Imperial Storm

Gallery: LandscapePosted September 19, 2012277 views10 comments

How about just one more from my north rim trip. This was from our lackluster sunrise at point imperial. We didn't get that dramatic morning light with the crazy reds and golds, but I actually really enjoyed the conditions we had. We were fortunate to get some mammatus clouds in the morning, although they were quite high above the canyon. This is a panoramic of five horizontal images. Unfortunately, the best part of the clouds had to be cut off to avoid going with a straight 50/50 split. Still though, I was able to keep much of the interesting lines and patterns in the sky. I purposely went heavy on the contrast with the sky to bring it out. Don't know if that will show well here, but hopefully it does. I also had to clone out one of Doug's tripod legs as he went a little further below where there was no obstructions. As always, comments and critiques appreciated.

Canon 7d
Canon 17-40mm @17mm
f14
ISO 100
5 sec
Tripod
CPL
3 stop/2 stop grad ND

Comments

10 comments

Comment posted by Karsten Wrobel on September 19, 2012 at 3:56 PM

maybe not your standard golden sunrise, but interesting sky + clouds and I really enjoy the light on the rocks in the midground... not to mention the view

Registered on November 1, 2008, 117 Posts, 851 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Chambers on September 19, 2012 at 4:09 PM

Very nice Peter. Lots of drama in the sky and a pretty vista to boot.

Registered on April 10, 2005, 753 Posts, 21216 Comments

Comment posted by Eva McDermott on September 19, 2012 at 8:04 PM

Nice drama over the canyon Peter, but I find the blues a bit strong in the sky. With digital especially RAW files, unlike film, I always find difficult to process to what I saw and felt. Again, personal experience and preference.

Registered on January 4, 2009, 1015 Posts, 13229 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Teller on September 20, 2012 at 1:04 AM

Very dramatic image. I like the color and composition.

Registered on August 23, 2010, 1162 Posts, 6692 Comments

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on September 20, 2012 at 3:51 AM

Striking contrasts in the red and blues. I would tend to agree with Eva's observation about the blues though, there doesn't seem to be enough of the corresponding colour in the foreground to convince.

Registered on September 27, 2006, 636 Posts, 10682 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Coskun on September 20, 2012 at 7:26 AM

Thanks everyone. I see what you mean about the blues. However, in the original master file there were blue hues in the foreground and mid-ground. I chose to pump the reds in the mid-ground to get a nice color contrast and to have the main feature (Mount Hayden) in the mid-ground to pop in the image.

Registered on October 31, 2011, 170 Posts, 1240 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on September 20, 2012 at 12:36 PM

Peter,

"The best part of the clouds had to be cut off..." But the sky is so awesome! Personally, I would give up much of the foreground rock. In fact before reading your comment I was think about not having it at all and just have the cathedral rock formation (I'm sure it has a name?) and red as the base to the image. As it is, even though you eliminated the 50/50 thing, I still get the impression that we're torn between sky and foreground. Personally, if you like this scene and want to keep the foreground rock (for depth, foreground interest, etc.) then you might consider cropping the top even more (4:5). I think what that does is de-emphasize the sky, but bring out the rain more as well as the lone cathedral rock. Anyway, just me thinking out loud. I think you have numerous possibilities.

The only other suggestion would be some micro contrast adjusments, but that's pretty minor and a personal choice anyway.

Sorry for ramblin' it's an image worth pickin' over though.

Lon

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

Comment posted by Tony Kuyper on September 22, 2012 at 11:40 AM

Wow, what a portfolio from one trip. Really like the depth and layering here. Colors and contrast are fantastic too.

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

Comment posted by Bob Miller on September 22, 2012 at 11:42 PM

Peter- My shots at this location were just as heavy in the blues.

Registered on January 24, 2005, 152 Posts, 405 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Coskun on September 23, 2012 at 12:41 AM

Bob, there were a lot of blues around especially within the canyon, however the reds just under Mount Hayden I tried to pump up to get that nice color contrast, so likely due to my processing it looks a little off balance.

Registered on October 31, 2011, 170 Posts, 1240 Comments