by Jared Warren
I regret that work has kept me away from this forum recently. Hoping to spend more time when things lighten up in a few weeks.
This is from a visit to the Zion backcountry over the holiday weekend a couple weeks ago. There are some breathtaking views off the West Rim Trail that few people ever see (I've been to Zion lots of times and had never hiked this trail). There were hordes of people in the main canyon due to the holiday weekend, but I only saw a few fellow backpackers over two days in this amazing backcountry area.
It rained most of the time I was there, but got good light on this one evening. I had planned for a nice wide panorama of an expansive view across the canyon to the left, but this particular view ended up being more compelling to me. This spot is quite a ways off one of the backcountry trails; the experience felt more significant as I considered that probably few humans have stood at this spot, even though it's in one of the most popular national parks. There's so much to see in Zion away from the popular attractions.
The image is from 4 exposures blended for dof and dynamic range. Most of the processing was just selective dodging and burning, plus a little refining with luminosity masks and color adjustments. Any feedback much appreciated.
Comments
11 commentsAmazing light with a beautiful sky. I like the composition and the way it's possible to see everywhere with a very well balanced light. Beautiful work for a beautiful picture. I love it.
Beautiful image, Jared. I've been meaning to take that hike for a few years now. Got to do it before I get too old. Your post processing skills and the ability to capture everything needed in the field show your mastery of so many of the skills needed to put together an image like this. Very technical and very nice. Gives me the feeling of being there. Awesome.
This is simply great, Jared! Very nice clouds, and the sunstar looks natural. Well worth the effort I would say.
Jared, the processing seems to have paid off very nicely here on this one. The composition seems to have a nice flow to it from the sun to the FG or visa versa. The light here provides the best for that distinct Zion look too, at least to me.
Real pretty work, Jared!! Great light and striking scene. Good job on the processing, too. It does not have the HDR blended look at all.
Jared, This looks great! A beautiful scene captured in wonderful light. I like your composition a lot and the colors look great. Really nice work on this!
Nick Bristol Lone Rock, WI
Jared, nice composition and view. Blend looks pretty good. My two suggestions to try and see if you like them, would be to add a little contrast to the center red rocks and crop off the top 1/2" of sky. The backlight on the lower trees is pretty nice.
Very nicely done, Jared. Certainly an unusual perspective and spot-on processing.
Wonderul grand landscape. I'm really enjoying the colors of those cliffs and backlit branches. The yucca in the lrc really adds a lot for me. I would be happy with a bit less sky to promote the foreground more because the rest of the image isn't as strong.
A stunning shot. I can't fault the processing.
Magical place. Well captured.