Cathedral Rock + repost

Gallery: LandscapePosted January 4, 2011107 views9 comments

This is one from a trip to Sedona last spring that I never got around to posting. A slightly different angle on Cathedral Rock than most images I see that have Oak Creek in the foreground. Although the red rock peaks were gorgeously lit with the sunset light (I have an almost identical comp that I processed in color) I thought b&w shows off the amazing shapes and textures of the peaks better than in color.

C&C appreciated.

D90/Nikon 70-200 @ 155mm/f11 @ 1/250s/-1.0EV/polarizer

Comments

9 comments

Comment posted by Guy Tal on January 4, 2011 at 5:15 PM

I like the crisp detail in the rock. I'm wondering if you used a color filter in the conversion. If not, a red one will work magic here.

Guy

Registered on November 1, 2003, 566 Posts, 15507 Comments

Comment posted by Barry Vangrov on January 4, 2011 at 5:36 PM

Yes Guy, I used a red filter in Silver Efex to bring out the sky.

Registered on September 1, 2009, 148 Posts, 749 Comments

Comment posted by John Mumaw on January 4, 2011 at 6:41 PM

Great subject for b&w, but I also feel that it's lacking something due to the predominance of grey tones with few true blacks/whites. Perhaps more contrast or another pass with the red filter?

Registered on September 9, 2005, 62 Posts, 2289 Comments

Comment posted by Barry Vangrov on January 4, 2011 at 8:37 PM

Thanks John, you're correct - it's a bit muddled. Here's a repost with more contrast and the white point pushed. Better?

Registered on September 1, 2009, 148 Posts, 749 Comments

Comment posted by John Mumaw on January 4, 2011 at 9:17 PM

Oh, yeah...that's much better, Barry!

Registered on September 9, 2005, 62 Posts, 2289 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on January 4, 2011 at 9:56 PM

Barry,

I thought the first post was pretty darn good, but the repost really shows the difference! The contrast and tonal range is excellent and oh, the subject matter is very nicely composed; great, complimentary sky with the layers and I like a bit of the forest at the bottom for a base. Very strong, nicely captured and presented b&w image.

Lon

Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on January 4, 2011 at 11:17 PM

Works as well in B&W as in color with the advantage of the B&W being more unique. Second version even better.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 364 Posts, 22328 Comments

Comment posted by Phil Pogledich on January 5, 2011 at 2:24 PM

I really like the second version. Very strong shot and an excellent conversion.

Registered on August 24, 2009, 123 Posts, 3099 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on January 6, 2011 at 7:54 PM

Your repost made this pop. Great tones, nice comp, and interesting subject.

Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments