Zion Moonrise

Nice light Stan.
Like the shapes and the texture of the cliff face and the moon.
I don't find the lower area very compelling.
Top shot.

I was on a photo tour of southwest Utah that same week and caught full moonrise at Bryce and Capital Reef. Amazing photo opportunity. The bottom may not be "compelling" but I think you need it to put the scene in perspective. I wouldn't mind a little more color in the sky, though, if it's not cheating "reality" too much.

Quite beautiful! Great timing.
Wouldn't mind seeing the right side cropped to the notch, though.

Hi stan i like how the colors converge,, from the cool green trees to the hot orange mountain top . the cool moon is icing on the cake.
Albert Darmo Canada

Wow Stan! This is really nice. It just pops right off the screen at me. I love the color contrast between the cliffs and the lower trees. I think John's cropping suggestion has merit. We're so used to super saturated skies here that this sky seems a bit bland, but it's also really natural and I like it.

Well done! I think the balance between muted and bright is realistic. I really like the sky as is, very natural and a smooth gradation from pale blue to light orange. This is not a scene that requires a lot of saturation, and I think you got it about right. I like this as is. It's not gaudy, but it is real!

Hey Stan, nice work, I was there at the same time. I like how you've got the moon exposed properly with the rest of the scene. I get the feeling there there's a pretty significant tilt counter-clockwise...not sure, could be an illusion, but a degree or so clockwise adjustment might help...

This works all the way around, Stan.

It's too bad the shape of/formations in the mountain gives the illusion of a tilt. I like the bold colors, but I just can't shake the urge to tip my head to one side.

even more important to the image than the moon, is the patch of green on the bottom, which complements the red glow so nicely. pretty.
georg

Nice light but I do not find the composition particularly compelling.

gio

excellent light and great exposure on the moon!

nice. i like the stability given by the dark area at the bottom. i like also the vegeation, lost in the shade.

Gorgeous shot Stan, love the light, and you exposed the moon beautifully. Very nice indeed.
John

A simple recipe that always works. Great capture, Stan. The addition of the foreground trees add quite a lot to the image for me. My taste would suggest a little less saturation on the peaks.

Stan,

I think you got it right deposition lines in rock formations rarely parallel the horizon, due to many geological process, so I believe the horizon tilt might be moot. Everything as usual is spot on in the image, and any perception that the rocks might be a tad to orange may have not personally been in the Southwest.

Paul

Everything works here for me.

This is nice Stan. Great light on the peak. I do wish the bottom trees were either included more or cropped out entirely (my preference being included more).

I like the subtle light and color Stan. The darker foreground also works well.

I feel like theres a bit too much space between the trees and glowing stone. I get a little lost in the middle. Still a nice image but not a stunning as lots of your work IMO..

Great shot Stan! I like that you included some of the trees at the bottom of the frame.

Hi Stan! I like what you have going on here. Is this a double exposure? Personally I would have like the camera moved to the left a bit. The bit of hill on the right leads my eye out of the frame and the extra empty area of sky on the right doesn't help a whole lot either. While you are at it, can you make those trees turn more yellow and vibrant.

I hear you Erik--well at least you got to enjoy the lame colors at Zion this year as much as i did!
Thanks for all the comments, folks! Some notes: i exposed for the moon here, and brought up the shadowed areas in LR2. I was a bit constrained in the comp since here were structures in the fg that i had to avoid. I leveled the shot and there is no tilt, i didnt even notice the rock lines until now, and i can see how it might throw people. This wasnt meant to be a 'Wow' shot, just as some have mentioned, a simple pretty shot of the scene as i saw it. All your comments and suggestions are much appreciated!

Stan,

Excellent capture of the moonrise over the towers. I could give or take the included bottom trees - and I don't think the image would be hurt if you cropped the bottom. The story is all about the last light on the cliffs and the capture of the full moon.

Lon

Wow...you really did some excellent processing on this to capture the range of exposure. Excellent job, Stan. Looks like another successful shot from your trip!

Sweet light Stan, and the moon is great of course. It does give the illusion of there being a tilt, due to the diagonal lines on the formation. A little dark on the bottom, but I guess that's to be expected since it's in shadow. All around good shot, looks very natural to my eye.
Must have been nice to witness!

I agree about the crop from the right, but it still is a great shot, and your processing is dead on.

This works for me, Stan. I think the scene is rendered very naturally and all the elements from the trees to the mountain and full moon all come together beautifully. Great job with the moon exposure BTW.

Ed

Perfect conditions create also very good images. Very nice Stan!