November Sunset at Zion

Gallery: LandscapePosted July 16, 2011576 views11 comments

By the time we got back from our hike on the Narrows, there was no room at the bridge for shooting the Watchmen at sunset. Ellie and I had to move quickly if we wanted to take advantage of this evening's light. We drove downriver just a bit, then ran down a hill and across a bridge to this spot.

I knew I had to bracket shots for this scene, but at the time I still didn't know how to blend images. So here it is...three shots manually blended in Photoshop and I actually desaturated a lot of the pink from the foreground. I'd really appreciate your opinions on how I did here.

Pentax K-7
28mm
F22
10 seconds (+.07, -2)
ISO 100
Hoya CP
Cokin GND

Comments

11 comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on July 16, 2011 at 2:09 AM

Looks like a beautiful spot.
I like the perspective here and the different elements of my, trees, rocks, water. .
Not sure about the colours - they just seem - well, ODD - to me.
Can't comment on the detail with only a small image, but seems fairly soft.
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Metternich on July 16, 2011 at 2:34 AM

This looks like a movie setting or painting! nice shot here.

Registered on June 19, 2009, 276 Posts, 6240 Comments

Comment posted by R.Bill Moser on July 16, 2011 at 2:49 AM

This is a very beautiful spot. The colors look a bit strange to me. I'm not quiet sure about the blending. It's hard to tell with this small image. The edges of the leaves looks not quiet perfect. But it sure is a nice shot.

Registered on January 29, 2010, 285 Posts, 4281 Comments

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on July 16, 2011 at 10:12 AM

That's very special light. There's a lot going on in the comp, but it's fun to look at all these elements in this light.

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

Comment posted by Mark Pelton on July 16, 2011 at 12:06 PM

Beautiful spot and composition, Jean. I like the sat level but I think you got just a little too much magenta when you set the white balance in your raw converter.

Registered on November 25, 2003, 380 Posts, 4647 Comments

Comment posted by Chris Chamberlain on July 16, 2011 at 1:05 PM

I've never done a manual blend, so I can't really critique what you've done here. The exposure looks a little unbalanced to me. Too bright foreground, or too dark sky. A little work there and it will look pretty good, I think. Nice scene, and conditions for sure.

Chris

Registered on March 13, 2007, 500 Posts, 8365 Comments

Comment posted by dean hebert on July 16, 2011 at 1:06 PM

Has almost a "surreal" feel to it. I like it!

The peak might be a bit too left of centre, it seems to be cut off, otherwise it's nicely balanced.

Registered on August 4, 2010, 70 Posts, 1132 Comments

Comment posted by John Williams on July 16, 2011 at 5:13 PM

Great comp and color, but a strong HDR appearance, almost like each part of the blend was processed individually rather then as a whole. Usually manual blends give a more natural look. I'd be tempted to look at the originals and move the different pieces a bit closer to their origin.

Registered on September 6, 2007, 221 Posts, 5985 Comments

Comment posted by Aaron Feinberg on July 16, 2011 at 6:55 PM

Tough blend and there are some artifacts from it but overall great color and comp is close! Would have placed the mtn peak a bit more to the right to fill the gap between the left most tree and upper right. Nice stuff

aF

Registered on October 26, 2009, 399 Posts, 2789 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on July 17, 2011 at 12:41 PM

You managed a decent composition from a busy scene where many would have floundered around. I agree there are some artifacts but the colours are what makes this for me.

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments

Comment posted by Jean Day on July 20, 2011 at 7:40 PM

Thanks so much for all the great feedback. Sorry I didn't respond sooner, but I had gone on vacation and broke my wrist my second day out! Hard to type as a lefty.

This was one of those desert sunsets that cast a pink glow over everything and I did desaturate quite a bit from the fg. It is a difficult blend with the trees against the sky, but your comments are very helpful and give me a better idea on how to proceed to make it better. Thanks again!

Registered on April 10, 2011, 36 Posts, 306 Comments