvas. The composition does go through the apex of the hill and there is tension there. I do have a version that has more room on top but it’s not as sharp as this image. I really like what @Tony_Siciliano did to resolve this issue. I’m just not very good at Photoshop so I’ll have to play around and see if I can get somewhat close to what Tony got. Thanks again for the advice on this one.
Wow, I really appreciate the comment David. Glad you don’t think it needs any more contrast. Love what @Tony_Siciliano did to upper left hill if you have not seen it. It fixes the issue that you raise. I may print one of the images from this trip and find a place in the house to hang it.
Tony, this is so much more balanced. I appreciate you taking the time to tweak this image. The extra contrast is minimal and certainly works well. Looks like I have some work to do in photoshop where I’m not great but it gives me an excuse to play around and try and come up with something close to what you got. Thanks Tony. This is why I post images here. Great feedback that almost always takes images in a new direction.
Nice take on this @Nikos. I like the isolation you achieved with the crop removing unnecessary elements. I think has too much contrast for my tastes but I can certainly appreciate how many if not most would be drawn to your composition and processing. I tend to get feedback asking for a little bit more contrast in my image’s. It’s definitely growing on me and maybe something with just slightly less contrast can work for me. Thanks for taking the time. Looking forward to seeing more of your work.
Hey, Thanks @Mark_Muller. I like the composition that @Nikos came up with as well. It’s just slightly too dark for me but it removes the distractions that you mention. Glad you like the image. This was a tough one to get in the wind.
Thanks @Nick_Bristol . Yep, I really like what both @Tony_Siciliano and @Nikos came away with in the revisions they did. I have a lot to think about before giving this one another round of processing. Glad you liked the original too.
Love the name you came up with @Igor_Doncov. Fitting for sure. I’m also glad that you and one or two others like the original with less contrast/saturation/pop. I always appreciate your feedback.
