Bryce Clearing Sky

Gallery: LandscapePosted June 2, 2011247 views9 comments

The first of May we woke up to 4 inches of snow at Bryce Canyon National Park. We were at Bryce Overlook before dawn and the sky started to brake and make some very dramatic skies and scenes. I will share some more shots. I would like any input on how I could improve this image. Thanks for your help.

Canon 30D
Sigma 17-70
Aperture Priority
Shutter 1/15
Aperture f22
ISO 400
25mm
Polarizer
Tripod
This is three images combined for exposure in Photoshop Elements 9 and bracketed at -1, 0, +1
The are
Levels and Curves

Comments

9 comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on June 2, 2011 at 8:01 AM

Richard, this has a lot of strong elements. The drama is great. I would like to see a little more detail in the lower left 1/4 and the cloud in the upper right is burned out. I hope that your +1 EV image still has some detail there, but it may not, in which case cloning may be your only answer.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Guy Tal on June 2, 2011 at 8:18 AM

Very dramatic scene. My only suggestion is to dodge the darker areas on the left to extract just a little more detail. In general, I also would not suggest using an aperture as small as f/22 unless absolutely necessary. You likely lost some sharpness to diffraction.

Guy

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

Comment posted by Lance Warley on June 2, 2011 at 8:40 AM

Great shot, Richard. Very dramatic.

I agree with the previous suggestions. Blending the exposures in a manner that adds more detail in the urc and llc would help do justice to the true dynamic range.

Nice work at an awesome location.

Registered on April 18, 2007, 52 Posts, 459 Comments

Comment posted by Harley Goldman on June 2, 2011 at 6:24 PM

Nice dramatic scene. The comments above nicely covered good suggestions. You should be able to pull the detail out of the darker area.

Registered on November 19, 2003, 586 Posts, 11271 Comments

Comment posted by John Mumaw on June 2, 2011 at 8:30 PM

I agree with the other comments. In addition, when you see a scene this unique and powerful, why not bracket as many images as your camera allows? Pretty cheap insurance, if you ask me.

Also, why use ISO 400 when your camera is on a tripod? This means more noise in the areas of the lower left when (if) you try and extract more detail.

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

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on June 2, 2011 at 8:43 PM

Richard,

I think you've captured some great drama in the clouds and the light from and around the sun is wonderful in the scene. Gotta jump on the bandwagon with the detail in the LL quadrant though. Other than that, and this one is picky, but the far distant clouds that are hanging just about the mountain have a greenish/cyan color to them that I think isn't quite natural. I think the color and sat in general look really good; it's just that cloud line and along the mountain in the far distance that you might think about selective adjusting. But what a great moment you were able to capture and witness.

Lon

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

Comment posted by Paul Marcellini on June 2, 2011 at 9:36 PM

You got some great tips from the other so I will just add, wonderful image and mood. Bet it was great to stand there and watch, snapping away of course.

Registered on November 27, 2007, 250 Posts, 2468 Comments

Comment posted by Morris McClung on June 4, 2011 at 2:09 PM

Yeah, you need to print this one HUGE!

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

Comment posted by Wick Smith on June 5, 2011 at 7:42 AM

Incredible shot! I love the cloud drama. I'll jump on the F22 bandwagon. With everything in the shot at least 200 yards away, it's all at infinity as far as your camera thinks. So you could shoot at F11 or so and get the best possible result. Great work!

Registered on June 12, 2009, 91 Posts, 379 Comments